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Report: 66 Percent Of Email Opens On Mobile, Mostly iOS Devices

Only a third of email opens now happening on the PC.

Greg Sterling on November 19, 2014 at 9:56 am

Email marketing platform Movable Ink has released its Q3 “Consumer Device Preferences Report.” The report is focused on email engagement and based on statistics captured from across the company’s client base.

The report states that nearly half of all email opens are happening on smartphones. Another 17 percent are happening on tablets and the remaining 34 percent are happening on PCs. Of all email opens, Movable Ink says that just over 59 percent are happening on iOS devices. Frankly that’s amazing given Android marketshare dominance.

The following chart reflects email opens by device and time of day. According to the data, smartphone email opens are consistent throughout the day, while PCs are used principally in the morning and tablets are used largely in the evening hours.

Where it gets more nuanced and interesting is in the vertical breakdown. In selected categories such as automotive and financial the PC is still preferred to mobile devices for reading email, while in travel the PC and mobile are used equally. In other categories, smartphones dominate as they do overall.

This behavior indicates that consumers are making clear and rational choices about which devices to use for which types of activities and research.

It’s now very well established that emails (and associated landing pages) that aren’t mobile friendly are largely wasted and can even negatively impact brand perception. Woe be to those retailers and marketers that haven’t yet fully adapted to the mobile marketplace.

About The Author

Greg Sterling

Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land. He writes a personal blog, Screenwerk, about connecting the dots between digital media and real-world consumer behavior. He is also VP of Strategy and Insights for the Local Search Association. Follow him on Twitter or find him at Google+.