Q2 2013 Quarterly Email Benchmark Study

Quarterly Email Benchmark Study

Q2 2013 (April, May, June)

An Experian Marketing Services benchmark study

http://www.experian.com/marketingservices

Q2 2013 Quarterly Email Benchmark Study

Table of contents

Q2 2013 Executive summary ..........................................................................................1

A spotlight on: Email/mobile interactions ..................................................................2

The platforms ..................................................................................................................................2

Unique opens ..................................................................................................................................3

Unique clicks and transactions ...................................................................................................3

Engagement .....................................................................................................................................5

Mobile devices .................................................................................................................................6

Optimize across platforms ...........................................................................................................7

Mobile tablets on the rise..............................................................................................................7

Q2 2013 benchmarks .........................................................................................................8

Year-over-year volume comparison .............................................................................................8

Volume variance YOY Q2 2013 versus Q2 2012 .........................................................................8

Volume variance quarter-to-quarter ...........................................................................................9

Performance analysis .....................................................................................................10

All Industry .....................................................................................................................................10

All Industry quarter-to-quarter ...................................................................................................10

Business Products and Services ..............................................................................................11

Catalogers ......................................................................................................................................11

Consumer Products and Services ............................................................................................12

Media and Entertainment ...........................................................................................................12

Multi-Channel Retailers ..............................................................................................................13

Publishers.......................................................................................................................................14

Travel ...............................................................................................................................................15

Appendix I: Metrics definitions ..................................................................................................16

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Page 1 | An Experian Marketing Services Benchmark Study

Q2 2013 Executive summaryThe following report details the overall email marketing trends for the second quarter of 2013 as well as the key performance indicators (KPIs) that shaped the success of Experian Marketing Services clients‘ email programs over the past two years.

Email volume rose by 17.9% in Q2 2013 compared to Q2 2012.

•Unique open rates were up year-over-year by 7.2%

•Unique click rates declined slightly from 2.5% to 2.3% year-over-year

•Revenue per email was $0.11, just below the $0.12 seen last quarter and last year

This month in the spotlight on section we look at email/mobile interactions:

• It is important to optimize campaign design across multiple platforms and understand the viewing preferences of your subscribers to maximize email response

•The email/mobile relationship:

− Fifty percent (50%) of unique email opens occur on a mobile device

− Transactions from email are most likely to occur on webmail or desktop platforms

− The iPad® is the most popular device used for mobile transactions from email






Page 2 | Quarterly Email Benchmark Study: Q2 2013 — April, May, June

A spotlight on: Email/mobile interactionsFor email marketers, addressing the varying ways subscribers can receive and open emails is crucial to overall campaign success. As smartphone and tablet usage continues to proliferate, we are now seeing many campaigns with the majority of opens occurring on mobile devices. Therefore, understanding the impact of mobile on your email marketing campaigns is a necessity.

To dig deeper into the relationship between mobile and email, we analyzed campaigns that used a Litmus pixel code and the Litmus Email Analytics tool to identify the platforms on which emails are opened, as well as unique click and transaction metrics from Experian Marketing Services.

The study included results from five million openers in response to twenty-nine campaigns sent from seven brands in the past twelve months.

The platformsEmail opens, clicks and transactions vary depending on the platform or platforms on which the open occurred. For this study, we grouped subscribers into five platform categories:

Subscribers who opened only on a desktop, typically through a client such as Outlook

Subscribers who opened via a webmail service only, typically through a desktop with any free service, such as Gmail, AOL Mail or Yahoo! Mail

Subscribers who only opened on a mobile device

Subscribers who opened two or more times, at least one of which was on a mobile device

Subscribers who opened two or more times, at least one was on webmail and at least one was on desktop

Desktop-only

Webmail-only

Mobile-only

Mobile-combo = mobile + webmail

or desktop

Other = webmail + desktop







Unique opensLooking at the average percent of unique opens per platform, we found that fifty percent (50%) of unique opens occurred on a mobile device, while desktop-only and webmail-only each received twenty-three percent (23%).

