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STRATEGY AND ANALYTICS / TARGETING / CREATIVE / TECHNOLOGY / DIGITAL
Q4 2010 EMAIL TRENDS AND
BENCHMARKS –
PRESENTED BY EPSILON AND
THE EMAIL EXPERIENCE COUNCIL
Research: March 2011
epsilon.com

STRATEGY AND ANALYTICS / TARGETING / CREATIVE / TECHNOLOGY / DIGITAL
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Q4 2010 Email Trends and Benchmarks study shows steady open rates in a number of
industries. In addition, average volume per client through the holiday season increased from
the previous quarter and the same time last year.
This report also delves into message types and performance trends by industry. Certain
types of email messages have higher open and click rates, therefore marketers need to
leverage these opportunities to communicate with their key audience.
The Q4 2010 Email Trends and Benchmarks study is compiled from 7.4 billion emails sent
by Epsilon in Q4 (October – December) 2010, across multiple industries and approximately
150 participating clients. This benchmark report should be used only as a guideline, since
specifics for each company will drive results.
Q4 2010 OVERALL PERFORMANCE
• Open rates (22.1%) saw little change over the two-year period, increasing 5% from
the same time two years ago. Four of the 13 reported industries saw an increase
in open rates over Q4 2009.
• Click rates (5.1%) decreased from the same time last year (5.9%) but remain
established over the last two years.
• Average volume per client increased 34.3% from last quarter and 18.5% from Q4 2009.
• The non-bounce rate (95.0%) increased compared to this time last year (93.9%).
• Conversion rates increased 11.3% over last quarter and 16.1% over last year.
The 2.9% conversion rate is the strongest over a two-year period.
• Median order sizes increased 19.8% over last quarter.
• The increase in median order size and orders delivered per email led to a 16.1% increase
in revenue per email over the previous quarter.
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
20.9%
Epsilon’s Non-bounce, open and click rates
continue to drive strong results
94.4% 93.5% 94.8% 96.1%
94.1% 94.1% 93.9% 94.7%
•
• •
• •
•
5.8% 6.1% 5.9% 6.2% 5.9% 6.0% 5.3% 5.4%
p
22.1%
• •
21.9% 22.0% 22.4% 22.1% 22.0%
• • • • • • • •
p
22.2%
p
p
Q408 Q109 Q209 Q309 Q409 Q110 Q210 Q310
p
• Non-Bounce • Open rate p Click-through
p
p
p
95.0%
•
22.1%
•
5.1% p
Q410
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STRATEGY AND ANALYTICS / TARGETING / CREATIVE / TECHNOLOGY / DIGITAL
INDUSTRY PERFORMANCE
Business Products and Services General, Retail General, Retail Specialty and Travel/Hospitality
Travel Services had an increase in open rates compared to the previous year.
Only Consumer Services General and Retail Apparel saw an increase in the click rate compared
to the same quarter in 2009.
The highest open rate was in Travel/Hospitality Travel Services (28.4%) and the highest click rate
was Consumer Products CPG (10.3%). Consumer Products CPG also had the highest click to open
rate (53.7%), greatly exceeding all other industries.
Q4 10 North American Industry
Average Sent
per Client
Non-
Bounce
Open Rate Click Rate Click to
Open Rate
Business Products and Services General 55.1% 92.4% 21.9% 3.8% 17.4%
Business Publishing/Media General -76.8% 97.5% 16.4% 4.4% 26.8%
Consumer Products CPG 30.6% 95.4% 19.2% 10.3% 53.7%
Consumer Products Pharmaceutical -75.7% 84.0% 23.2% 6.3% 27.1%
Consumer Publishing/Media General 30.8% 97.9% 14.1% 4.9% 34.6%
Consumer Services General 9.5% 97.4% 18.6% 4.1% 22.1%
Consumer Services Telecom 20.3% 96.4% 21.1% 5.3% 24.9%
Financial Serviced CC/Banks 29.0% 93.8% 27.9% 3.5% 12.6%
Financial Services General 35.5% 96.0% 26.9% 4.8% 17.9%
Retail Apparel 72.8% 98.9% 13.1% 3.8% 29.2%
Retail General 19.5% 96.7% 25.1% 6.7% 26.6%
Retail Specialty -104.9% 97.0% 21.3% 4.4% 20.5%
Travel/Hospitality Travel Services -5.6% 94.9% 28.4% 4.2% 14.7%
Red or green text indicates an increase (green) or decrease (red) over last year’s metrics
epsilon.com

