Now more than ever it is important to reach consumers on the channels where they’re most actively engaged. In order to give brands insight into sentiment around email marketing, this week we asked our audience whether they are checking their personal email more or less often since the start of the pandemic, and which devices they typically use to access their inbox. We also explore what kinds of email messages Americans prefer to receive from brands, and the actions they’ve taken after receiving a promotional email in the past six months.
Email Marketing Insights
September 16, 2020
How often have you been checking your personal email during the COVID-19 pandemic?
37% of U.S. consumers have been checking their email more often than usual during the pandemic, compared to only 12% checking less often.
Gender Divides
Women (39%) are more likely than men (34%) to check their email more frequently.
Generational Divides
Millennials and Gen Xers are more likely than other generations to check their email more often during the pandemic. Compared to other generations, Gen Zers are checking their email least often.
Which device do you use most often to check your personal email?
Most consumers are checking email on their smartphones (81%) followed by laptop and desktop computers (10%) and tablets (8%).
Millennials and Gen Xers are most likely to check their email on their smartphones. Compared to other age groups, The Silent Generation is most likely to open emails on a laptop or desktop computer. Gen Zers are more likely than millennials to access their email on a computer screen.
What kinds of email messages do you prefer to receive from brands?
46% of consumers are looking for deals and promotions, followed by shipment updates (16%) and account alerts (10%).
Gender Divides
Women are more likely than men to value deals and promotions.
Generational Divides
Compared to other generations, Gen Xers are most likely to value deals and promotions (50%) and least likely to value shipment updates (12%).
How often do you find the marketing emails you receive from a brand to be useful?
42% of U.S. consumers find marketing emails from a brand to be useful either some or all of the time.
Compared to other generations, Gen Zers and The Silent Generation are most likely to find promotional emails useful.
What actions have you taken after receiving a promotional email from a brand in the past 6 months?
Many promotional emails (45%) go with no immediate action. 20% of consumers have visited a brand’s website and 12% have made a purchase after receiving a promotional email.
Baby boomers are least likely to visit a store after receiving a promotional email (9%), while Gen Zers (16%) are most likely to do so. Promotional emails go without immediate action most often among Gen Xers (48%).
FAQs
How is this data collected?
‘Fluent Pulse’ reflects a daily online survey collected across Fluent’s portfolio of owned & operated websites.
Who is the audience?
Fluent attracts a massive audience across its network of owned media properties. While all segments of the US population are represented, the below are our most prevalent demographic skews:
| Demographic Attribute | Over Penetrated Among |
| Age | Median: 38
61% between the age of 18 & 44 |
| Gender | 50/50 Male/Female |
| Education | High School Degree or Some College |
| Homeownership | 61% Renters |
| Households with Children | 42% of Audience |
How many people were surveyed?
On average, 150,000 – 175,000 consumers respond daily.
Is the data weighted?
No, but representative of the overall Fluent Audience.
How do you protect consumers data privacy?
All responses related to this survey are anonymized; only survey responses will be disclosed. At no point will consumer’s personal information will ever be disclosed.
What was your methodology?
Data has been collected from U.S. adults on a daily or weekly basis, dependent upon topic, since March 10, 2020. All data is sourced from Fluent’s portfolio of owned and operated media properties. Results are specific to the Fluent audience and not reflective of the general U.S. population.
The data presented on this site does not reflect the official opinion, policy or position of Fluent, Inc. This research is only meant to inform and illustrate, as an example, the rich data assets Fluent can derive insights from to drive in-market strategies.