While most retailers have experienced various degrees of tumult during this recession, the picture isn't entirely gloomy. A recent survey by Internet Retailer, for instance, shows many online-only businesses have maintained—or are improving—their email marketing conversion rates. Of the 275 retailers surveyed:

• 56.4 percent report their typical sales conversion rate for an email marketing campaign remains about the same as last year.
• 22.8 percent say conversion is up slightly; 3.7 percent say it's up significantly.
• 13.7 percent say conversion is down slightly; 3.3 percent say it's down significantly.

"[The fact that] more than one quarter [26.5 percent] of retailers [improved] on conversion during a severe economic recession may surprise some in the industry," notes Bill Siwicki of Internet Retailer. But he offers a caveat: "[S]ome email marketing experts say customers on email lists are still buying, [but] not as much."

Still, these results demonstrate that email marketing is "a solid tool to drive as much revenue as is possible as consumers tighten their belts," Siwicki says. The survey respondents apparently agree: more than half intend to increase their email programs, and 43.7 percent plan to maintain them at current levels; only 4.7 percent are scaling back.

The Po!nt: Fire up that email campaign! "Even though consumers are spending carefully," says Siwicki, "retail marketers can still count on email marketing to perform."

Source: Internet Retailer. Read the full article here.

→ end article preview
Read the Full Article