How Email Marketers are Adjusting to Growing Mobile CTO Rates [Interview]

In December 2015, the “Year of the Smartphone” report from Yesmail revealed that the gap between desktop and mobile email open rates is continuing to close. We had an opportunity to speak to Ivy Shtereva, Director of Marketing at Yesmail, to gain further insight into how this is impacting content marketers.

HOW HAVE YOU PERSONALLY SEEN MOBILE PLAY A LARGER ROLE IN CTO RATES?

“Consumers are spending more time on their mobile devices and therefore are more comfortable clicking through emails and making purchases on them. Not only are mobile CTO (Click-to-Open Rates) rates closer than they’ve ever been to desktops rates, but mobile clicks have grown significantly as well.

In Q3 2015, they accounted for almost 47 percent of all email clicks, a remarkable 33 percent growth over the last two years.

In addition, mobile-only consumers have grown by over six percent year-over-year and by over nine percent over the last two years, signaling that consumers continue to adapt when it comes to interacting with email on hand-held devices.

Since consumers increasingly read emails and make decisions this way, brands are more likely to think ‘mobile first’ when sending email promotions and other brand communications to their subscribers.”

DO YOU THINK THERE IS A SPECIFIC REASON FOR THE CLOSING GAP BETWEEN DESKTOP AND MOBILE CTO RATES?

“The primary reason for the closing gap is that consumers opt for convenience of the smartphone that’s fueled by technology. They enjoy the ease of being able to open emails, research products and following through with a purchase, all from their phone.

We can see this in the increase of the average order value driven not just from mobile as a whole, but from smartphones in particular.

Furthermore, tablet revenue as a proportion of mobile revenue continues to shrink at a six percent rate from Q2 and 26 percent rate year-over-year.

Due to the convenience of mobile and its increasing use when interacting with brand emails, the gap between mobile and desktop CTO will continue to close.”

DID ANY STATISTICS OR FINDINGS SURPRISE YOU?

“The most surprising findings show how comfortable consumers are with clicking through an email and making a purchase not just broadly from their mobile device, but specifically from their smartphones.

According to previous benchmark reports, consumers have grown increasingly comfortable with making purchases on mobile devices, especially tablets that can be considered the ‘desktop’ of mobile devices.

Over the last few quarters, however, the mobile evolution has gone from primarily using smartphones for researching, to making small purchases, to now making significant ones on those hand-held devices.

While overall mobile revenue is up almost 10 percent year-over-year, a good portion of this growth can be attributed to smartphone purchases.

For the second consecutive quarter, smartphone revenue is driving over half of mobile revenue, and this number continues to grow.

Although it has been a consistent growth, it is still surprising to see consumers engage from start to finish on their smartphones and spending over $100 per purchase in the process.”

DO YOU HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL INSIGHT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE FROM YOUR WORK ON THE REPORT?

“The report demonstrates that consumers are more willing than ever to purchase on mobile devices via clicks on brand emails. Therefore, marketers have a huge opportunity to not only reach their customers on mobile but also bring in revenue.

Brands that [fail to] prioritize mobile optimization of their email and web content are missing out.

Surprisingly, a quarter of all marketers have still not implemented responsive design into their emails. This number may be even higher when it comes to websites, which typically requires more budget and resources.

If consumers find it difficult to read or navigate an email or a brand’s website, they’re going to be turned off from making a purchase.

Make it convenient for shoppers to convert from mobile email or risk losing out on revenue from willing buyers.”

You can download the original “Year of the Smartphone” report from Yesmail by clicking here.