'Net Features : experian

Email Volume Up 11%; What About Open Rates?

Pete Prestipino — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 14:30:00 GMT

The overall volume of email increased over 11 percent in the first quarter of 2013 (year-over-year from Q1 2012) according to a new benchmarking report released from Experian Marketing Services.

According to Experian, multichannel retailers had the highest gain in volume, with 70 percent of brands increasing their mailings in the first quarter. The report also revealed that unique open rates increased 9.7 percent year-over-year as well in the first quarter of this year.

E-RECEIPTS IN FOCUS
Experian indicated that a new trend emerged in 2012 in e-receipts, a form of transaction-based email now commonly used by brick-and-mortar retailers.

Experian examined 12 brands that deployed e-receipt emails in 2012 and found that while unique opens were nearly double that of bulk email (likely because they are triggered at a customer's request), unique click rates were actually lower as there tend to be fewer calls to action (sounds like an opportunity to me).

What's most interesting is the bounce rate of e-receipts was over seven times higher compared to bulk email - likely because of the tendency of consumers not to provide their real email address when checking out at a brick-and-mortar retailer.

SUBJECT LINE "GIFT IDEAS"
Looking for a good idea to boost your open and click rates? Experian noted that the use of "Gift Ideas" in the subject line had 18 percent higher unique click rates and forty percent higher transaction rates than other emails on Father's Day. The phrase also performed well during the Christmas season, with 24 percent higher transaction rates and revenue per email than other holiday mailings for beauty, flowers and gift brands.

Revenue Per Email Increases 30 Percent

Pete Prestipino — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 16:59:00 GMT

Digital enterprises aren't just sending more email, they are generating more revenue from it according to Experian Marketing Services' latest email benchmark report.

Experian found that revenue per email increase 8 percent in Q4 2012 compared with Q4 2011 (from 13 cents to 14 cents) and was 30 percent higher than in Q3 2012 (from 11 cents per email to 14 cents). There are clearly some seasonal trends (e.g. Two-thirds of travel brands increased mailings in Q4 2012), but based on the total year-over-year numbers, email seems to be holding its own as a channel to drive conversions.

“Overall email volume increased in Q4 and unique open rates increased for the third straight quarter, as more than 56 percent of brands had statistically significant increases in transaction rates for Q4 2012, with Multichannel retailers seeing the largest increase along with Consumer Products,” said Peter DeNunzio, general manager, Experian Marketing Services CheetahMail.

One of the reasons for the increased revenue could likely be speed of response. Analyzing data from 2010 to 2012, Experian's study found a five to six percent increase in the percentage of both open and clicks received in one day from send. The reason of course is likely mobile; the usage of which has more than doubled in the same time frame.

“One trend for email marketers to watch is the speed of response time among their customers, especially when it comes to email viewed via mobile devices. Marketers operate in a time and place where it’s more important than ever to continually optimize their marketing campaigns with some sort of testing procedures, especially given the amount of data available today.”

Other interesting findings from the report include:

• The email volume among different industries shows that travel emails reported the largest increase with 21.4 percent.

• All verticals had some gains in volume in Q4 compared with Q3 2012. Multichannel retailers and consumer products and services verticals led the way with increases of more than 30 percent in Q4 compared with Q3.

• In Q4 2012, total and unique open rates were above the Q4 2011 rates, while click rates matched those seen in 2011.

• Transaction rates were the same as Q4 2011, while revenue per mail and average order rose by 8 percent and 12 percent, respectively.

Retail Pinterest Interest & Email

Administrator — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 20:00:00 GMT

Retailers are flat-out fascinated by the promise of Pinterest and tech companies are frantically rushing to push out functionality within their software systems to meet the incredible demand.

Email service provider CheetahMail for example, part of Experian Marketing Services, began providing some interesting functionality in late 2011 to help retailers make the most of their participation on the popular pin board site and the results, while modest by some accounts, definitely warrant some attention. Perhaps even some investment.

CheetahMail’s Pinterest feature essentially allows brands to include “Pin It” functionality within promotional emails. Consumers can directly pin products they encounter within the email, sharing with their friends, fans, and followers immediately at Pinterest. You've likely seen similar functionality on the Web, but within email it is not a standard practice... at least not yet.

