We’ve reported that, despite numerous newfangled outreach methods, email remains consumers’ favorite way to hear from brands. New research from digital communications platform SendGrid confirms that email remains essential, important and entrenched in the lives of people today—in fact, 74 percent of people surveyed chose email as their preferred communication method for companies or brands to interact with them.
The Future of Digital Communications Study, by Egg Strategy and commissioned by SendGrid, enables digital marketers and developers everywhere to more confidently get in touch with their customers and leverage email and other key digital channels to drive engagement and growth.
Highlights of the research include:
Email is here to stay
The vast majority of people surveyed– 88 percent and 85 percent, respectively—believe that their email usage will stay the same or increase in the next year and five years.
Contrary to popular belief, younger generations are adopting email
Eighty-three percent of Generation Z respondents believe their email usage will stay the same or increase in the next five years. The majority of Millennials and Gen X respondents expect their email usage to stay the same or increase as well.
When it comes to B2C interactions, there is an overwhelming preference for email over all other communication forms
Seventy-four percent of respondents chose email as their preferred communication method for companies or brands to interact with them.
Email is a staple form of communication today, regardless of age or stage in life
Eighty-five percent of Generation Z respondents use email at least monthly. This number grows with age, as 89 percent of Millennial respondents and 92 percent of Generation X respondents use email at least monthly.
“Our study found that email is alive and well. It is the system of record for our digital lives and one of the strongest forms of customer engagement because it opens a direct line of communication between businesses and consumers at a relatively low cost,” said Scott Heimes, chief marketing officer of SendGrid, in a news release. “In fact, the median return on investment for email marketing is nearly five times greater than for social media marketing, according to eMarketer.”
In July 2017, SendGrid commissioned a survey with Egg Strategy that gathered online responses from a nationally representative sample of 1,200 Digital Communication users across the United States among Generation X, Millennials and Generation Z, with a representative mix of gender, ethnicity and age.
