The best digital marketing stats we’ve seen this week
Sit back, enjoy, and don’t forget to check out the Internet Statistics Compendium while you’re at it – it’s full of interesting stuff.
18.1% of all emails are now opened, compared to 17.3% last year
The DMA’s latest email benchmarking report has revealed that email opens have increased, while clicks remain constant.
From the analysis of over 23 billion emails sent by nine different ESPs, it found that emails are opened and read 18.1% of the time – up from 17.3% last year. Meanwhile, click-through rates have remained at 1.9% year-on-year.
Despite a slight decline year-on-year, delivery rates remain high at 97.5%. CTR’s have also remained steady at 1.9%, with 56% of consumers saying they are likely to click links in interesting emails.
When comparing B2C to B2B emails, open rates for B2C were found to be 15.1% compared to 19.7% for B2C. However, B2B emails received 52% more clicks than B2C, suggesting the former sector is excelling when it comes to email relevancy.
More on email:
UK retailers spend almost £1.5million on failed or cancelled digital transformation projects
Fujitsu’s PACT Report, which stems from a survey of more than 1,600 businesses, has revealed that a lack of direction behind digital transformation is hugely costing retailers, as 74% admit to undertaking projects that aren’t linked to overarching business strategy.
As a result of this, UK retailers are said to have spent approximately £827,000 on projects which failed and a further £663,000 on projects which were subsequently cancelled.
Notably, 58% of retailers say that this cost has put them off pursuing digital projects in future.
However, retailers do acknowledge that digital transformation is required in order to keep pace in an increasingly competitive industry. 84% agree that the ability to change will be crucial to their business’ survival in the next five years, while 16% cite new entrants into the retail space as their biggest motivation.
More on digital transformation:
- Four steps to successful digital transformation
- The digital transformation of Accent Group: A retail case study (part 1)
Amsterdam most-searched destination for flights and hotels
According to research from SEMrush, Amsterdam is the UK’s most-searched for holiday destination when it comes to booking flights and hotels online.
Amsterdam’s growing appeal is also reflected in the most-searched for cities to get to by train. While Paris retained the top spot in this category, data reveals that searches for Amsterdam have doubled in the past year, which is likely to be a result of the Eurostar beginning its service to the city in April 2018.
Meanwhile, for the second year running, Mexico is the most searched for all-inclusive destination from the UK. Dubai showed a little growth this year, maintaining second position over third-placed Benidorm. Cancun and Amsterdam completed the top five, with the latter securing its reputation as a good all-round destination.
More on travel:
- Three ways language can affect conversion rates on travel sites
- How six travel & hospitality brands use personalisation to enhance the customer experience
64% of consumers avoid brands because of single bad experience
A new study by Medallia suggests that customer loyalty hangs in the balance of each individual experience, with CX creating a ‘make or break’ mind-set for most consumers.
The report, which comes from a survey of 8,002 in the US, UK, France and Germany, found that 64% of global respondents claim to have avoided a brand because of a bad experience they had within the last year. Furthermore, 47% of respondents say they have avoided a brand that has earned a negative online reputation or negative reviews on social media.
Younger generations were also found to be more influenced by others’ negative experiences, with 58% of Generation Z saying that they took heed of this compared to 44% of over 55’s.
It’s not all doom and gloom, however, as 77% of consumers say they have chosen a product or service from a brand because of a good experience they have had, proving the over-arching importance of CX.
More on CX:
- What is customer experience? How can it be measured? And who should own it?
- The future of customer experience: Trends and challenges in 2018
AI predicts England’s chances of World Cup victory
Blue Yonder has used its AI algorithm to predict the results for the remaining games of the World Cup 2018.
It has done so by analysing every international football match played since 1872 (which is roughly 38,000 matches), and running over one million simulations of the World Cup in order to evaluate each team's chance of progression.
The good news is that is England is predicted to win this Saturday’s match against Sweden, with a 55.9% chance of victory, however, the AI only gives the team a 9.8% chance of going all the way.
Brazil has been tipped as the overall winner, with France and Russia predicted to take second and third place respectively.
More on AI:
- How AI is redefining personalisation & the job of the email marketer
- Five key considerations for implementing AI personalisation
- Marketing and machine learning: From data analysis to creativity at scale
Digital ads generate 14.2% uplift in footfall
According to a new study by On Device Research, digital ads could help struggling UK retailers drive footfall to stores.
Based on a survey of 500 adult smartphone owners, its latest report highlights the importance of mobile in shopping habits, with 29% of UK consumers saying they have bought food and groceries on their mobile phone in the last three months. Similarly, 55% say they have used their mobile to check prices and 30% have read product reviews in-store.
On the back of this, On Device undertook its own study to test the impact of mobile digital ads, with results showing a 14.2% uplift in store footfall following exposure to the digital ad campaign.
More on ads:
- What do inventory ads in local search mean for retail?
- How product-led digital advertising is evolving
App installs from video ads grow 71% YoY
AppsFlyer has released a new study revealing the state of app marketing in the UK and the rest of Europe in 2018, revealing the top media sources for installs and client adoption. The study comes from data derived from 1.3 billion installs, and over 80 billion app-opens.
Results show that Facebook and Google remain the top two drivers of app installs, with Apple Search Ads and Snapchat also ranking in the top 10 for the first time in 2018. It also suggests that video has played a key role in driving app installs and opens, with installs from video ads in the UK growing 71% year-on-year from the same point in 2017.
In terms of what’s to come, AppsFlyer predicts that advertisers will spend 2.3 times more on app installs until 2020, driven by a growth in the mobile attribution market. Retention is also a key driver, with many marketers increasing investment to bring users back to their app.
More on apps: