Amazon’s December email campaigns outperform competitors, earning nearly 20% read rate

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According to eDataSource, an email marketing and e-commerce analytics platform, Amazon’s email marketing efforts have outperformed seven other retailers so far this month.

Tracking campaigns sent between November 29 (the day after Cyber Monday) through December 10, the e-commerce giant sent 1,691 email campaigns — earning 96.6 percent inbox placement and a 19.8 percent read rate.

Looking at email marketing efforts for Amazon, Toys “R” Us, Macy’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Best Buy, Walmart, Kohl’s and Target, eDataSource tracked the total campaigns sent, read rates and inbox placement — comparing this year’s results with 2015.

Amazon not only came out ahead for read rates and inbox placement, it also sent 56 percent more campaigns this year than it did last year.

Inbox placement was down across the board, with the exception of Macy’s — whose inbox placement saw a very slight increase in 2016 (94.2 percent in 2015 versus 94.5 percent this year). While inbox placement rates were down, nearly all of the retailers earned above 90 percent. Dick’s Sporting Goods was the only store not to reach 90 percent, earning 84.7 percent this year compared to 93.6 percent last year.

Even though Amazon’s read rates were ahead of the pack, they actually dropped in 2016 compared to 2015, going from 22.7 percent to 19.8 percent. Read rates were also down for Dick’s Sporting Goods and Best Buy.

At 14.1 percent, Target saw the biggest jump in year-over-year read rates, up 40 percent compared to last year.

eDataSource Holiday Email Marketing Report

In addition to read rates and inbox placement, eDataSource ranked the top email marketing subject lines from the eight retailers. Amazon’s email with the subject line “Now on markdown: Shoes for every occasion” earned the highest read rate at 37 percent.

You can find eDataSource’s full report at: Amazon Leads Holiday Retailers Across Key Metrics of Email Marketing Activity and Performance.

About The Author

Amy Gesenhues

Amy Gesenhues is Third Door Media’s General Assignment Reporter, covering the latest news and updates for Marketing Land and Search Engine Land. From 2009 to 2012, she was an award-winning syndicated columnist for a number of daily newspapers from New York to Texas. With more than ten years of marketing management experience, she has contributed to a variety of traditional and online publications, including MarketingProfs.com, SoftwareCEO.com, and Sales and Marketing Management Magazine. Read more of Amy’s articles.