Email Communications’ continued influence across Multiple Channels.

Epsilon announced findings from the company’s latest consumer research, conducted with GfK Custom Research North America, into consumers’ experience with and attitudes toward email, email marketing, spam and inbox security.

The survey of more than 400 email users who access their accounts from home revealed generally high satisfaction with email and mailbox providers, as well as high responsiveness to email communication efforts across multiple channels. Additionally, the data indicate that email campaigns exert a powerful influence over other marketing channels’ performance.

Among the survey’s findings:

-84% of respondents report having clicked-through from relevant email offers

-73% of respondents report having made an online purchase as the result of receiving a relevant email offer

-86% of respondents report having made an in-store purchase as the result of receiving a relevant email offer

-51% of respondents report having clicked “forward to a friend” links in marketing email, but 38% have never seen these links

-78% of respondents report having added trusted email marketers to their address books, even as 57% report that marketers don’t ask to be added

“Consumers are attesting to the power of email 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. “Email 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% 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% say they use it), and spam complaint mechanisms (30% say they use these, while two-thirds of them equate reporting spam with unsubscribing from marketers’ email programs).

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