It seems that rumors of email’s demise (or rather, social media’s dominance) have been greatly exaggerated. That is, if we are to believe a new study released by interactive marketing solutions provider ExactTarget.

Two-thirds (66 percent) of online Americans have made a purchase as a result of an email they received, which is nearly twice as many as those who reported purchasing something based on a marketing message delivered either on Facebook (20 percent) or via text messaging (16 percent).

The survey studied 1,481 online consumers to find out just how these shoppers communicate online with brands and friends. The results showed a significant divide among communication preferences with regard to personal and marketing messages.

A whopping 77 percent of the respondents said they would rather get marketing messages in their email, but just 45 percent said they prefer to use that channel for personal communication. On the other hand, only five percent of consumers said they prefer receiving marketing messages on social networking sites.

Email proved itself as the Internet’s continued go-to communications method, with 96 percent of respondents saying they use email at least weekly. Also, 76 percent said that email is preferred for customer service messages.

Although 70 percent of respondents said they use Facebook weekly, just 20 percent use Twitter as frequently. Facebook is also twice as likely to convince teens (ages 15-17) to make a purchase as Twitter, though both pale in comparison to email's ability to drive purchases.