Many shoppers say marketing emails aren't effective on mobile

Dive Brief:

Almost 70% of 1,000 consumers surveyed by email analytics company 250ok and partner Lab42 said they read marketing emails on their smartphones, but about 40% said those emails are not well-designed for their mobile devices, according to the survey results.
The top two issues shoppers wish could be improved were how marketing emails fit on a smartphone screen and the readability of such emails.
Design clarity overall rated as important, as more than one-third of respondents to the survey, conducted in September, said they don't believe marketing emails are well-designed for mobile phones, and 80% said they would be more likely to take action on better-designed messages.

Dive Insight:

The good news is that consumers seem to be paying attention to marketing emails they receive. Another recent study from Yes Marketing suggested a considerable percentage of consumers prefer email communication from retailers over other forms of interaction, including social media.

The bad news is that it appears from the 250ok survey that many marketing email senders haven't thought about how their recipients view their emails. It's possible that companies and the marketing partners they work with may have overlooked email design in favor of making sure their marketing messages are portrayed in exactly the language they want and feel will work.

That's problematic in an era when consumer attention is being directed to an increasing number of screens of different sizes, and especially at a time when smartphone screens are taking on greater importance and utility during the shopping process. Retailers and brands know that consumers are using their smartphones to shop, so the methods they use to promote to and communicate with shoppers should reflect that understanding.

The reality is that design, language, timing, tone and many other factors are all important when retailers and brands are looking to make the right impression by email. Some studies have suggested that up to 20% of marketing inboxes are diverted away from landing in their intended inboxes (another problem for another time), so the marketing emails that reach their intended destinations need to make an impact, preferably that the companies sending them have taken great care and ensured their effectiveness.