Unique clicks and transactionsMobile-only also received the highest percentage of unique clicks, but that percentage dropped to forty percent (40%), compared to the fifty percent (50%) we saw with unique opens.

Source: Experian Marketing Services

Mobile-only, 50%

Desktop-only, 23%

Webmail-only, 23%

Mobile-combo,3%

Other, 1%

Half of all unique opens occured on a mobile device


Mobile-only, 40%

Desktop-only, 19%

Webmail-only, 35%

Mobile-combo,6%

Other, 2%

Mobile received the largest percentage of unique clicks,

but webmail was a strong second

Unique opens

Unique clicks







It is important to remember that these are averages and platform preferences can vary within and across brands, segments, offers and products. While the average percentage of unique clicks received by webmail was less than that of mobile-only openers, webmail was the lead platform for clicks for half of the mailings in this study.

The strength of the other platforms outside of mobile becomes most obvious when looking at transaction behavior. Webmail was first, with forty-eight percent (48%) of all transactions, while desktop received the second largest percentage (25%) of transactions. Webmail was the leading platform for transactions on over eighty percent (80%) of the campaigns. Customers appear to be opening on mobile, but are more comfortable making their transactions on the larger screens of other platforms.


Mobile-only, 13%

Desktop-only, 25%

Webmail-only, 48%

Mobile-combo,12%

Other, 3%

Almost half of transactions occurred on webmail, with another 25% on desktop

Transactions







EngagementWhile only a small percentage of email opens occurred in the mobile-combo and other categories, these two platform types had the most highly engaged and profitable subscribers, reflecting the higher interest of customers choosing to open the email on more than one platform.

In addition to having the highest click-to-open rates, the mobile-combo and other categories had higher revenues per opener than any of the single platform groups. It would definitely be worthwhile to identify these subscribers and target them for future offers.

While mobile-only had the lowest click-to-open rates and revenue per unique opener of any of the single platform categories, it is important to remember that this group had the highest number of openers, and therefore, even at these lower percentages, contributed a sizeable amount of overall revenue. (Mobile-only provided thirteen percent (13%) of total revenue compared to just two percent (2%) from the other category.)

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

13% 12%

23%

31%

26%

Desktop-only Mobile-only Webmail-only Mobile-combo Other

Click-to open rates

Subscribers who opened on two platforms (mobile-combo or other) were the most engaged

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

13% 12%

23%

31%

26%


Click-to open rates

Subscribers who opened on two platforms (mobile-combo or other) were the most engaged








Mobile devicesTaking a deeper look at mobile, we also identified how popular mobile devices performed for various metrics. The iPhone® was by far the most commonly used mobile device for opens and clicks, but the iPad® was used more for transactions. The larger screen of the iPad® may be driving this choice of device, much like the desktop and webmail preferences we saw for overall purchases. AndroidTM phones were third for opens and transactions, but second for clicks.


0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

iPhone® iPad® Android™

Unique opens

Unique clicks

Transactions

68%

19%

13%

57%

15%

20%

40%

48%

12%

The iPhone® was the most popular mobile device for opens and clicks,but the iPad® was used more for transactions.


Revenue per unique opener

Subscribers who opened on two platforms (mobile-combo or other) generated higher revenue per opener than any single platform group

$0.00

$0.30

$0.60

$1.00

$1.20

$1.50

$0.34

$0.10

$0.57

$1.28

$0.97








Optimize across platformsAs we have seen, the impact of mobile on email is complex and variable. Therefore, it is important to optimize your campaigns across multiple platforms.

• Analyze the platform and device preferences of your subscribers on a regular basis to identify trends and monitor changes.

• Leverage platform preferences and engagement metrics to identify key subscribers for future targeted offers.

• Make sure that your email creative is designed for mobile. Experian Marketing Services can provide responsive design templates that automatically adjust email layouts to deliver a consistent experience for customers across platforms. Case studies of brands testing responsive design have shown increases of up to sixty-three percent (63%) in click rates and eighteen percent (18%) in transaction rates when using responsive design.

