E-Mail Proves a Positive Influencer on Offline Purchase Decisions

With the appeal of e-mail already well-established among multichannel marketers — in large part because of its relatively low cost — here's another reason to become a fan of the channel: It positively influences consumers’ offline purchasing decisions, enhances companies’ reputations and generates loyalty to their brands.

Sixty-two percent of respondents to a recent survey conducted by marketing services firm Epsilon said the permission-based e-mail they receive from consumer package goods (CPG) companies has a direct impact on offline activities such as making purchases and shopping habits.

The survey was conducted in October and polled 1,517 consumers. Here are some more results:

• 63 percent of respondents said they have a more favorable opinion of CPG companies that send them permission-based e-mails;
• 57 percent said they're more loyal to CPG companies and their products or brands because of the permission-based e-mail communications they receive; and
• CPG companies scored the highest marks when compared to the pharmaceutical, travel, financial services and retail sectors when respondents were asked about the relationship between permission-based e-mail and their offline purchasing, opinions of companies and feelings of loyalty.

And the largest portion of respondents (91 percent) said they downloaded or printed coupons as a direct result of receiving permission-based e-mail from a CPG company. This was followed by these activities: clicked on a link in an e-mail to learn more (81 percent); tried a new product for the first time (76 percent); read company or brand content (75 percent); researched retail locations that carry the product (67 percent); ordered a product sample (66 percent); shared a coupon or forwarded the e-mail (65 percent); purchased the product online (65 percent); and typed or copied a URL directly into their browsers (34 percent).

For more information, go to www.epsilon.com.