Trade fails due to legally compliant email marketing

– 449 retailers, 9 sub-sectors, 125 criteria
– Only 4 retailers ship legally and without scrupulousness
– 23 percent collect data but do not use it

Waghäusel, June 27.06.2018, 449: While retailers have been considered a prime example of all facets of email marketing in recent years, the new study by the management consultancy reveals absolutely worrying deficiencies in the area of ​​legal compliance. Only a fraction are legally on the safe side. The study analyzes the email marketing of 125 retailers from nine sub-sectors based on up to XNUMX criteria. The study and a free short version are available for download at handelsstudie.de.

Legally compliant email marketing appears to be an insurmountable hurdle for many retailers. Only four out of 448 companies were able to achieve full points here. A quarter did not even get half the points. The reason for this is usually disregard for the labeling requirement. Only 41 percent of all double opt-in emails and 42 percent of all welcome emails contain full imprints. For newsletters, this figure is slightly higher at 59 percent.

Even elementary components of the GDPR, which recently came into force, are being ignored. 17 percent do not require data that is not intended for a specific purpose, such as name or title, when registering for a newsletter. A similar number do not inform subscribers whether and which personal data is being collected. "Many retailers are on very thin ice legally and are apparently unaware of the implications of the new General Data Protection Regulation," complains study author Torsten Schwarz.

Automated customer communication is also a topic that is not yet very popular with many retailers. Although 73 percent create touchpoints with recipients through obligatory birthday emails or seasonal offers, it often fails at the basics: around 30 percent of retailers do not welcome new subscribers and only get in touch again with the next regular newsletter. Warm greetings are not used, except for three percent of retailers. It is also questionable why 23 percent of companies collect data when customers register, but do not use it to personalize the newsletter.

Nevertheless, retailers can still shine in other areas of email marketing. For example, 82 percent of the companies surveyed send emails via CSA-certified email service providers. In addition, 86 percent protect the data transmission of their registration forms using SSL encryption. "In comparison with other industries, retailers in particular show that they have understood how important professional sending technology is for sustainable email marketing," adds Torsten Schwarz.

Retailers are also still ahead when it comes to the design and usability of newsletter registration. 64 percent have sworn off boring hyperlinks and are making newsletter registration creative and eye-catching. Complicated or unnecessarily long registration processes are only found in six percent. At the same time, 83 percent of newsletters can be read conveniently on a smartphone. A further 63 percent can even be accessed on a smartwatch. Only the mobile usability of the websites leaves something to be desired, with only 45 percent of landing pages being optimized for mobile.

The study examined a total of 449 companies from nine different sub-sectors of the retail industry. To quantify the quality of their email marketing, up to 125 criteria were collected, covering areas such as dialogue, delivery technology, security, customer acquisition, legal compliance, automation, and design. Within each sector, the companies with the best results underwent a more intensive review. This involved a detailed examination and evaluation of the design and mobile optimization of their newsletters, based on 18 variables.

The complete study and a free short version are available for download at handelsstudie.de.

Press contact:
Absolit Consulting
Stephan Bordt
Melanchthonstr. 5th
D-68753 Waghäusel

Tel.: +49 (0)7254 957 73-0
E-Mail: redaktion@absolit.de
absolit.de

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