E-tailers Sending High Volumes of Email to Inactive Subscribers

Most top-brand online retail marketers ignore signs of inactivity among their email subscribers, and continue to send email messages at steady and frequent rates, despite their subscribers' lack of response (no opens, clicks, or purchases), according to a study by Return Path.

That finding is based on an analysis of 40 online retailers that sent email messages to non-responsive subscribers—one-time buyers, who after their initial purchases, did not open, click, or buy again during a 19-month study period.

Email Frequency High and Climbing

During the first three months after signing up for email, subscribers received an average of 10 emails per month from each company included in the study. Thereafter, the average level ranged from 9 to 11 emails per month—despite no responses from subscribers.

There were exceptions to that pattern: The Container Store, though continuing to send email, slowly and consistently decreased frequency with each passing month, presumably recognizing the growing gap in time since the subscriber's last action.

But more commonly, retailers ignored subscribers' inaction: Neiman Marcus, for example, sent more than one email per day in the first three months (almost eight per week), decreased to five to six per week for six months, and then increased to one per day again—all with no response from the subscriber.

Moreover, throughout the study period, none of the online retailers studied explicitly offered the option to change preferences for content or frequency.

Below, other findings from Return Path's study, The One-Way Conversation: Email Marketing to the Non-Responsive Subscriber.

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