• by Ray Schultz , May 11, 2021

Email marketing is effective for most U.S. companies, but UK firms rate it more highly, according to Digital Divide, a new study by Upland BlueVenn.

Of the U.S. firms surveyed, 20% rate email as highly effective, versus 33% in the UK. And 54% of U.S. companies say is somewhat effective, along with 54% of their UK counterparts. 

But 51% of U.S. marketers feel email is becoming more effective, compared to only 44% of UK brands. 

Still, there are issues. For instance, email marketing technology is well-integrated in only 46% of U.S. companies, placing third against marketing analytics (48%) and SMS (47%). 

In the UK, email is fully integrated at 51% of companies -- second only to marketing analytics, at 52%. 

However, email data is most likely to inform wider marketing decisions, beating CRM and advertising at 40% apiece.

In the UK, CRM is the leader here, at 50%. Email is cited by only 32%. 

Email is also is widely used by consumers for engaging with brands, but shoppers in the UK are more likely to utilize it.

Of the consumers polled for this two-part survey, 61% in the UK prefer email, compared to in store in branch (51%) and laptop/desktop web browser (51%). 

In contrast, the U.S. lineup is as follows:

• Email — 48%
• Laptop/desktop web browser — 43%
• Facebook — 43%
• In store/in branch — 41% 
• Mobile app — 41%
• TV — 40% 
• Mobile web browser — 40% 
• Twitter — 38% 
• YouTube — 37%
• Instagram — 37%
• Over the phone — 36%
• Newspaper print/online media publication — 33% 
• SMS/text messaging — 33%
• Internet connected speakers (e.g., Alexa, Google) — 31%
• Radio — 31% 
• LinkedIn — 28%
• Chatbot/live chat services — 28%
• Catalogue — 28%
• TikTok — 27%
• Post — 26% 

Upland BlueVenn surveyed 4,000 consumers and 500 marketers.