Return Path Email Intelligence Report Q4 2012 Elections, eCommerce and Engagement
Engaging email subscribers got harder in Q4-2012. Overall they read less of the email that made it to their inboxes, even as their mailbox providers kept more out. That didn’t stop some email marketers from maintaining or even improving their programs, getting more of their messages read, more delivered to the inbox, and reinforcing their reputations as responsible, intelligent senders. The high performers shared a number of commonalities: They clustered in the sectors that performed well in Q4-2011 (particularly finance and real estate); they tend to be big brands; they’ve cultivated consumer trust and strong sender reputations. But even as the top email marketers continue to test and optimize, and pad their leads, new factors are shifting the email ecosystem. More messages were opened on mobile devices than on any other platform during this quarter, and no amount of subscriber goodwill can offset a bad mobile email experience.
Marketers may also have to navigate another big challenge to win subscribers’ hearts and minds in 2013: Email security is gaining awareness, especially as DMARC adoption builds momentum. The (very) few big brands that have embraced DMARC in their efforts to fight fraud happen to be among the most influential in the world. Soon subscriber engagement may partly depend on whether senders can show that they’re at least following the leaders when it comes to protecting consumers from phishing and other email abuse.
George Bilbrey Co-founder, President Return Path
Methodology Return Path conducted this study by monitoring data from its Email Intelligence Suite for campaigns sent between October 1, 2012 and December 31, 2012. This Study tracks the inbox, blocking and filtering rates for over 400,000 campaigns that used our Inbox Monitor and Email Client Monitor, as well as susbcriber panel data from our Inbox Insight product. Return Path reviewed over 241 ISPs in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Asia Pacific territories. Percentages may not total 100 due to rounding.
The Email Intelligence Report Q4 2012
Hail to the Marketer-in-Chief Call it the ultimate email campaign: The presidential election may have been decided in the inbox, where specialist agency Blue State Digital helped raise the bulk of President Obama’s $690 million in public contributions. Among a host of email marketing revelations about everything from segmentation strategies to frequency testing, the campaign yielded one of the richest testbeds ever created for subject lines. Obama outperformed Romney in every key performance indicator thanks to testing, analytics, and more testing.
Read more on email and the presidential race:
How Obama Compared to Romney in Key Categories
Read Rate
+9%
Deleted/Unread
-7%
Spam Folder
-47%
“This is Spam!”
-150%
Infographic: The Race for the Inbox See Who Wins the Subject Line Debate
The Email Intelligence Report Q4 2012
Finance and Business Senders Buck Declining Engagement Trends in Q4-2012 In Q4-2011 email from social networking senders was among the least-read, with an average read rate Consumers read less of the email they of 12%; that rate plunged by nearly half, to 6.3% last quarter. Other sectors whose read rates dropped received in Q4-2012. Average read rates sharply included jobs, down 30%, with less than 10% of messages read; and news providers, down 39% to a read rate of 9%. worldwide—based on mailbox providers’ determination of whether messages are Declining read rates show subscriber indifference, and read—were less than 17%. That’s a slight possibly consumer fatigue brought on by an email-heavy decline from Q4-2011, but some industry election season and holiday mailing volumes. sectors are bucking the trend, getting more of their messages read and improving year- Some messages never get the chance to be ignored, flagged by ISPs as spam and shunted into bulk folders instead of subscribers’ inboxes. Just as low read rates suggest subscribers’ disinterest, high over-year: ISP spam folder rates suggest mailbox providers’ suspicion. While they often align, these indicators Senders in the finance sector, including banks, brokerages, and insurers, again achieved the highest read rates in Q4-2012 with 27.5%—a 10% increase over Q4-2011. The business sector, including b-to-b and business services senders, saw 24.3% of all email read in the quarter, a dramatic lift over the previous Q4’s 17%. Meanwhile real estate senders maintained a relatively high 20% read rate. On the other hand senders from several large consumer sectors struggled to get their messages read. Only 15.2% of shopping messages (from retailers and e-commerce merchants) were read in Q4-2012, down from 17% a year earlier. Travel senders’ read rates dipped, too, to 14.7% vs. 16% in Q4-2011. But these declines were minor compared to those sectors showing the steepest drops in 2012 read rates.
sometimes move independently. For example, social networks’ ISP-marked spam rates dipped to 8.5% in Q4-2012 vs. 10% a year earlier, so subscribers saw more of these senders’ mail, possibly explaining why they left more of it unread. Travel senders’ spam folder rates decreased, too, to 3.7%—a decline of 8% over Q4-2011, and the same percentage by which the sector’s read rates declined; again, subscribers got more but ignored more mail from these companies. Financial and business senders didn’t follow this pattern, though: Even as their spam rates dropped in Q4-2012 allowing a higher percentage of this kind of mail into their inboxes, subscribers read more of what they received from these companies. Conversely education senders, whose mail volumes surged in 2012, saw their spam folder rates double to more than 18% while subscribers ignored a higher percentage of those messages that reached the inbox.
