Consumers say they are most influenced to make purchases from marketing emails by sales/discounts and brand reputation, according to recent research from Yes Lifecycle Marketing.

The report was based on data from a survey conducted in 2017 of 1,004 consumers who have received a marketing email in the past year. The respondent group was divided evenly among Centennials (age 18-21), Millennials (22-37), Gen Xers (38-52), and Baby Boomers (53-71).

Some 92% of consumers say sales/discounts are an important factor that they take into account when deciding whether to purchase from a marketing email; brand reputation ranks second (90% cite it as an important factor), followed by ease of transaction (88%), and easy online/mobile purchasing (74%).

Centennials and Millennials are more likely to be influenced by personalized content and easy online/mobile purchasing than are Generation Xers and Baby Boomers.

Consumers across all generations say they are more likely to check their inboxes for marketing emails when they feel loyal to a brand, expect to receive recommended products, and know that the transaction process will be relatively easy.

Centennials value recommended products more, and are influenced by brand loyalty less, than are older generations.

More than one-third of consumers (36%) say have opened a separate email account just for brand communications. This behavior is much more common with Millennials (58% have at least one additional account for marketing emails) than with Baby Boomers (26%).

Consumers with marketing-only email accounts check their inboxes for marketing messages more frequently than consumers who have only a single personal email address.

About the research: The report was based on data from a survey conducted in 2017 of 1,004 consumers who have received a marketing email in the past year. The respondent group was divided evenly among Centennials (age 18-21), Millennials (22-37), Gen Xers (38-52), and Baby Boomers (53-71).