The largest 100 online retailers sent an average 132 promotional email messages to each of their subscribers during 2009––an average 11 emails per month––up 12% from 2008 levels, according to a study from Smith-Harmon.
During the first three quarters of the year, retailers sent on average 10.2 emails per month to subscribers, but during the fourth quarter that figure reached 13.2.
Below, additional findings from the Retail Email Year-End Trends for 2009 report.
In December, retailers sent out on average 15.4 emails to their subscribers, up from 14.6 in the previous year.
On a monthly basis, the biggest year-over-year gains came in June, July, August, and November:
The increase in November can be attributed to Cyber Monday's falling on November 30 as well as retail marketers' putting more emphasis on Black Friday.
The gains during the summer months can be partially attributed to an increased focus on back-to-school messaging.
"Retailers have been increasing contact frequency for several years running," said Ed Henrich, vice-president of professional services at Responsys. "Sooner or later it will flatten out.... I think 2010 is when we will finally start to see segmentation and analytics start to reduce contact frequency. In the long run, smart and respectful marketers win."
Retail Email Day of the Week Popularity
Last year retailers sent out most of their emails on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. However, Sunday campaigns grew in popularity during the year: 27% reported sending at least one promotional email on Sunday, up 6 percentage points from the 21% reported in 2008, an increase likely due to retailers' attempt to be first in consumers' inboxes on Monday mornings.
Likewise, Fridays increased in popularity during the year––42% reported sending at least one promotional email, up 6 points from 36% in 2008––likely due to increased messaging around in-store weekend promotions, and a good indicator that more retailers recognize the ability of email to drive store traffic.
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Retail Email Seasonal Popularity
Retailers' email activity largely revolves around holidays and other selling seasons. Across the 25 selling seasons tracked by the Retail Email Blog, seasonal messaging increased on average 25% in 2009. (Because emails can contain multiple messages, this does not correlate to any increase in email volume.)
In general, retailers maximize the December holiday season, and this year that trend increased: Christmas/Holidays garnered the most attention in retailer email activity and recorded a 26.1% increase in popularity from the previous year. Black Monday––ranked No. 9–– grew 115% in popularity year-over-year, followed by Cyber Monday, ranked No. 14, which grew 70%.
About the data: Published by Smith-Harmon, the digital marketing services division of Responsys, the findings in this report are based on data collected by the Retail Email Blog, which tracks the email marketing campaigns of more than 100 of the top online retailers, as identified by Internet Retailers' Top 500 Guide.
