5% of top 100 UK e-retailers do not send newsletters
A recent study of the top 100 e-retailers in the UK revealed that many of the nation’s favourite brands are skipping over some of the basics when it comes to email marketing. Surprisingly, 5% of top UK e-retailers do not currently run an email marketing programme.
Email registration
A desire to extract the maximum amount of information from customers and prospects leads to marketers making common mistakes that risk customers abandoning the sign-up process mid-way. The research from Emailvision, the leader in software as a service (SaaS) for online relationship marketing, showed:
65% of top marketers ask for more than an email address to sign up for a newsletter
14% make customers register in full in order to receive emails
43% of top e-retailers ask customers to enter an email address twice to ensure it is correct
Single versus double opt-in
Applying a double opt-in requirement of clicking a link in a confirmation email leads to a leakage of new subscribers that can be as high as 20%. The best practice is to use single opt-in with a welcome email, so that subscribers know they are subscribed. However, the research revealed:
6% of top brands use a double opt-in process to sign up customers for their newsletter when a single opt-in would do
Position of subscribe button
The bottom right and top right position of a webpage is the optimum place to display a subscribe button, however, the research showed that:
Only 47% of top brands place their subscribe buttons in the optimum positions
Welcome email
Getting to know new customers is something worth doing right. A welcome message is easy to create and automate, and most importantly, it is an opportunity to engage with customers, providing a positive first impression.
Only 31% of top companies send a welcome email to new subscribers
Of those that do send a welcome email, 18% take more than two hours to send it
“Email is thriving. With the ability to send dynamic, targeted, relevant messages, email has the power to drive and deliver a significant portion of a retailers’ revenue. Running online campaigns is not only the best channel for ROI, but it is, quite simply, business critical,” said Joe Smith, VP United Kingdom, Emailvision.
The study was carried out by Emailvision, who analysed the websites and email sign-up processes of the top 100 e-retailers in the UK. Brands included House of Fraser, Carphone Warehouse, Debenhams, John Lewis, British Airways and PC World. The research was carried out in December 2011.