Emails are becoming increasingly active, with the use of animation, scrolling, and video more than doubling from 2012 to 2013, according to a recent report from Experian Marketing Services.

The use of animated GIFs, in particular, has spiked significantly, with 74% of marketers saying they have experimented with including them in emails. Other popular active features include responsive mobile design (33% have used), movable ink (27%), video (26%), and horizontal or multi-directional scroll (26%).

Below, additional insights from the 2014 Digital Marketer: Benchmark and Trend Report, which summarizes key findings from previous Experian studies.

Customer Data and Preferences

• Only 35% of marketers ask customers how often they would like to be emailed.
• 60% of marketers do not give customers the option to select the types of emails they want to receive.
• In 2013, 18% more marketers collected the birth date of customers than in 2012, and 16% more collected ZIP Codes.