Fifty percent of consumers reading e-mail during the fourth quarter of 2013 did so using smartphones or tablets, according to new research by Yesmail Interactive. The findings were significant, according to the firm, because it was the first time that mobile devices reached the 50 percent figure.
According to the research, sales generated from e-mails on mobile devices increased at nearly triple the rate of those from desktop computers (52 percent vs. 18 percent).
"In quarters past, marketers have been embracing mobile as a variable in the consumer journey. Now, mobile should be marketers' primary focus," said Michael Fisher, president of Yes Lifecycle Marketing, in a press release. "The increase in mobile sales indicates that consumers are not only more comfortable with mobile, but more comfortable with immediately acting on e-mails opened on a mobile device."
The largest number of e-mails that led to a sale came from desktops (82 percent) versus mobile (18 percent). Among e-mails on mobile devices that lead to sales, 59 percent come from a tablet and 41 percent from a smartphone.