Chicago, IL, Sept. 15, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- By 2017, revenue generated through eCommerce sales is expected to reach $370 billion, yet many of the nation's leading brands can't leverage data to offer their customers the personalized digital marketing experience they are demanding.
To validate this gap in customers' personalization needs and retailers' capabilities, SimpleRelevance conducted a study analyzing 20 top retailers' email marketing programs. It found that some of the highest revenue ranking brands rank much lower in data-driven marketing personalization.
Household names such as Macy's, Target, and The Home Depot, consistently failed to execute basic forms of email personalization, and three other brands never sent a single marketing email.
Some key findings:
- Only 17 percent of retailers analyzed went beyond transactional data to deliver personalized results
- Walgreens, Sears and CVS failed to send a single marketing email after a purchase was made
- Only 9 percent of companies offered personalized product recommendations, with 25% offering no product recommendations at all
- 78 of the emails falsely suggested that their product recommendations were selected specifically for individual customers
- Only 10 percent of emails included images and personalized them for individual customers
- Over half of the companies analyzed sent daily deal emails in the afternoon, shortening the time period for customers to take action before deals expired
- Zero companies optimized send time frequency based on user interaction
For the study, SimpleRelevance purchased products from 20 eCommerce leaders and evaluated the subsequent email campaigns for personalization based on customer profile and interaction data. In total, 418 emails were analyzed over a six-week period assessing the following email components:
- Product Recommendations
- Image Optimization
- Time of Send
- Send Frequency
- Subject Line
Email marketing is a proven driver of revenue for eCommerce companies, yet many marketers fall short of customer expectations. More than 100 million Americans make online purchases each year providing revenue opportunities for brands that leverage transactional and recommendation-based emails. With eCommerce accounting for more than seven percent of retail sales, major brands can't afford to miss up-sell and cross-sell opportunities in digital marketing.
For further details and methodology, please visit here.
ABOUT SIMPLERELEVANCE
SimpleRelevance is the only modular, open predictive learning
platform that enables digital marketers to better communicate with
customers via any channel, automatically. In an era where data is
increasingly commoditized but insight is priceless, SimpleRelevance
grants data scientists and marketers alike access to their most
valuable asset: customer insight.