New Study Reveals Email Communications’ Continued Influence across Multiple Channels

Among the survey’s findings:

· 84 percent of respondents report having clicked-through from relevant e-mail offers.

· 73 percent of respondents report having made an online purchase as the result of receiving a relevant e-mail offer

· 86 percent of respondents report having made an in-store purchase as the result of receiving a relevant e-mail offer.

· 51 percent of respondents report having clicked “forward to a friend” links in marketing e-mail, but 38 percent have never seen these links.

· 78 percent of respondents report having added trusted e-mail marketers to their address books, even as 57 percent report that marketers don’t ask to be added.

“Consumers are attesting to the power of e-mail marketing—they trust it, they respond to it, and they take proactive steps to ensure that they get messages from companies they do business with. These data reveal an immense opportunity for marketers to build and deepen customer relationships and grow sales, but they also suggest that too many marketers are failing to take full advantage of this opportunity,” said Ragy Thomas, president of Epsilon’s Interactive Services group. “E-mail marketers must continue to strive for relevance and take the initiative to ensure that their messages reach their customers, and are welcomed by their customers, and inspire their customers to become brand advocates.”

Epsilon’s study also explored consumers’ perceptions of spam (53 percent say they received less spam than they did last year—the third consecutive year in which most respondents reported a reduction), anti-spam software (78 percent say they use it), and spam complaint mechanisms (30 percent say they use these, while two-thirds of them equate reporting spam with unsubscribing from marketers’ e-mail programs).