• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, February 22, 2023

Want to drive online sales? Email remains the best channel for doing that, judging by the U.S. Consumer Trends Index 2023, a study from Marigold, working with Econsultancy.

Of the U.S. consumers polled, 55% have made a purchase directly from an email in the last year, versus only 23% who have bought from a digital banner ad. And they will share zero-party data to get personalized messages. 

Gen Z lags behind all other generations in email buying, averaging 49%+. But at least 61% apiece of Boomers, Gen X and Millennials have purchased by email.  

In general, email outperforms other digital channels by 139%, according to the study.

Mobile is growing in usage, with 51% buying from an email viewed on a mobile phone. Moreover, 62% have purchased via a mobile app, and 30% directly from a text — a 20% increase YoY. And 68% have used a mobile phone to research a product in-store, while 51% have browsed in the store and bought the selected products online.  

For instance, 69% of U.S. consumers think an email reminder or ad about an abandoned shopping cart is not cool. And 61% feel the same about ads based on location data from brands they don’t  know.

Also suffering from the creep factor are retargeting ads derived from third-party cookie tracking (57%) and those  related to something the person talked about near a smart device (61%).  

Yet 86% of individuals like brands that send personalized messages, and 75% will share zero-party data to facilitate them. That percentage rises for 84% for millennials. 

All that aside, the biggest driver of consumer sales is price, although that seems to be going down: 42% of shoppers are motivated by it, but that is down by 5% from 2022. 

Price leads across generations, although to varying degrees. Fifty-one percent of boomers surveyed cite price, versus millennials at 32% and Gen Z at 44%.

Meanwhile, 52% of U.S. consumers are more likely to engage in a loyalty program this year, and that includes 57% of Gen X and 67% of Millennials. Overall, 48% will use loyalty program benefits when considering a purchase this year.  

Not to end on a sour note, but 49% of consumers are concerned about the rising cost of living and 48%, and 50% will make fewer impulse purchases. 

Marigold, in conjunction with Econsultancy, surveyed 1,561 U.S. consumers during October-November 2022.