Global Consumer Email Trends.

According to Epsilon’s Global Consumer Email Study, consumers around the world are using online communication tools and responding to permission-based email (PBE) in varying ways based on their country of origin. The study conducted by ROI Research is based on an April 2009 survey of over 4000 consumers in 13 countries.

Email remains a mainstay communication, proliferating new devices for timing and convenience. The study found that North American (87%) and European (74%) respondents are more likely than their peers in APAC (58%) to use email as their primary online communications tool. As the main channel for communication, instant messaging is notably high in APAC with 28% while text/SMS and social networking remain consistently low across all regions. While most consumers manage one primary inbox for the programs they subscribe to, mobile phones and PDAs are gaining popularity for time-sensitive alerts such as news, weather and finance/stock information.

Email is also replacing other channels of communication. Over one-third of respondents have replaced traditional channels in favor of email for communications from banks (40%), promotional postal mail (38%) and telemarketing (34%) and there is a desire for email to continue to displace offline coupons (14%) and telemarketing (28%).

A permission-based email is an email communication from a marketer to a consumer or business that has subscribed or opted-in to receive email communications from the sender. PBEs are more likely to elicit actions from APAC respondents including clicking on a website, signing up for more information, watching a video clip, clicking on an advertised link or purchasing on- or off-line. APAC also leads in reported usage of a PDA or Smartphone for email with 32%, significantly more than North America (9%) and Europe (7%).

In addition, consumers take a variety of offline actions including visiting a store (49%) and purchasing by phone (25%) or catalog (25%) which reinforces the need for marketers to implement a multi-channel strategy. Six out of ten (59%) APAC consumers report making an offline purchase as a result of email communications, followed by North America (53%) and EMEA (37%).

Another notable difference by region is the compelling feature that leads consumers to open a permission-based email, implying the need for individual targeting, timely/trigger delivery and relevant content. While half of APAC respondents feel that “subject” lines are the most compelling feature, over two-thirds of North American and European respondents select the “from” line. Discount offers, free product offers, familiar brand names and personalization of subject lines increase the likelihood of opening among all respondents.

“In order to reach consumers at the right time with the most appropriate message, it is critical that multichannel marketers understand consumer behavior and properly adjust their message, timing, and overall strategy to ensure success,” according to Andrew Frawley, President, Email and Digital Solutions at Epsilon. “This research also clearly demonstrates that the email channel does not exist in isolation from other online and offline channels. Organizations must integrate these email best practices with communications in other channels to deliver the highest ROI programs.”

Other key findings from the study include:

* Respondents cite security and lack of attractive offers/promotions as the primary reasons why they do not interact with the emails they receive;

* North American respondents are the most likely to unsubscribe; Irrelevant content and frequency are cited as the two most likely reasons for un-subscription;

* About eight in ten North American respondents have added PBE addresses to safe sender lists; overall, more than half of respondents have added PBE addresses to safe sender lists;

* Respondents are most concerned about viruses, identity theft, phishing, and scams; Concerns about phishing and pharming have increased significantly from 2005 to 2009 for US respondents;

“This study is a global guide for email marketers to understand consumer preferences and the complex combination of timing, frequency and content relevancy across a variety of devices. This understanding is the first step to enabling marketers to segment and deliver timely, relevant content to their increasingly-savvy and increasingly-global subscriber base,” said Kevin Mabley, SVP of Strategic Services at Epsilon. “These findings reinforce the need for marketers to speak to consumers in a two-way dialogue, with respect for their stated preferences and recognition of past interactions. Further, what works in Japan may not apply in Canada, thus knowledge of local marketplace trends is crucial and testing each strategy and program will provide confirmation of what’s working.”

For more information at http://www.epsilon.com