The Email Intelligence Report Q4 2012
Finance and Business Senders Buck Declining Engagement Trends in Q4-2012 2011 ISPMarked Spam
2012 ISPMarked Spam
27.5%
6%
4.1%
17%
24.3%
10%
4.4%
ABOVE AVERAGE
20%
20.1%
3%
3.5%
ABOVE AVERAGE
AVERAGE
17%
15.2%
3%
3.3%
Travel
ABOVE AVERAGE
AVERAGE
16%
14.7%
4%
3.7%
Education
ABOVE AVERAGE
AVERAGE
14%
11.0%
9%
18.3%
AVERAGE
BELOW AVERAGE
12%
10.1%
4%
8.5%
Jobs
ABOVE AVERAGE
BELOW AVERAGE
14%
9.8%
8%
6.8%
Home
ABOVE AVERAGE
BELOW AVERAGE
12%
8.0%
21%
0.3%
News
ABOVE AVERAGE
BELOW AVERAGE
13%
7.9%
9%
13.2%
AVERAGE
BELOW AVERAGE
12%
6.3%
10%
8.5%
2011 Benchmark
2012 Benchmark
Finance
EXCELLENT
EXCELLENT
25%
Business
ABOVE AVERAGE
ABOVE AVERAGE
Real Estate
ABOVE AVERAGE
Shopping
Entertainment
Social Networking
2011 Read 2012 Read
Note: Categories represent a selection of all senders, not the complete sending population
The Email Intelligence Report Q4 2012
The Biggest Internet Retailers Achieved the Best Engagement in Q4-2012 High email volumes didn’t stop the top 100 internet retailers from achieving high inbox placement rates, high read rates, and relatively low spam folder rates (ISP-reported spam) in Q4-2012. Although 13% of messages sent by computers/electronics companies failed to reach subscribers’ inboxes, as did 9% of mass merchants’ messages, most big online merchants earned far better inbox placement. Together these merchants significantly outperformed the broad average of all North American senders in Q4-2012 (82%). Compared to the top 100 internet retailers, the average sender lost three times more email volume to message blocking and spam folders.
Inbox Rate
Spam Rate
Read Rate
Average Sender Score
Toys / Hobbies
95% 84% 98% 87% 99% 95% 98% 96% 97% 99% 91% 96% 97% 99% 96%
5% 16% 2% 13% 1% 5% 2% 4% 3% 1% 9% 4% 3% 1% 4%
27% 7% 18% 28% 32% 24% 24% 24% 24% 12% 32% 26% 28% 34% 25%
87 93 84 83 77 87 86 85 64 67 86 78 90 81 86
Grand Total
94%
6%
27%
84
Apparel / Accessories Automotive Parts Books / Music / Videos Computers / Electronics
The top merchants got more of their email into subscribers’ inboxes, but they also got stronger engagement from the messages that made it through. Subscribers read 27% of the messages they received from the top 100 retailers in Q4-2012. And mail from those retailers generated a combined spam folder rate of 6%. The biggest brands may have inherent advantages in the race to win the hearts and minds of email subscribers. They can dedicate more resources than others to analysis and program development. They’re accustomed to large, complex data sets and organizationally committed to extracting insight from them. They enjoy brand recognition and a measure of widespread consumer trust that goes with it. But these advantages can’t fully account for the email engagement disparity between these companies and their smaller competitors. As a group, they simply connect better than others with their subscribers. They may have had a head start, but in Q4-2012 these marketers widened their lead over the rest of the field.
Flowers / Gifts Food / Drug Hardware / Home Health / Beauty Housewares Jewelry Mass Merchant Office Supplies Specialty / Non-apparel Sporting Goods
* The Internet Retailer Top 500, ranked by annual online revenues Check your Sender Score.
