Volume of marketing e-mail will surge over next five years, study says

Over the next five years, spending on e-mail marketing in the U.S. will grow at a compound annual rate of 11%, reaching $2 billion by 2014, Forrester Research Inc. says in a new study.

The study, "US Email Marketing Forecast 2009 to 2014," by Forrester analyst David Daniels, notes that the permission-based e-mail campaigns designed to retain existing customers will account for the largest share of e-mail marketing messages, at one-third, by 2014.

One of the biggest challenges facing marketers, Daniels says, will be in managing e-mail marketing campaigns to take advantage of social networks on the web. "Over the next five years, marketers must bridge the gap between social and traditional inboxes with social sharing tools," he says.

The report also notes that e-mail marketing will become more complex as marketers integrate it with customer and product data amid efforts to increase the relevancy of e-mail messages. Without relevancy, e-mail campaigns will wind up in junk folders, it adds.

"By 2014 direct marketers will waste $144 million on e-mails that never reach their primary target," Daniels says. "Successful direct marketing pros will alter their tactics to overcome inbox clutter and increase relevancy."

The report adds that spending on ad-sponsored e-mail newsletters will double over the next five years, coinciding with declines in circulation and ad revenue at print publishers.


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