Mobile tablets on the rise Mobile tablet use is gaining in popularity each year. With the popularity of the iPad® as the mobile device of choice for transactions, it is important to ensure that emails render properly on tablets. It may also be worthwhile to consider developing a tablet specific app for your brand to further promote transaction.





http://www.experian.com/blogs/marketing-forward/2013/02/20/responsive-design-creative-and-code-collide-to-give-email-a-mobile-edge/



Q2 2013 benchmarks

Year-over-year volume comparison

The following benchmarks report on the year-over-year (YOY) trends for the second quarter of 2013 compared to the second quarter of 2012. This quarter, email volume rose by 17.9% compared to Q2 2012.

Volume variance YOY Q2 2013 versus Q2 2012

• Catalogers had the highest gain in volume as ninety percent (90%) of brands increased mailings in Q2 2013.

• Two-thirds of Consumer Products and Services and three-quarters of Multi-Channel Retail brands also had year-over-year increases in volume.

-7.8%

2.6%

-11.6%

3.8%

20.2%

1.5%

13.6%11.6%

-15%

-10%

-5%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

All industryTravelPublishersMulti-channelRetailers

Media andEntertainment

Consumer Productsand Services

CatalogersBusiness Productsand Services

-25%

-20%

-15%

-10%

-5%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35% 31.7%

-20.9%

-13.4%

24.4%22.8%

9.5% 10.6%

17.9%

Volume Variance by Industry - Q2 to Q2 (2013 vs 2012)







Volume variance quarter-to-quarter

• Led by Consumer Products and Services and Multi-Channel Retailers, Q2 2013 had a seven percent increase in volume compared to Q1 2013, which is more than triple the two percent (2%) increase seen in 2012.

All industryTravelPublishersMulti-channelRetailers

Media andEntertainment

Consumer Productsand Services

CatalogersBusiness Productsand Services

Q2 ‘12 to Q1 ’12 Q2 ‘13 to Q1 ’13

-10%

10%

0%

-8%

0%

-3%

2%

-3%

12%

5%

1%2%

4%

7%6%

12%

7%

2%

7%

Volume Variance Q2 Compared to Q1 by Industry - 2012 and 2013







Performance analysisIn order to enhance our understanding of what’s happening by industry, we have created views that look at all metrics and compare Q2 year-over-year for 2013 versus 2012. The following is a legend for each of these views:

All Industry

•In Q2 2013 total and unique open rates were above those seen in Q2 2012.

• While click rates were lower year-over-year, the results are actually mixed, as only fifty percent (50%) of brands actually had a significant decrease in click rates in Q2 2013 compared to Q2 2012.

• Although overall transaction rates declined in Q2 2013, forty-eight percent (48%) of brands had statistically significant increases in transaction rates this quarter compared to Q2 2012.

•Average order values rose both year-over-year and quarter-to-quarter for Q2 2013.

All Industry quarter-to-quarter

Variables Q2: 2012 Q2: 2013

Year-over-year variance

Total open rate 21.9%

Positive change

22.8%Unique open rate 15.2% 16.3%Click-to-open 15.4% 13.7%Total click rate 3.8% 3.2%Unique click rate 2.5% 2.3%Transaction-to-click 5.1% 4.4%Transacation rate 0.10% 0.08%Revenue per email $0.12 $0.11Average order $156.37 $191.49Bounce rate 2.6% 2.0%Unsubscribe rate 0.15% 0.12%

4.1%7.2%

-4.3%22.5%

-23.5%-23.5%

-10.7%-13.9%

-6.1%-13.5%

-21.6%

-25% -20% -15% -10% -5% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20%

Minimal change Negative changeYOY Variance

Industry

AlllIndustry

25%



Total open rate 21.9%

Positive change

22.8%Unique open rate 15.2% 16.3%Click-to-open 15.4% 13.7%Total click rate 3.8% 3.2%Unique click rate 2.5% 2.3%Transaction-to-click 5.1% 4.4%Transacation rate 0.10% 0.08%Revenue per email $0.12 $0.11Average order $156.37 $191.49Bounce rate 2.6% 2.0%Unsubscribe rate 0.15% 0.12%

