Why email marketing is still relevant in 2021

After exchanging the usual pleasantries, we invariably  got to the ubiquitous question of what one does for a living. Email marketing, I said and waited for his reaction.

“Do people still read their emails in 2021?” he asked in a snarky tone.

After my equally snide first reaction, I stopped and asked myself: Is email marketing still relevant in 2021 or should I find another job?

When it comes to email marketing opinions are divided. There are those who think, as my acquaintance so politely pointed out, that email marketing is a thing of the past, and there are those who believe it to be the best thing since sliced bread, usually the guys with similar jobs as mine.

I, on the other hand, like to look at data and this time will be no different. Is email marketing still relevant in 2021? Let’s see.

Covid-19 and the rise of email marketing

March 2020. The Covid-19 pandemic blew out of proportions and we were forced to stay in lockdown. No more window shopping & people watching in malls. What did that mean? An unprecedented rise of online shopping.

The  number of people buying goods and services online has increased more than ever before with people who never ordered from the internet doing so for the very first time. Heck, even my mother started ordering stuff on Amazon, and she is technologically challenged.

• Consequently, customers started to be more interested in digital communication, especially email marketing, as a way to stay connected with their favourite brands and hunt their best products and offers;
• Surveys indicate a 4.7% increase in open rates compared with 2019, especially in industries such as retail, education, finance, professional services, food and wholesales and the trend seems to keep a steady rise;
• What can be learned from this? Email is still the go-to communication tool for customers and it will not go out very soon.

Email marketing KPIs still hit the roof

• 4 billion emails users will send & receive 319 billion emails this year according to Statistica. 73% of millennials identify email as their preferred means of business communication. 80% of retail businesses indicate email marketing as their number one driver of customer retention;
• 35% of millennials make a purchase from email two to five times in a month with email marketing scoring a 4400% ROI. Not to mention, better results than social media in building brand awareness, nurturing leads and conversion.

Need I go on?