GDPR fuels fall in email marketing but open rates rise

Retailers across the EU have halved the number of automated marketing emails they send to consumers since May 25 when GDPR came into force but those emails are now 30% more likely to be opened and produce twice the value in terms of purchases.
So says a new study by Nosto, whose retail personalisation platform is used by 2,500 retailers globally to deliver personalised emails, web content, product recommendations, and Facebook and Instagram ads.
In the run-up to GDPR, many retailers embarked on mass repermissioning campaigns, and, even though some in the industry claimed this was not necessary, the move led to a huge reduction in number of email contacts.
Nosto director Jim Lofgren said: “GDPR means fewer emails landing in consumers’ inboxes overall, with those marketing emails that people do receive, much more likely to come from brands they have consented to hearing from. So you would expect email to be more effective now. And that’s exactly what our data suggests.”
According to Nosto figures, the monthly number of automated emails sent through its platform from EU based retailers dropped by about half year-on-year when comparing June 2018 (just after GDPR came into force) with June 2017.
However, open rates for emails increased by 30% between May 1 and August 1 as the impact of fewer emails landing in consumers’ inboxes took effect. And over the same period, Nosto claims that the value of purchases generated by those emails doubled.
“While complying with GDPR may have been a painful exercise for many retailers, ultimately it appears to have been positive for both retailers and their customers, certainly in terms of email,” said Lofgren. “Consumers get fewer irrelevant emails now and are more likely to open and take action based on the emails they do receive.”

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TOPICS:digital marketing email marketing GDPR

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