Jupiter Research reports that consumers will receive unwanted e-mail with increasing frequency in the coming years and that by 2007 the average e-mail consumer will be exposed to more than 3,900 'spam' messages annually.
The Jupiter Research Report titled, "Marketing & Branding Forecast: Online Advertising & E-mail Marketing Through 2007" projects that the amount spent annually on e-mail marketing campaigns will grow exponentially in the coming years from $1.4 billion in 2002 to $8.3 billion in 2007.
"Consumers have learned to deal with 'spam' the same way as junk mail: they delete it before reading the messages they actually want to read," said Jared Blank, Jupiter Research senior analyst. "In 2001, U.S. consumers received over 140 billion 'spam' e-mails and that number will grow significantly in the next five years. A growing number of individuals will begin using separate e-mail accounts and e-mail filters set up specifically for dealing with 'spam' and other unwanted mail."
Since 2001, the average amount of 'spam' received per user has increased from 3.7 to 6.2 e-mails per day. Within the course of the next five years, the total number of unwanted e-mail messages sent will increase significantly, reaching more than 645 billion 'spam' messages annually by 2007. Jupiter Research also predicts that in five years, the average online user will be exposed to 830 marketing impressions online per usage day, almost doubling from an average of 447 impressions in 2000.
E-mail Marketing Volume to Grow at a 25 Percent Compound Annual Growth Rate Through 2007
Jupiter's research indicates that retention campaigns will dominate the volume of non-spam e-mails over the next five years, but marketers will spend more on acquisition e-mails through 2004. The proliferation of newsletters, combined with the overall growth of e-mail marketing, will cause consumers to ignore newsletters and 'spam' messages in greater numbers, thereby reducing the branding and messaging effectiveness of these missives.
By contrast, as intense competition drives down the cost to conduct e-mail marketing campaigns, companies will increase the volume of retention email on sharply reduced budgets. To lift open and response rates, marketers have to find new ways to utilize the data collected in costly CRM systems, personalizing messages in an attempt to make offers more relevant.
"The economic slowdown of the past two years has forced once free-spending companies to scrutinize marketing budgets much more closely to justify their overall expenditures," said Blank. "As a result, budgets are under the microscope and marketers are demanding more bang for their buck. Successful e-mail marketing campaigns can no longer consist of blast messages to massive lists, but instead must directly target the specific interest of the individual consumer. Marketers who continue to send relevant, timely and targeted messages will cut through the clutter; those who do not will be ignored."
Additional highlights and forward-looking analysis from "Marketing & Branding Forecast: Online Advertising & E-mail Marketing Through 2007," include:
Whereas text e-mails will continue to comprise the majority of e-mail volume until 2004, in general HTML messages receive a better response rate from consumers
Rich media e-mails will occupy a niche until 2005, by which time they will comprise one-fifth (19 percent) of e-mail spending. By 2007, rich media e-mails will capture 25 percent of the market as marketers learn to use this type of e-mail in a cost-effective manner.
Jupiter Research forecasts that the number of active e-mail users in the U.S. will grow to 165.4 million by the end of 2007, up from 104.5 million at the end of 2001.
www.jupiterresearch.com.
