Dive Brief:
- About two-thirds of consumers (66%) who receive more than five e-mails from retailers per week say that’s too many, according to a survey from product launch specialist First Insight.
- Only 21% of consumers who receive less than five e-mails from retailers per week are similarly overwhelmed, the November 2015 poll indicates.
- Most U.S. retailers (87.3%) encourage visitors to subscribe to their promotional e-mails on their homepages, according to a separate survey from Publicare Marketing Services.
Dive Insight:
E-mail may be marketing’s workhorse when it comes to attracting customers and building sales, but most consumers who receive five or more e-mail messages from retailers per week (and who doesn’t?) say that five is too many, according to a November 2015 survey from First Insight.
The vast majority of retailers offer e-mails to keep in touch with potential customers, encouraging sign-up through their websites, social media, and promotions such as sweepstakes. And while it is a proven marketing channel that helps sell across platforms, the torrent of messages is likely making individual e-mails less effective.
E-mail’s substantial retargeting capabilities mean that customers who click through and then abandon the shopping journey may receive multiple e-mails from a single retailer in a single day. While e-mail can be ignored more easily than a pop-up or a text message, such redundancies can make consumers feel hounded—and hurt brands.
