Retailer e-mail deliverability reaches all-time high in Q3, says Bigfoot

E-mail from retailers experienced record deliverability rates in the third quarter, according to the quarterly vertical benchmark analysis for e-mail communications released by e-mail services provider Bigfoot Interactive. While overall delivery rates remained strong among all industry sectors tracked, deliverability for retail clients reached an all-time high, 94.6%. Overall deliverability was defined as total e-mails attempted minus all failures.

Bigfoot attributes the gain in part to retailers` focus on list hygiene as they prepare for the critical fourth quarter. “Retailers continue to turn to e-mail as an efficient and effective tool in their promotional efforts for the holiday as volumes begin to escalate in anticipation of an increased reliance on this medium to increase marketing return on investment,” says the company.

Specifically, the number of e-mail messages sent over the third quarter increased by more than 81% over the second quarter of this year, spurred by back-to-school and fall promotional sales efforts. The average unique click-through rate from promotional messages was 3.8%, representing a slight increase of 2.5% over the second quarter despite the major increase in volume.