Magnetic and Retail TouchPoints Data Identify Why Email Marketing Falls Short in State of Email Report, "Inbox Love"

NEW YORK, Jan. 13, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Marketing technology company Magnetic, in partnership with Retail TouchPoints, today released Inbox Love, a research report on the state of email personalization for retailers and consumers. Findings pinpoint marketers' underutilization of personalized and triggered emails to customers as a major reason why email marketing is falling short of consumers' expectations. Only 5% of consumers cite nearly all retail emails as relevant, timely and compelling; and one in four say they are rarely ever relevant.

Based on a survey of 200 consumers from the U.S. and Canada, as well as 100 retail executives, the study found that despite an increasing demand from consumers to align their personal behaviors and preferences with the email marketing messages they receive, only 38% of retail respondents say they use customer data to create dynamic email content. Even fewer retailers (34%) are using data to optimize send frequency and/or time, despite their importance in the engagement equation; a mere 17% still don't utilize data at all to personalize marketing emails.

"Email is still the most powerful digital marketing tool available," says Jason Shriver, SVP of Client Success at Magnetic. "The brands that are using data-driven personalization approaches are seeing benefits in terms of sales and ultimately changing the email marketing game for retailers. Customers do notice the shift and expect the same of all emails that hit their inbox."

Key findings from Inbox Love show:

• More than one-third of consumers aren't opening your emails: Lack of personalization may be resulting in less engagement through email – 50% of consumers receive nine or more emails per week from retailers, yet 37% don't open any of them. The top emails consumers cite as enticing are those with price drops for products browsed (53%) and brands/products that align with personal style and preferences (34%).
• Sub-par data collection leads to missed personalization opportunities: Only two-thirds of retailers capture purchase order history (68%) and website engagements (64%). Far fewer (26%) capture data about shopping affinities (e.g., price sensitivity, brand preferences, purchase frequency).
• Triggered emails are still in the early stages of adoption: Only 17% of retailers send emails based on a change in product catalog, 37% send triggered emails based on a specific behavior, 46% include product recommendations and 22% have yet to use triggered emails. Only 34% of retailers said they have been sending reactive, triggered emails for two years or more.
• Mobile is the preferred touch point for reading email, but not converting: Nearly all (94%) of consumers open/read email on smartphones, but only 3% will buy on their phone. The majority (71%) of consumers prefer to check-out on their desktop/laptop.

While the report shows a need to give the email channel some "love," there are positive signs that marketers do intend to make changes over the next 12-24 months. Nearly 70% plan to use data to better personalize email content, and more than half plan to personalize subject lines and scale email marketing through improved automation. As an example, 45% of marketers plan to roll out triggered emails based on specific behaviors and activities.

"Our research shows that while there's no one secret formula for sending the perfect email, utilizing data and personalization effectively can increase the likelihood of standing out in a crowded space," says Andrew Gaffney, Editorial Director of Retail TouchPoints. "Brands that effectively utilize personalization capabilities have the potential to realize better engagement and increases in conversion rates."

In addition to releasing Inbox Love, Magnetic has created the Email Maturity Curve, an infographic assessment tool that allows marketers to assess their current state of email marketing efforts and uncover ways in which they can adopt more sophisticated strategies.

To view the full report and see where you fall on the Magnetic Email Maturity Curve, download the study, Inbox Love: Investigating the State of Triggered Emails & Personalization for Retailers and Consumers.

About Magnetic

Magnetic is a technology company with a marketing platform for enterprises, brands and agencies. Our ad, email and site solutions help marketers find, keep and bring back customers. These solutions are powered by our unique data including purchase intent data from more than 450,000 partner sites, shopping profiles of over 250 million individuals, and behavioral insights across a billion active devices.

For more information, visit magnetic.com.

About Retail TouchPoints

Retail TouchPoints is an online publishing network for retail executives, with content focused on optimizing the customer experience across all channels. The Retail TouchPoints network is comprised of a weekly newsletter, special reports, web seminars, exclusive benchmark research, an insightful editorial blog, and a content-rich web site featuring daily news updates and multi-media interviews at www.retailtouchpoints.com. The Retail TouchPoints team also interacts with social media communities via Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

SOURCE Magnetic

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