4.1%7.2%

-4.3%22.5%

-23.5%-23.5%

-10.7%-13.9%

-6.1%-13.5%

-21.6%

-25% -20% -15% -10% -5% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20%

Minimal change Negative changeYOY Variance

Industry

AlllIndustry

25%

Q2 All Industry Year-Over-Year Performance Analysis


Quarter-to-quarter

Total open rate 24.4% 22.8%Unique open rate 17.0% 16.3%Click-to-open 14.7% 13.7%Total click rate 3.9% 3.2%Unique click rate 2.7% 2.3%Transaction-to-click 4.5% 4.4%Transacation rate 0.09% 0.08%Revenue per email $0.12 $0.11Average order $182.92 $191.49Bounce rate 1.9% 2.0%Unsubscribe rate 0.14% 0.12%

-15%

-6.3%-4.1%

-4.3%4.7%

4.0%-16.1%

-6.8%-15.7%

-15.0%-3.7%

-17.7%

-10% -5% 0% 5% 10%

Industry

AlllIndustry

-20%

Positive change Minimal change Negative change

Q2 Compared to Q1 All Industry Performance Analysis







Business Products and Services

• Open rates rose, while transaction rates and revenue per email were close to last year’s performance for Business Products and Services in Q2 2013.

Catalogers

• Open and transaction rates rose for Catalogers this quarter. Seventy-five percent (75%) of brands saw statistically significant increases in unique opens.

• While unique click rates were down year-over-year, total click rates matched those seen in Q2 2012.




9.9%9.4%

-5.6%-28.9%

-24.4%-31.7%

-11.6%-20.7%

-14.0%-34.4%

-2.0%

0% 5% 10%

Industry

BusinessProductsandServices


-20% -15% -10% -5%-35% -30% -25% 15%

Q2 Business Products and Services Year-Over-Year Performance Analysis




9.5%9.7%

7.1%7.3%

-78.1% -39.4%

-14.4%1.2%

-11.0%-6.9%

8.7%

Industry

Catalogers


-50%-90% -80% -70% -60% 0%-40% -30% -20% -10% 20%10%

Q2 Catalogers Year-Over-Year Performance Analysis







Consumer Products and Services

• Consumer Products and Services matched Q2 2012 in transaction rates, but had higher revenue per email and average order values in Q2 2013.

• Fifty-five percent (55%) of Consumer Products and Services brands had statistically significant increases in unique clicks in Q2 2013, while fifty-seven percent (57%) had statistically significant increases in unique opens.

Media and Entertainment

• While overall year-over-year click rates were lower, movie and music brands saw increases in click rates in Q2 2013.




14.2%11.5%

27.6%14.5%

-3.3% -24.6%

-12.5%-8.1%

-4.4%1.8%

-2.6%

Industry

AlllIndustry


5%-25% -15% -5% 25%15% 30%

Q2 Consumer Products and Services Year-Over-Year Performance Analysis



Total open rate 20.4% 22.6%Unique open rate 14.4% 16.3%Click-to-open 16.9% 12.5%Total click rate 3.7% 3.0%Unique click rate 2.4% 2.1%

5.1% 3.8%0.18% 0.1%

Bounce rateUnsubscribe rate

10.7%13.4%

-26.0%-18.9%

-12.6%-24.9%

-48.1%

Industry

AlllIndustry


-50% -40% -30% -20% -10% 0% 10%

Q2 Media and Entertainment Year-Over-Year Performance Analysis







Multi-Channel Retailers

• Even with an increase in volume, open rates rose year-over-year for Multi-Channel Retailers.

• While transaction rates and revenue per email decreased year-over-year, they were stable when compared to Q1 2013.




1.6%

-26.2%5.4%

-23.2% -4.5%

-11.7%-18.0%

-13.9%

Industry

AlllIndustry


-20%-30% -25% 5%-15% -10% -5% 0% 10%

-10.7%

7.5%

-28.0%

Q2 Multi-Channel Retail Year-Over-Year Performance Analysis


Quarter-to-quarter variance


-15%

-2.9%-1.7%

-1.0%10.8%

-11.5%

-5.1%-13.3%

-11.7%1.2%

-1.3%

-10% -5% 0% 5% 10%

Industry

AlllIndustry


0.1%

Q2 Compared to Q1 Multi-Channel Retail Performance Analysis







Publishers

•Open and click rates increased Q2 2013 compared to Q2 2012 for Publishers.

