Knotice’s First Half 2011 Mobile Email Opens Report

With the increasing adoption rates of mobile devices, one of the more popular tasks performed on smartphones and iPads alike is checking email. With that, we’re happy to announce the release of Knotice’s Mobile Email Opens Report First Half 2011 released today.

The report is based on a data from a sampling of 701 million emails across 11 industry segments. Here are a two key findings. You can download a copy for yourself here.

#1: Mobile email opens climb 51% – The number of consumers opening email from a mobile device has more than doubled in the first half of this year – rising 51 percent over the previous quarter (Q4 2010).

#2: A mobile “fail” does not get a second chance – They say that you never get a second chance to make a first impression and that same holds true with email on mobile. For all you marketers who choose not to optimize your emails for mobile because “people can just read it later when they’re at their desk,” the data clearly shows otherwise:

“While some marketers resist optimizing email for mobile, rationalizing that a poor mobile email experience can be reopened once the recipient is at their desk, the data clearly shows that is not happening. Only 3.09% of the 701 million emails sampled were opened on both mobile devices and desktop (same email opened on each). And of that 3.09%, only one-third are opening on mobile device first, viewing the same email on desktop later. This further reinforces that the concept of “they can read it later on a desktop version that renders better” just isn’t happening with consumers. Conversely, this means that 97% of the time, emails not properly optimized for mobile are likely being ignored or deleted during “inbox triage” (i.e., prioritizing of tasks, sometimes opening on both desktop and mobile).” SOURCE: Knotice’s Mobile Email Opens Report, First Half 2011

If one thing can be taken from this report, it’s the fact that mobile email optimization needs to be a priority for marketers this year. If you’re not optimizing at the mobile touch point, then you’re losing the opportunity to connect with consumers. As increasing numbers count on their mobile device to read emails from you, you’re already offering a “mobile experience” to consumers – maybe not such a good one. Think about it.

Here are some other takeaways from the report:

Email is a Mobile Marketing Tactic: We’ve said it multiple times, and the mobile email click rates from our latest report are evidence that email is a foundational component of any mobile strategy. For more information on how to integrate email into your mobile strategy, check out these posts.

There is Room for Improvement with Email on Mobile: Mobile click-thru rates still lag way behind desktop click-thru rates. This suggests that consumers aren’t having ideal experiences when they open an email on a mobile device. Poor experiences can range from poor rendering, poor link placement, and slow load times of non-mobile optimized emails to desktop-oriented calls to action.

Email is Perhaps the Largest Source of Mobile Impressions: Email can be a significant source of mobile impressions and leads from a website. Take a look the data from your email programs this holiday season. How many opens and click-thrus happened from a mobile device? Be prepared for mobile users; adapt your programs and platforms accordingly.

If you’re a marketer and would like to participate in the report, we invite you to get in touch. Send an email to info@knotice.com with the subject line ‘email mobile analysis’ and if it’s a good fit, we’ll provide you with a snippet to include in your upcoming email campaigns.
Special thanks to Dan Spohn for crunching the numbers and Bryce Marshall, Brian Deagan and others for input and analysis of the results.