For me, Gap and its sibling brands are the most guilty. I get bombarded by emails, always offering this discount or that discount — sometimes marketed as a very special exclusive offer just for me (and, presumably, millions of others). I mostly delete them. Their model is clearly high volume, low conversion. I wish they’d change it to something more sensitive and targeted.

I find Target’s emails pretty good, mainly because they are relevant and focused. I also like the story-telling emails of skincare brand Aesop; they are always interesting to read and I will usually engage with them.

I think this is a complex question with a few dimensions. I do think it’s more analogous to complaints about advertising. The fact is many retailers use email as a revenue channel that works in spite of what sometimes appears as too much volume. I think it’s basically an attempt to be present when the consumer is ready to buy. The challenge happens when it comes to engagement and gaining the consumer’s attention and mindshare – over time, I believe most consumers like me stop looking closely at these communications due to fatigue. At the same time, when that consumer is ready to buy, having an email there handy from the past few days with a discount certainly helps drive a sale. That then places the value of this channel as a “discount and offer” communication mechanism at the expense of developing a closer relationship with the customer. Most retailers want to move away from discounts and toward value-based customer relationships — which does depend on greater personalization and relevance. Back out the lens further… Read more »

I don’t open the vast majority of retail emails that I receive. And these are brands that I like. But if every day you’re having the “biggest sale ever” it’s exhausting and I just don’t believe you. The fewer emails I receive from a brand, the more likely I am to open them. It’s kind of like when your quiet friend speaks up and says something. Everyone listens because you assume it’s important. At least for me, the same idea applies to emails.

Sending a daily email to consumers only reinforces the notion that retailers are talking AT customers instead of WITH them. We as an industry have to get a lot more savvy about detecting purchasing patterns, then making targeted recommendations (a la Netflix) that recipients will respect and act upon.

Email still works, but just a few seconds is what you get to grab the customer’s attention. That few seconds includes initial attraction and interest to the message, which will die quickly if it is all copy. We must have pictures/graphics. That being said, be careful, younger generations seem to be strolling away from email. Sending emails too often is deadly. Focus group participants tell us that receiving emails once every twelve to twenty days is plenty!

Generic emails announcing another sale are interchangeable and sound alike. Since most all retailers do this it certainly appears to be too many. If the emails are about something else or are personalized, they do stand out. If the emails actually provide value, then they may even be appreciated.

Oh my goodness, where to begin! One, after moderating a panel of Millennials at a conference, I took the advice of one: create an email rule that dumps all promotional emails into a folder, and then when you decide you might want something, go to the folder, search it, and see if you can find a deal. You do have to purge the folder every once in awhile, but otherwise, you get a cleaner, stress-free inbox, without losing access to all the promotions retailers insist on sending out. Some of the best advice I ever took. I have since learned the other value of this approach: it actually helps you see just how inane some retailers’ strategies are. I fielded a question from a reporter about whether #metoo was having an impact on Valentine’s Day, like were retailers for whom V-day is important changing their messaging. I went to my handy “ads” folder, and found that 1-800-Flowers had sent me a ridiculous number of emails in a two-week period. I didn’t count them, but it… Read more »

This is an important question — I just wouldn’t trust this study’s full conclusions. As they start to “dig deeper” it looks too me like the analysts enter into the realm of assumptions and guesses — not research. Perhaps interesting suggested theories about email but not “conclusions based on research.” I’d challenge, for example, Amazon’s best ranking for brand reputation — that’s probably a false positive from Amazon’s ubiquitous presence, not because everyone loves them. That said, how much email is too much? Figuring that out is an art, not a science. If you’re not getting some complaints, you’re not emailing enough. If those complaints show your brand values damaged, then you’re emailing too much. A great deal of this has to do with whether the emails are useful to consumers or not. Amazon’s emails to me are worthless — some are even worse as they are in-your-face reminders that they’re tracking my behavior. We all need to develop a good ear for what information is most useful to consumers – even if they don’t… Read more »

Email is definitely overused by some retailers. Some send messages multiple times each day, generally with just changed subject lines. The offers aren’t that much different from day to day and I am tired of ONE DAY SALE or 40% off the entire store, followed the next day by 50% off the entire store. It’s exhausting.

If email is to remain the favored way to connect with consumers, retailers are going to have to zero in on real personalization, because subject lines that read, “Hey, Bender!” isn’t it.

Oh, my! I am really out of it. Of the 13 retailers in the list, the only one that sends me emails is Amazon and I welcome that. I get emails from airlines and hotels (are they considered retail for this purpose?), and I welcome them.

Of course, once GDPR-like rules takes effect in the U.S., everything changes.

While we are all experiencing email overload, the reality is that email continues to be a low-cost, high volume and highly effective channel for marketing. Many abuse this permission with too much frequency, but what people mean by too much frequency is that too many of the emails are not valuable enough. If each email was valuable, it wouldn’t matter if it was weekly or daily.

Value is about relevance and aligning with customers’ consumption. Personalized content is a good start to weed out the noise, but you also have to personalize frequency.

I don’t have time for the retail emails I receive and — as a result — I unsubscribe whenever possible with very limited exceptions. So, for me, the answer to the first question is a resounding, “Yes.” As to personalization, too much of it is like the old mass mailing that had your name in the greetings line. Truly personalized? Maybe, but I haven’t seen a lot of it.

There is too much data and too little relevance and that’s why the majority of the brands on this list are eroding the value of their customer relationships with excessive email. As pointed out in this discussion, too many retailers believe that email is simply a revenue channel and that more sends means more revenue. Our own research (and Jeff Bezos in this year’s Amazon letter to shareholders) reveals that consumers have increasingly higher expectations in terms of their customer experience and this fundamentally means relevance.

Brand trust and loyalty are increasingly being redefined as data and privacy appropriately demand. Retailers need to get on board just like brands in other categories or risk irrelevance along with their customers opting out.

It’s only too much email if they unsubscribe or never buy! OK, that’s a bit facetious. When an email is unwanted or irrelevant — regardless of actual amount — it seems like too much. The old spray and pray method of weekly or sale related emails corresponds to retailers’ needs, not shoppers. Retailers need to get on board with today’s email technology and CRM platforms to best understand demand and response to ensure optimal timing and cadence to their emails.

Retailers are sending out too many emails — bad emails, that is. Emails that scream offer, offer, deal, deal, buy now, buy now with little branding, personalization or added value to them. The best emails incorporate storytelling (content-based marketing) as well as value-driven offers to make the combination more compelling and drive open and click-thru rates. Consumers want to read stories and especially stories that relate to their lives and needs. That is a lot of work to put into a little email, but well worth the effort.