Consumers still value email marketing as mobile usage soars

Consumers in the US still prefer to browse content marketing offers via email rather than on social media or other platforms, according to a new report published by digital marketing research enterprise Adobe Digital Insights (ADI).

The new report found that while there is a growing proliferation of IoT devices and an emergence of smart platforms such as Snapchat, email usage is still on the rise, and, perhaps more surprisingly, is being driven by millennials who are accessing content on mobile devices.

The Adobe Email Survey 2016 shows that email usage has increased by 17 per cent during the last 12 months, with consumers aged between 18 and 34 now spending more time than any other age group with their email inboxes. Nine out of ten now rely solely on their smartphones to peruse their emails at home and on the go, and nearly half admit to checking emails when they wake up in bed.

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The “mobile-first world” cited by tech giants such as Google is also impacting the email world, as smartphones are now the primary device for checking emails, overtaking desktop computers for the first time. The number of people using mobile to check their work emails has also soared by a fifth during the last year.

When looking specifically at marketing, 49 per cent said that they prefer to receive emails from brands and businesses via email. The survey also asked consumers about email frequency and found that an overload of messages is the biggest turn-off, followed by poorly written content, incorrect data and poor design. Consumers are less bothered about a lack of video, images or a buy button.

“I think the rise in email consumption has a lot to do with the fact that people are now relying on their smartphones more. Smartphones make email all the more accessible,” ADI senior market analyst Ryan Dietzen said.

He added: “And millennials, especially, can’t resist the smartphone screen telling them something has just come in from a colleague or a friend. For marketers, that means the always-on consumer. There’s not going to be a time when they’re not reachable by email.”