The Email Intelligence Report Q4 2012
Subject Line Offer Horse Race: It’s Percent-off by a Nose Offer presentation may be the most tested variable in direct marketing, and subject lines are probably the most tested variable in email marketing. The combination of both—types of offers promoted in email subject lines— might therefore be expected to receive exceptional scrutiny. A clear winner appears to be too much to ask, though. An analysis of all campaigns by the top 100 internet retailers, using read rates to measure subject lines’ effectiveness, reveals two things. First, messages that are clearly marketing in nature are far less likely to be read than others, such as transactional messages. Second, percent-off references (e.g., “10% off your next order”) may barely outstretch dollar-off references (e.g., “$10 off your next order”), combined percentage-/dollar-off references, and free shipping references.
Read Rates of Subject Lines with Offers (by type) 14% - % 13% - Free Shipping 13% - % and $ 12% - $
In Q4-2012 subscribers read 14% of the messages they received promising percentage-based savings, while reading 12% of those promising dollarbased savings. Free shipping and combined savings presentations finished in the middle, further obscuring the differences between these subject lines. To subscribers, these messages’ differences may not have been as important as their similarities. While they read 27% of all email from these retailers, they read only 15% that was readily identified by subject line as marketing or promotional. And while offer types within subject lines failed to significantly separate messages’ chances of being read, brand awareness made a clear difference: Subscribers read just 10% of marketing messages from senders outside the top 100 internet retailers.
The Email Intelligence Report Q4 2012
Mobile Email: Shopping Heads Home for the Holidays Throughout Q4-2012 the top 100 internet retailers saw subscribers opening more of their email on mobile devices, predictably spiking on weekends when more than half of opens came from smartphones and tablets. The mobile email tree topper came on Christmas, when these opens approached 60% of the total. Consumers were home, of course, where they increasingly interact with marketing email. Were they also opening messages on a glut of just-unwrapped iPhones? Meanwhile messages opened on webmail clients represented an ever smaller share, dipping to 20% at the end of the year.
For retailers the takeaway is clear: It’s do-or-die when it comes to a implementing a mobile email strategy. On weekdays and weekends alike more messages are opened on smartphones and tablets than on any other platform, and mobile dominates when consumers aren’t at work.
57% 60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
OCT 2012
NOV 2012
DEC 2012
Read more on mobile email:
Webmail
Desktop
Infographic: Email Mostly Mobile
Mobile
The Email Intelligence Report Q4 2012
Email Security Divides the Top 100 Internet Retailers
DMARC, DKIM, and Key Strength -Top 100 Internet Retailers
No = 77
As phishing spreads from financial brands into retailers’ mailstreams— increasingly using phony receipts or shipping notifications to capture personal information and install malware—the biggest merchants (and their customers) are the most popular targets. Marketers can protect themselves by authenticating their email using SPF and DKIM, and by using the DMARC standard to block or quarantine messages that fail authentication. That doesn’t necessarily mean they do.
Yes = 23
2048 = 2
512 = 1 768 = 4
Those that do authenticate frequently fall short of the recommended 1024-bit keys, leaving their email vulnerable to cracking. Meanwhile just three of the 100 use DMARC—but they represent some elite and highly influential brands: Amazon, Apple, and Netflix.
Among the top 100 internet retailers, most do not consistently authenticate their email across all of their domains, exposing them to phishing and spoofing attacks.
1024 = 16 2048 - Very Strong 1024 - Strong 768 - Weak
Yes - 3%
512 - Very Weak
Read more on authentication and DMARC:
DMARC Record Published?
