Experian CheetahMail Research Finds Almost Half of Transactions Occur Within One Day of the Email Receipt

NEW YORK, June 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Experian Marketing Services, a global marketing leader and provider of email marketing and customer intelligence technologies, today announced the release of new research from its email marketing technology, Experian CheetahMail, indicating that almost half (47 percent) of transactions and three-quarters of opens and clicks occur within one day of the email receipt. Findings from the study specify customer response time variances by industry and offer, confirming the volatility in customer preferences and instantaneous nature of the email channel today.

The research was conducted in March 2010 by Experian CheetahMail's Strategic Services group, to look at email response times in more depth and to find where variability may occur. Email performance was analyzed for 44,011 mailings from 404 industry-diverse clients in increments of one, three and seven days from send.

Response times for transactions and revenue were found to vary by industry. The research data showed that companies in the Business Products and Services vertical tend to have the quickest customer response, with 52 percent of transactions and 79 percent of revenue received in the first day. In comparison to all other industries, Travel was the slowest with only 13 percent of transactions and 11 percent of revenue occurring on day one.

Experian CheetahMail's research also finds that transactions and revenue response times can significantly vary by mailing type and subject line content. Using time-limited offers in subject lines shows the quickest response time of all, with 59 percent of transactions in day one, while coupons demonstrate much slower response, with only 36 percent of transactions the first day. Abandoned-cart emails generate quick transaction responses with 52 percent received on day one, while also generating higher revenue per email in the long term. Welcome email recipients appear to require more time to make purchases, with only 33 percent of transactions occurring the first day.

"Being able to anticipate customer response time can help businesses optimize everything from forecasting and budget planning to timing the launch of cross-channel promotions and sales," said Rachel Bergman, general manager and SVP, Experian CheetahMail. "This type of insight is invaluable to progressive marketers looking to strengthen their campaign strategies for increased ROI and deeper customer engagement. We are pleased to offer our clients custom analysis of such research, across all industries and catered to their individual business goals."

About Experian CheetahMail

Experian® CheetahMail® is the trusted service provider of email marketing and customer intelligence technologies for top enterprises worldwide. With the industry's largest client services teams, feature-rich email technology and a broad range of data management options, Experian CheetahMail enables clients to build data-driven, relevant relationships with their customers. Servicing the world's most recognizable brands, Experian CheetahMail's globally diverse client base includes 1800Flowers, Barclays, Borders Books, Discovery Communications, KLM, Neiman Marcus and Wyndham Hotels. Experian CheetahMail, a business unit of Experian (LSE: EXPN), was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in New York City, with offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, Dublin, Amsterdam, Paris, Barcelona, Sydney, Auckland, Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing and Melbourne. For more information, please visit http://www.cheetahmail.com or email [email protected].

About Experian Marketing Services

Experian Marketing Services delivers best-in-breed data, analytics and platforms into multiple regions around the globe. It is focused on helping marketers more effectively target and engage their best customers through email, digital advertising, customer data management, customer and competitive insight, data enrichment and list rental, modeling and analytics, and strategic consulting. Through these capabilities, Experian Marketing Services enables organizations to encourage brand advocacy, create measurable return on investment and significantly improve the lifetime value of their customers.

About Experian

Experian is the leading global information services company, providing data and analytical tools to clients in more than 90 countries. The company helps businesses to manage credit risk, prevent fraud, target marketing offers and automate decision making. Experian also helps individuals to check their credit report and credit score and protect against identity theft.

Experian plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. Total revenue for the year ended March 31, 2010, was $3.9 billion. Experian employs approximately 15,000 people in 40 countries and has its corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with operational headquarters in Nottingham, UK; Costa Mesa, California; and Sao Paulo, Brazil.

For more information, visit http://www.experianplc.com.

© 2010 Experian Information Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.

Experian and the Experian marks used herein are service marks or registered trademarks of Experian Information Solutions, Inc.

Other product and company names mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE Experian CheetahMail