From an email perspective, mobile cannot be denied. More and more people are opening and engaging with email from their mobile devices. A recent article in Direct Marketing News reveals results of a study that shows in the mobile realm, iPhone accounts for 38% of email opens, while Android, with a far larger user base, only accounts for 9.3% of opens. What does this mean for the way we design emails?
I had a conversation recently with someone who said, "Whether an email is done with responsive design or not, I still read email from my phone. I don't think it matters whether it's responsive or not."
And to tell the truth, before I started to play with and explroe responsive email design I thought the same thing. And I read email every day from my iPhone. My usual routine is when I wake up, my iPhone is on my bedside table. I pick it up, and the first thing I do is open my email and start going through it. It's where I found the Direct Marketing News email (which is NOT done with responsive design) and where I found the article I'm referencing in this post. That the email isn't designed responsively doesn't necessarily stop me from engaging.
So why bother with responsive design? Is it worth it? After my exploration, here's where I net out. Responsive email design makes engaging with email EASIER. And that is why it's important.
Let's look at human nature, we're wired for EASIER. It's why Staples big campaign is "The Easy Button." It's why we cut corners (look on any school campus where the paved pathways are at right angles, and you'll see a pathway carved through the grass that cuts the corner). If you make your emails easier to engage with, you'll get more engagement.
So... back to the study and it's findings... the study, which included data from Q2 of 2013, reveals that 61.51% of email opens occur on smartphones and tablets. With the iPhone and iPad acocunting for 51% of that figure, while Android phones and tablets account for the remaining 10%. And mobile device usage is still rising.
In a previous post, entitled, "Does Responsive Email Really Work?", I revealed how not all mobile devices and apps support responsive email design - so is it any wonder that the majority of email isn't responsive?
Ask yourself what 'edge' could you gain by starting to embrace and design responsive emails -- just taking into account the 'easy button' factor of human nature? At Genoo, we're adding responsive email templates to give you an "easy button" way to experiment with responsive emails.
My answer is you better start testing it and learning! Because it is a huge shift in how we deliver content. Start building your edge. Here's the article from Direct Marketing News.
Let me know your thoughts! Post a comment.
