US email marketing spend forecast to reach $2bn by 2014
Spending on email marketing in the US will grow by 14pc each year to 2014 to reach $2 billion by 2014, a new forecast from Forrester Research reveals.
Falling cost per thousands (CPMs), a high return on investment, and growing use of social email accounts will all fuel the use of email by direct marketers, according to the forecast, which also predicts that consumers will each receive more than 9,000 email marketing messages annually – equating to 25 a day – by 2014.
“By 2014, direct marketers will waste $144m on emails that never reach their primary target,” said Forrester Research vice president and principal analyst, David Daniels. “Successful direct marketing pros will alter their tactics to overcome inbox clutter and increase relevancy.”
The report says that retention email – emails that recipients have given permission to be sent – will continue to replace paper communications and will comprise the largest share of marketing messages. The bulk of the market will continue to use email marketing on a self service basis, but the growing complexity associated with data integration and new tactics to increase relevancy will drive good growth in the use of email service providers.
Spending on ad-sponsored or ad-supported newsletters, meanwhile, is predicted to double over the next five years as traditional print publishers face falling circulation and ad revenue.
“The use of email in social networks will be one of the biggest challenges for direct marketers,” said Daniels. “Over the next five years, marketers must bridge the gap between social and traditional inboxes with social sharing tools.”