Consumers Are More Willing to Read Marketing Emails: Forrester

US consumers are more happy to read marketing emails than ever before.

Researchers at Forrester have found that attitudes to emails from brands are actually becoming more positive, despite the fact that most people tend to write them off as annoying “spam.”

ForresterForrester research found US consumers are becoming more positive about email marketing.

So why the change of heart? One ad body thinks it has the answer: people’s obsession with their phones.

In 2010, half (49%) of US online consumers said they received too many email offers and promotions. That’s now down to 39%.

One in five (19%) of those polled even said they read every email newsletter they receive just to see if something’s on offer.

Fewer people are also sending marketing emails straight to the trash basket. Just 42% delete promo emails without looking, down from 59% four years ago.

We spoke to Tim Elkington, chief strategy officer at the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB)’s UK branch. IAB UK also ran a study on UK consumer attitudes to marketing emails in November 2013, which yielded similar results.

Elkington says: “The always-on culture of smartphone users means that people are more accepting and responsive to emails. Whether it’s filling 20 minutes on the train when commuting to work or checking emails quickly before meeting a friend for a coffee, people are using this dead time to read emails and interact with brands.”

It might also be because, over time, marketers have gotten their act together. The spam you’re receiving is probably more highly targeted and relevant than before, and you probably requested it from your favorite companies.

Added to that, email services are becoming more sophisticated and filtering out the worst of the spam for us, Forrester suggests.

Forrester polled more than 35,000 North American consumers as part of its North American Technographics Online Benchmark Survey.