Email Authentication Guide Demystifying SPF and DKIM DMARC Google is Failing Your Perfectly Good DKIM Key (And Why That’s a Good Thing) DKIM Signature and Key Strength Reflector
Only three brands of the Top 100 Internet Retailers are using DMARC, the new standard to protect email, consumers and brands from phishing, as well as gather intelligence on domain spoofing. No - 97%
The Email Intelligence Report Q4 2012
Inbox Placement by Region
13%
Inbox Placement Benchmark, Q4 2012
13%
18%
5%
3%
10% North America
Latin America
28%
72%
Europe
29%
Africa
Asia-Pacific
6% 82%
72%
65%
84%
Inbox Spam Missing/Blocked
The Email Intelligence Report Q4 2012
Inbox Placement by Country and Industry North America
Canada Non-Profits Consumer Products
76% 4%
19% -5%
N/A
N/A
N/A
77% 0%
23%
Consumer Services
87% 0%
13%
Financial Services
83% 0%
17%
N/A
N/A
N/A
87% 2%
11%
Gaming Media Retail
77% 1%
22%
Social Media
77% 5%
18%
88% 6%
6%
USA Non-Profits
2%
74% 22% 4%
Consumer Products
97% 1%
2%
Consumer Services
92% 7%
2%
Financial Services
97% 2%
0%
Gaming
96% 0%
3%
Media
86% 8%
7%
Retail
77% 6%
16%
Social Media
81% 8%
11%
Inbox Spam Missing/Blocked YOY Inbox Variance
The Email Intelligence Report Q4 2012
Inbox Placement by Country and Industry Europe
France
86% 3%
11%
0%
United Kingdom Non-Profits
90% 3%
7%
2%
63% 35% 2%
Consumer Products
97% 0%
3%
Consumer Services
93% 3%
4%
Financial Services
90% 1%
9%
Gaming
97% 1%
2%
Non-Profits
Media
87% 4%
9%
Consumer Products
97% 0%
3%
Retail
82% 7%
11%
Consumer Services
97% 2%
1%
Social Media
85% 6%
9%
Financial Services
85% 4%
10%
98% 2%
0%
Germany
Gaming
83% 6%
11% -2%
68% 31% 1%
63% 35% 2%
Media
86% 10% 4%
Consumer Products
97% 0%
3%
Retail
91% 4%
Consumer Services
94% 3%
3%
Social Media
Financial Services
75% 1%
23%
Gaming
97% 1%
2%
Media
90% 4%
6%
Retail
89% 3%
8%
Social Media
86% 5%
9%
Non-Profits
Italy
Non-Profits Consumer Products
77% 1%
22% -1%
58% 39% 3% 95% 3%
82% 10% 8%
69% 5%
26% 7%
N/A
N/A
N/A
Consumer Products
89% 0%
11%
Consumer Services
97% 0%
3%
Financial Services
61% 0%
39%
Non-Profits
Spain
5%
Gaming
N/A
N/A N/A
2%
Media
74% 16% 10%
Consumer Services
86% 5%
10%
Retail
86% 0%
14%
Financial Services
57% 7%
36%
Social Media
85% 0%
15%
Gaming Media
49% 51% 0% 84% 6%
10%
Retail
82% 7%
11%
Social Media
85% 6%
9%
Inbox Spam Missing/Blocked YOY Inbox Variance
The Email Intelligence Report Q4 2012
Inbox Placement by Country and Industry South America
Brazil Non-Profits Consumer Products
67% 17% 16% 17% N/A
N/A
N/A
97% 3%
0%
Consumer Services
42% 5%
53%
Financial Services
82% 4%
14%
Gaming Media
40% 20% 40% 65% 29% 6%
Retail
89% 7%
5%
Social Media
86% 8%
5%
Inbox Spam Missing/Blocked YOY Inbox Variance
The Email Intelligence Report Q4 2012
Inbox Placement by Country and Industry Asia Pacific
Australia Non-Profits
China Non-Profits
54% 13% 32% -30% 58% 39% 3%
Consumer Products
50% 0%
50%
Consumer Services
79% 1%
20%
Financial Services
79% 2%
20%
Gaming
98% 2%
0%
Media
71% 3%
26%
Retail
73% 2%
25%
Social Media
78% 2%
20%
60% 1%
39% -24%
58% 39% 3%
Consumer Products 100% 0%
0%
Consumer Services
83% 1%
17%
Financial Services
98% 2%
0%
Gaming
98% 2%
0%
Media
78% 2%
20%
Retail
75% 1%
24%
Social Media
73% 2%
25%
The Email Intelligence Report Q4 2012
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Return Path is the worldwide leader in email intelligence. We analyze more data about email than anyone else in the world and use that data to power products that ensure that only emails people want and expect reach the inbox. Our industry-leading email intelligence solutions utilize the world’s most comprehensive set of data to maximize the performance and accountability of email, build trust across the entire email ecosystem and protect users from spam and other abuse. We help businesses build better relationships with their customers and improve their email ROI; and we help ISPs and other mailbox providers enhance network performance and drive customer retention. Information about Return Path can be found at:
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The Email Intelligence Report Q4 2012