Mobile devices not only hinder human interaction and leave users susceptible to data/privacy breaches, but they’re also the culprit behind declining click rates and rising open rates, according to a recent report.
The “Q3 2014 North America Email Trends and Benchmarks” report from Epsilon shows that open rates are up 6.5% over Q3 2013 while click rates took a modest 0.5% hit, both of which are likely due to the increase in mobile usage.
“As consumers rely more heavily on mobile devices and engage frequently with email in this format, we are continuing to see open rates increase coupled with a decline in click rates,” says Judy Loschen, VP of digital analytics at Epsilon. “Mobile devices make it easy for consumers to read their messages on-the-go, yet they’re less likely to click and purchase due to the mobile experience. This requires marketers to get smarter and more targeted with their communications and their digital strategy.”
The report also analyzes performance trends by industry and message type—in this case, business as usual trends (BAU)—compiled from 8.7 billion emails across approximately 140 clients. Some highlights include:
- Open rates increased slightly from 30.8% in Q2 2014 to 31.5% in Q3; they’re now up 6.5% over Q3 2013.
- Click rates declined modestly from 4.5% in Q3 2013 to 4% Q3 2014.
- Non-bounce rates remained steady at 96%.
Findings from Epsilon’s triggered email metrics—compiled from approximately 340 million triggered emails across multiple industries—include:
- Triggered messages accounted for 3.9% of total email volume.
- Non-bounce rates were only 2.8% lower than BAU.
- Triggered open rates were 76.7% higher than BAU in Q3 2014, an uptick over the Q3 mark of 68.6% over BAU.
- Triggered click rates were 151.9% higher than BAU, which is slightly lower than the 156.1% higher in Q3 2013.
“With triggered messages outperforming business-as-usual messages across a variety of key metrics,” says Loschen, “it’s important for marketers to leverage insights to deliver relevant messaging to the individual and drive brand and business results.”