Home furnishings retailer Ballard Designs teamed up with CheetahMail to launch a Customer Spring Favorites promotional email. The email included six products with “Pin It” icons and received a 2.8 percent increase in click-to-open rates, a 15 percent increase in followers in the first week of deployment and experienced a 33 percent increase in pinboard activity.

“We recognized the viral value of Pinterest early and recommended the ‘Pin It’ functionality to clients to help with customer engagement,” said Yara Lutz, vice president of Client Services at Experian CheetahMail. “The emails with the ‘Pin-It’ functionality have consistently delivered increased click-to-open rates and helped our clients, such as Ballard Designs, expand their presence on this valuable social networking site.”

Website Magazine Hot Tip: Send a Welcome E-mail

Mike Phillips — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 14:26:00 GMT

These days, consumers are bombarded with requests to sign up for e-mail newsletters; handing over their e-mail addresses and risking future annoyances. Want to test out our new product? Enter your e-mail address. Want to leave a comment on a blog? Enter your e-mail address. So, it's important for consumers to know that they made the right decision when signing up for your website or newsletter. That means sending a "welcome" e-mail.

There are added benefits, for website owners. Research from Experian Marketing Services indicates that welcome e-mails have transaction rates nine times higher than bulk e-mails. Welcome e-mails also generate four times the open rates as bulk mailings, and five times the click rates, according to Experian.

Not only is a welcome e-mail an excellent way to reassure consumers, establish trust and lay the foundation for relationships but, apparently, also to increase clicks and facilitate purchases. So, the next time someone signs up for your site or services, send a welcome e-mail. And, consider some the below elements to include:

A "safety" message. Your information is safe with us, we will not spam, sell your information, etc.
An offer. We're so glad you signed up - here's a little something for you in return. This might be a percentage off a first purchase, free or discounted shipping, etc.
Social links. Here are some other ways you can connect with us. (Experian's study showed 6% higher click rates in welcome e-mails with social links than those without.)
Open communication. Please feel welcome to share your feedback, offer suggestions or reach out for anything you might need. (Provide an e-mail address and, again, direct them to your social media channels.)

Holiday Marketer Report Calls for Merchant Mobilization

Linc Wonham — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 13:00:00 GMT

The 2010 Holiday Marketer Report has been released by Experian, which is predicting mobile and social platforms to have their biggest impact yet on holiday sales. Experian also forecasts a modest growth of between 1 and 2 percent in consumer spending this year, positive news when you consider that spending has been on a decline the past two holiday seasons.

Experian’s research shows that mobile purchases have grown to 13 percent of e-commerce sales since 2009, setting the stage for the biggest mobile holiday shopping season to date. The company also found that about 3 percent of traffic to online retailing hubs comes directly from social networks where consumers are searching for product information and user reviews. Twenty-six percent of holiday shoppers will go online in search of discounts this season, the study shows, and 17 percent of consumers use the Internet as their only means of product research.

Meanwhile, comScore’s Q2 2010 U.S. Retail E-Commerce Report shows encouraging year-to-year growth in both the first (10%) and second (9%) quarters of the year. The next issue of Website Magazine includes a feature article on prepping your e-commerce business for the 2010 holidays, so sign up now to learn how best to take advantage of the new opportunities in mobile and social commerce.

Experian Launches Business Info Widget

Pete Prestipino — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:36:00 GMT

Information services company Experian (yes, that Experian) announced the launch of a widget that includes business information from the company's BizSource database. Designed for directory and local search websites, the embeddable GUI displays business information in real time. The information that is included is the same that appears in Experian's BizCheck reports, which offer a summary of business information and includes a simple credit rating system. Not only does the widget display facts about the company including years in business and address history, but also important information such as potential problem areas like lines, judgments or bankruptcies.

With a simple mouse-over or click, consumers are shown a snapshot of a specific product, item or service-provider of interest that may include financial background, professional product reviews, possible judgments, as well as the swirl of user-generated comments and ratings as provided in other JS-Kit web services. The exact content will depend on the object itself. For example, the info on a plumbing contractor might contain financial background, bond and judgments information from Experian, while a stereo or car might show a snapshot of J.D. Power's product report for that item.

"This groundbreaking tool is the first of its kind to link Web searching to a major business database, like BizSource, in real time," said Alan Edgett, director of Strategy and Innovation for Experian's Business Information Services. "By leveraging this technology, we are able to provide our valuable business information to the general public at no cost, enabling them to conduct more effective Web searches."