Q3 2011 North America Email Trend Results: Open Rates Increase Over Previous Quarter and Year
Click Rates Remain Steady and Volume Increases Compared to Q3 2010
— December 07, 2011 — Epsilon and the Direct Marketing Association's Email Experience Council today released the Q3 2011 North America Email Trends and Benchmarks Results which show a 7.1% increase in open rates from Q2 2011, and a 7.8% increase since Q3 2010. Click rates remained stable at 5.5% and the average volume per client increased from the previous year by 14.9%.
The quarterly analysis is compiled from 5.7 billion emails sent by Epsilon in July, August and September 2011, across multiple industries and approximately 140 participating clients. The analysis combines data from both of Epsilon's proprietary platforms, DREAM and DREAMmail.
Report Highlights:
- Non-bounce rates remained strong quarter over quarter and year over year, at 96.5%.
- Open rates (23.8%) saw a slight increase quarter over quarter (7.1%), as well as an increase over last year (7.8%).
- Click rates (5.5%) increased 0.3 percentage points from Q2 2011. They are in line with this same time last year (5.4%) and have remained steady over the last two years.
- Average volume per client increased over Q3 2010 (14.9%).
"While email marketing performance remains strong, incorporating best practices will ensure an increase in customer engagement and drive desired behaviors," said Judy Loschen, Vice President of Digital Analytics at Aspen Marketing Services, a division of Epsilon. "As email continues to mature as a marketing channel and is often used with other mediums, it's key for marketers to leverage customer data and to dive deeper into testing in order to deliver clear and relevant messaging that drives loyalty, engagement and action."
"A nearly 8% rise in open rates year-to-year, even as volumes go up, is a big deal," says Ali Swerdlow, Director of the Email Experience Council. "Email is a mature channel, so an improvement on that scale indicates better marketer practices for subject lines and preview panes."
For more information and industry-specific benchmarks, the Q3 2011 Email Trends and Benchmarks report is available at www.epsilon.com/pr/Q311emailbenchmarks.