• by Ray Schultz , May 17, 2022

The pandemic has caused some shifts in the way small businesses handle email marketing, according to the 2022 Email Marketing Study from UpCity. 

For one thing, only 27% now have a monthly email marketing budget of $100 to $500, down from 34% prior to the pandemic. 

In another shift, 51% handle email in-house, compared to 49% before COVID-19.

In addition, 18% focus most heavily on promotional emails, versus 17% who relied on product and company updates and promotional messages pre-COVID-19. That percentage grew to 19%, a 1% hike, for Canadian businesses. 

“Marketing professionals are still struggling to stabilize their businesses and clients against the devastating impacts the COVID-19 pandemic has brought on,” says Heidi Sullivan, senior vice president of product & marketing at UpCity.

"Retention is just as important as generating new leads,” Sullivan adds. “Our survey revealed that businesses who mostly focused on retaining existing customers feel that their email marketing strategy needs work

UpCity surveyed more than 600 business owners and email marketing professionals in the U.S. and Canada.