Recent benchmark study reveals the industry is one of the poorest performers by open rates

Recent benchmark study reveals the industry is one of the poorest performers by open rates

A newly published report has found that retail is one of the worst performing industries when it comes to email marketing.

The annual benchmarking study is compiled using data collected from 1,124 participating brand customers of email and behavioural marketing specialist Silverpop.

Split out by industry globally, only education (25.6%) recorded worse open rates globally than retail (30.7%).

The overall marketing email open rate across all regions was 44.9%, with the US (45.1%) coming in slightly ahead of Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) on 44%.

Below regional and industry average

Overall click-through rate across all regions was 5.2%. The US again led, with a 5.4% click-through rate compared to EMEA’s 5.1%.

And sectors with the worst click-through rates globally again included retail (3.1%), as well as travel (2.3%), and financial services (3.5%).

Loren McDonald, vice president of industry relations for Silverpop said the result findings confirmed that response rates vary widely based on the approach that is taken and the content that is delivered.

He said: “Companies that focus on helping recipients by providing behaviour-based content that is meaningful, personal and relevant rather than just firing off one-size-fits-all promotions are far more likely to find themselves in the top quartile.”

To download the complete 2012 Silverpop Email Marketing Metrics Benchmark Study, click here.