British consumers like email — up to a point, judging by Consumer Email Tracker 2020, study from the Data & Marketing Association (DMA), sponsored by Pure360. In any case, they seem to be
getting less of it.
Of the individuals polled, 46% prefer email in a range of contexts, ranking it over postal mail (26%), and text or face-to-face (24%) communications.
However,
when it comes to advice or tutorials, 48% choose face-to-face communications over email (32%).
Consumers receive an average of 54.9 email per week, down from 73.3 in 2017. And 56%
believe over half of these emails are from marketers, while 43% feel the percentage is lower.
Brand recognition is the leading factor for 55% in deciding whether to open an email. But
only 13% feel that over half the emails they receive are useful, and 85% feel that way about less than half the emails they receive.
Only 37% could identify that they believe email is doing
well. But consumers under age 35 are more likely to find email useful.
The GDPR has reassured 42% of consumers about the safety of their personal data, but 34% often wonder where a firm
got their email address and 48% occasionally speculate about it. Only 19% never think about it.
Discounts are the most popular types of messages — 65% like them, versus 15% who dislike
them.
In addition, 59% like email receipts and 20% don’t.
Another 43% value advance notices of new products or services, compared to 29% who reject them.
The least
popular type of email is one that offers advice, articles, information tips or tutorials — 34% welcome them and 38% don’t.
In general, consumers like marketing emails with these
attributes:
- They contain offers — 52%
- They are relevant to me — 50%
- I like the brand — 36%
- They contain useful information or news
— 36%
- They are clear and concise — 29%
- The subject line grabs my attention — 24%
- They are personalized — 27%
- I can
choose the right kind of emails I receive — 19%
- They are well laid out — 18%
- They are fun to read — 12%
- They are visually stimulating —
10%
- They include pictures or links to videos — 10%
The study also notes that the average consumer has 1.87 personal email addresses and 0.82 for work. But 44%
have no work email address.
Also, 23% use their additional email addresses for at least some of the marketing messages they receive, and 8% have defunct addresses.
The DMA,
working with Dynata, surveyed 2,051 consumers in the UK.