The majority of email messages will be read on mobile devices by the end of 2012, predicts email services firm Return Path. In a newly-released study, the company says email open rates have increased 82.4% between March of 2011 and March of 2012, now accounting for nearly 30% of email opens.

Apple devices — iPhones, iPads and iPods — accounted for 85% of mobile opens. On the iPad alone, email opens have increased 53.6% year-over-year. Those mobile views are mostly happening on the weekends, while desktop views are more likely to occur during the weekdays.

When it comes to desktop clients, Outlook is still the dominant client, accounting for 68% of opens, with Apple coming in second with 29%.

Of webmail services, Yahoo Mail has the most readership with 37%, followed by Hotmail (29%) and Gmail lagging at 6%.

The study relies on data Return Path gathered from October 2011 to March 2012 from nearly 500 different clients.

Related Topics: Channel: Email Marketing | Email Marketing | Mobile Marketing | Statistics: Email Marketing | Statistics: Mobile Marketing

About The Author: Pamela Parker is executive features editor of Marketing Land and a contributing editor for Search Engine Land. She’s a well-respected authority on digital marketing, having reported and written on the subject since 1998, including a stint as managing editor of ClickZ. She’s also worked to help monetize independent publishers’ sites at Federated Media Publishing. She blogs about media and marketing at The River and about cooking, gardening and parenthood at Free Range. See more articles by Pamela Parker

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