Trend to Watch: Gmail delivery

Gmail has an optional new inbox with organizational categories. To maximize results from your Gmail subscribers we recommend the following:

• Dynamically populate a banner or pre-header text for Gmail subscribers asking them to click on the priority inbox icon or to ‘star’ their emails.

• Send a dedicated message to Gmail subscribers with instructions on how to continue to receive your emails in their primary inbox.

• Monitor response rates and see if there are any downward trends with Gmail subscribers.

We looked at a random selection of twelve (12) brands with mailings in May (before the Gmail changes) and July of 2013 (after the Gmail changes), and compared open and click rates for Gmail and all other domains. We did not see any systematic decline for Gmail rates. Eight (8) of the twelve (12) brands had higher open rates for Gmail subscribers in July than in May, and seven (7) had higher click rates in July as well. We will continue to monitor user behavior and keep watch for any longer term trends.




3.3% 1.4%0.11% 0.1%


15.5%

-50.3%

-0.8%17.2%

Industry

AlllIndustry


-35%-55% -45% 15%-25% -5% 0% 25%

15.1%

13.7%

-15%-65%

-58.3%

Q2 Publisher Year-Over-Year Performance Analysis







Travel

•Unique open and click rates were very similar in Q2 2013 to those seen last year.

• Sixty-seven percent (67%) of Travel brands had statistically significant increases in unique open rates in Q2 2013.




2.3% 1.6%0.16% 0.1%


-8.1%

-26.6%

-0.2%

Industry

AlllIndustry


-35% 5%-30% -25% -5% 0%

-2.6%

-20% -15% -10%

-32.9%

0.6%

3.0%

Q2 Travel Year-Over-Year Performance Analysis







Appendix I: Metrics definitions

Total opens: All opens recorded for the mailing including multiple opens by the same subscriber. Total open rates are (total opens/received)

Unique opens: The number of unique subscribers that have opened an HTML-formatted message. Unique open rates are (unique opens/received)

Total clicks: Every click on a tracked link, including multiple clicks by a given subscriber. Total click rates are (total clicks/received)

Unique clicks: The number of unique subscribers who have clicked on any link. Unique click rates are (unique clicks/received)

Click-to-open rates: Unique clicks as a percentage of unique opens (unique clicks/unique opens)

Transaction rates: Overall percentage of transactions as related to delivered messages [transactions/(sent - bounced)]. This metric only includes data for clients who have implemented Experian Marketing Services’ Track to Purchase functionality

Transaction-to-click rates as: Percentage of transactions compared to the number of unique clicks (transactions/unique clicks). This metric only includes data for clients who have implemented Experian Marketing Services’ Track to Purchase functionality

Average order value: Average total amount for each transaction. This metric only includes data for clients who have implemented Experian Marketing Services’ Track to Purchase functionality

Revenue per email delivered: Average amount earned for each delivered email [total order/(sent - bounced)]

Bounce rates: The percentage of subscribers that did not receive a mailing because their email addresses hard bounced (bounce/sent)

Unsubscribe rates: This reflects the total number of subscribers lost as a result of users unsubscribing from the mailing [unique unsubscribers/(sent - bounced)]





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About Experian Marketing ServicesExperian Marketing Services is a global provider of integrated consumer insight and targeting, data quality and cross-channel marketing. We help organizations from around the world intelligently interact with today’s dynamic, empowered and hyperconnected customers. By coordinating seamless interactions across all marketing channels, marketers are able to plan and execute superior brand experiences that deepen customer loyalty, strengthen brand advocacy and maximize profits.

Intelligent interactions. Every time. ©2013ExperianInformationSolutions,Inc.•Allrightsreserved

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08/13



Q2 2013 Quarterly Email Benchmark Study

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