Almost Half Of All Retail Marketing Emails Opened On Mobile Devices

By Christine Kern, contributing writer

Percentage up almost 15 percent from Q1/Q2 2013

A study by mobile marketing firm Knotice has found that 43.2 percent of all retail marketing e-mails were opened on mobile devices in Q3/Q4 2013, an increase of 13.9 percent in Q1/Q2 of the same year.

The Knotice Mobile Email Opens Report provides an overview of 2013, and concluded that in the second half of 2013, 48 percent of all emails were opened on a mobile device. 

The study also demonstrates that today more than ever, a strong mobile approach across channels is essential, particularly when it comes to email. Retailers should optimize their campaigns for mobiles to best capitalize on the opportunities. 

Data and insights derived from email engagement can be extremely valuable for customer-focused marketing. Email campaigns can provide marketers with details such as interests, activity, preferences and location – the proverbial “right message, right place, right moment” – while amplifying the brand message through deeper reach.

Brands that fail to deliver a quality, effective mobile experience do so at their own peril.

Retail is one of the industries that has approached the tipping point, with 49.2 percent of retail marketing emails being opened on mobile devices in Q3/Q4 2013. That is an increase of 13.9 percent from 43.21 percent in Q1/Q2 2013, Knotice says.

Data shows that the increase in mobile open rates continues with consistency, providing further evidence of mobile as a necessary priority for marketers.

Mobile devices were divided into phones and tablets. Email opens occurring on phones continue to outpace those occurring on tablets by narrowing margins of roughly 2 to 1, with phones representing 30.88% of all email opens, and tablets at 17% in the last half of 2013. While phones saw some shift between preferred platforms, the total percentage of opens remains fairly steady with only a slight uptick from 2012 to 2013, while tablet use jumped significantly higher, showing an impressive a 40.5% gain in just 12 months.

The study found that Apple continues to lead the pack representing over 82% of all email opens occurring on an iPhone. Perhaps more surprising is that after the iPhone, the iPod Touch* outpaces any other single device. However, the bulk of the other top phones represented are Android devices, which added together represent a meaningful number.

One of the lessons of the study is that in today’s crowded inbox, timing can be significant. Marketers need to use their data to establish the best hour for their sends, which can be unique to each audience or segment. Explore your own data, and test send times against engagement to confirm preferences of each unique audience or individual you target. Once a clear view of the customer is established based on data, it is then possible for marketers to the refine details of message, delivery and design to promote stronger engagement.

The Mobile Email Opens Report explores the first half of 2013 (Q1/Q2), the second half of 2013 Q3/Q4), and the year as a whole. The report is based on a composite cross sampling of approximately 500 million emails sent across 11 industry segments in each half of 2013. Any combined 2013 figures are based on a sample of 1 billion emails sent. The report documents not only the rate of email opens occurring on mobile devices in North America with differentiation between mobile phone and tablet activity – it also explores open engagement levels within the hours post-send.