The results of the nationwide National Email Survey are in. This shows that email marketing is still the most important form of online marketing!
Yay!
A whopping 85% of Dutch people subscribed to new email newsletters this year! So starting with Marketing Automation still makes sense, if you hadn't already;)!
Also examined this year was the relationship between e-mail and social media. Email is more popular than social media when it comes to personal communication. You probably didn't expect that!
So there are many more interesting results. Read on quickly, as we have listed the 12 most important ones for you.
The Dutch are increasingly buying their products or services online. As much as 91% to be exact! The amount of online spending has also increased in 3 years from 10.6 billion to 16.07 billion. The conclusion we draw from this? Offer your products online as well.
Last year's email survey also showed that most online purchases (72%) begin with an email. This year, 73% said "yes" when asked if they ever bought something in response to an e-mail. The Dutch even buy something online more than once after an e-mail. Online purchases are most often made on a laptop.
85% of the Dutch have subscribed to new e-mail newsletters in the past year. 57% of these subscribed to 1 to 5 new newsletters. A small group of 16% did so on 6 to 10 new e-mail newsletters.
At a good number 2 is confirmation of a purchase in an online store, at 77%. Advertising emails and newsletters are at number 3 with 74%. E-mail even wins out over social media. Social media is used as personal communication by 89% of the Dutch. Entertainment is at #2 with 61%.
Last year the Dutch received an average of 96! emails per week, this year the average stands at 79 emails. This is still a lot! This year also varies by age category. The 14-17 age category receives the fewest emails per week, 42, and the 45-54 category receives the most, 104. The emails they receive are mostly advertising emails.
It doesn't make much difference compared to last year, but the smartphone wins out over the laptop again. 37% of participants read emails on the smartphone, up from 36% last year. 30% read emails most often on the laptop.
Last year, email also scored highest on this point, but trust has dropped slightly. In 2015, 66% trusted email the most as a digital communication channel, this year it is 60%. Trust in WhatsApp has grown from 10% to 17% this year.
If the frequency is too high, 50% of Dutch people unsubscribe from e-mail newsletters. At number two with 49% is the reason: "topics not interesting enough.
On average, 83% of Dutch people use WhatsApp the most. Facebook is a close second with 80%. The use of social media channels does differ by age group.
WhatsApp is most popular in the morning, with an average of 42% starting his/her day with WhatsApp. Email scores an average of 33%. However, they did indicate that this start also depends on which message has been received. Also, the choice depends very much on age. Among people over 65, 70% start their day with email and only 13% with WhatsApp, while in the 18-24 category 69% start their day with WhatsApp and only 8% with email.
It seems that we mostly read our emails before and after work/school. Indeed, the hours from 07:00 to 09:00 and 19:00 to 21:00 score the highest.
On social media, we are mostly active in the evening. From 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., we are busy Facebooking, Instagramming, Pinteresting and Twittering.
40% check their e-mail 1 to 3 times daily. A smaller group of 25% even checks their e-mail 4 to 6 times a day.
For social media, most Dutch people also have about 1 to 3 times a day eye, 31% on average. Although the 18-24 age group checks social media more than 20 times daily!
When asked if the Dutch received more commercial messages via e-mail in the past year, 48% answered "yes.
Blinker juxtaposed the new e-mail research and that of past years. This revealed a number of trends. For example, the preference to read emails on mobile has increased and people are buying online more often in response to an email.
The conclusion we draw from the survey results is that email marketing should still not be missing from your marketing strategy. Because seriously: 85% new subscriptions to newsletters, that says it all, doesn't it? So what are you waiting for, start creating a 'killer' newsletter! Read the tips to increase your email list in this blog.
You can read the full study here.
Revisiting last year's results? Read our previous blog here.
