Retailers must now add inbox clutter to their list of challenges in driving revenue, on-demand provider of email marketing and marketing automation Silverpop found in a recent study.
The research, which was used to uncover the tactics retailers needed to engage their customers, reviewed the email marketing programs of top retailers in Australia, Amercia and the United Kingdom.
Among the findings, Silverpop uncovered that in the UK nearly half (46 per cent) retailers reviewed allowed recipients to specify the types of emails they want to receive by offering choices during the opt-in process. In Australia and America only one-third of retailers offered subscribers options.
However, American retailers were more likely to appeal to subscribers' quest to find the best deals. Nearly nine out of 10 (87 per cent) of the US top 500 retailers included sales and special offers in their marketing emails. But only 58 per cent of UK retailers and 56 per cent of retailers in Australia distributed emails offering discounts.
"A crowded inbox can be a noisy place, so retailers need to keep their ears closely tuned in to what their subscribers are telling them about the types of messages they want to receive and when," Jeff Clark, managing director for Engage Digital, Silverpop’s partner in Australia and New Zealand, said.
"By carefully listening and tailoring their messages, especially incentives and special offers, to each individual's specific interests, savvy marketers will ensure their messages rise above the growing din-becoming more than just welcomed, but actually helpful as online shoppers carefully consider purchase decisions."
Email frequency is another challenge for many marketers. It can be difficult to determine how many emails are too many or - as the Silverpop study found - not enough. The majority of American retailers distributed five to 10 messages during a 30-day period, while most retailers in the U.K. and Australia sent between one and four.
"By allowing recipients to make simple changes such as decreasing the frequency of emails, reconsidering the specific lists they want to subscribe to, or even just changing their email address, marketers can potentially save lists from shrinking unnecessarily and can even strengthen subscriber relationships in the process," Clark said.
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