STRATEGY AND ANALYTICS / TARGETING / CREATIVE / TECHNOLOGY / DIGITAL
CAMPAIGN PERFORMANCE
The Q4 2010 Email Trends and Benchmarks also analyzed the message types and their performance metrics.
74.4% of emails delivered by Epsilon were categorized as marketing messages, up from 63.1% the previous quarter.
Marketing messages had relatively low open (17.4%) and click (3.5%) rates compared to service and editorial
messages which typically contain highly relevant and targeted information based on consumer preferences
and/or triggered campaigns.
% Delivered in Q4 2010
Acquisition
Service Editorial
0.0%
4.4%
0.9%
Research
0.0%
Other
20.2%
Marketing
74.4%
Key metrics varied by message type across the industries analyzed. Marketing messages fared well in categories such
as Business Publishing/Media General, Consumer Services General, Consumer Services Telecom, Financial Services
CC/Banks, and Financial Services General.
Message Types by Industry
74.4% of emails delivered through Epsilon
were tagged as Marketing messages*
Message Type Open Rate Click Rate CTOR
Service 38.2% 8.0% 20.9%
Other 23.2% 3.7% 16.1%
Editorial 21.6% 5.5% 25.5%
Research 18.1% 3.0% 16.8%
Marketing 17.4% 3.5% 20.4%
Acquisition/Research 15.1% 2.9% 19.2%
* Message types are based on emails deployed out of the DREAM platform and
defined by the person(s) creating the campaigns which may not reflect the same
definitions as your company
Industry Industry Category Message
Type
Open
Rate
Click
Rate
Click to
Open Rate
% of Total
Delivered
in Industry
Business Products and Services Business Products and Services General Marketing 14.1% 2.0% 13.9% 72.4%
Other 10.4% 1.7% 16.7% 26.6%
Acquisition 6.9% 2.5% 36.4% 0.4%
Research 2.4% 0.6% 24.9% 0.5%
Business Publishing/Media Business Publishing/Media General Marketing 29.4% 3.9% 13.3% 9.7%
Service 22.3% 1.8% 8.1% 0.4%
Other 21.9% 1.7% 7.7% 4.3%
Editorial 21.1% 5.5% 25.9% 83.8%
Acquisition 11.4% 1.2% 10.7% 1.8%
Consumer Products Consumer Products CPG Other 14.3% 4.2% 29.2% 0.5%
Marketing 13.9% 3.3% 23.5% 99.5%
Consumer Publishing/Media Consumer Publishing/Media General Other 9.6% 1.9% 19.6% 100.0%
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STRATEGY AND ANALYTICS / TARGETING / CREATIVE / TECHNOLOGY / DIGITAL
Message Types by Industry (cont.)
Industry Industry Category Message
Type
Open
Rate
Click
Rate
Click to
Open Rate
% of Total
Delivered
in Industry
Consumer Services Consumer Services General Other 75.89% 20.2% 26.6% 1.2%
Acquisition 43.5% 8.5% 19.7% 0.0%
Marketing 28.1% 5.3% 18.8% 98.8%
Consumer Services Telecom Marketing 34.0% 4.1% 12.0% 100.0%
Financial Services Financial Services CC/Banks Research 59.8% 13.3% 22.2% 0.0%
Service 37.9% 7.8% 20.7% 34.3%
Other 37.5% 5.8% 15.4% 49.8%
Marketing 25.5% 2.2% 8.6% 15.9%
Financial Services General Service 64.7% 17.9% 27.7% 4.1%
Other 59.4% 14.2% 23.9% 3.7%
Marketing 27.4% 3.1% 11.2% 92.2%
Editorial 22.4% 4.6% 20.3% 0.0%
Retail Retail Apparel Service 69.6% 11.6% 16.6% 0.0%
Other 11.8% 3.1% 26.4% 16.3%
Marketing 11.0% 2.2% 20.3% 83.7%
Service 64.4% 27.8% 43.1% 0.0%
Retail General Other 18.9% 2.9% 15.1% 25.7%
Research 18.8% 6.7% 35.5% 0.0%
Marketing 18.1% 4.0% 22.4% 74.2%
Retail Specialty Research 75.5% 30.3% 40.1% 0.0%
Service 63.8% 8.4% 13.1% 0.1%
Editorial 28.9% 6.0% 20.7% 1.1%
Other 18.6% 3.0% 16.3% 17.2%
Marketing 16.1% 1.9% 12.0% 81.7%
Travel/Hospitality Travel/Hospitality Travel Services Other 62.9% 6.2% 9.9% 0.1%
Service 62.0% 7.6% 12.3% 0.0%
Acquisition 47.2% 13.4% 28.5% 0.0%
Research 42.6% 4.9% 11.5% 0.1%
Marketing 19.1% 2.8% 14.6% 99.8%
epsilon.com

STRATEGY AND ANALYTICS / TARGETING / CREATIVE / TECHNOLOGY / DIGITAL
CONCLUSIONS
It is not simply enough to send batch-and-blast email marketing campaigns to a broad
database of consumers. In order to get the most out of the email marketing program,
Epsilon recommends utilizing consumer data – both stated preferences and past behavior –
to personalize and individualize campaigns that appeal to the consumer and create a one-to-one
dialogue. As more marketers compete for inbox space, triggered campaigns become increasingly
important – targeting a consumer when they’re engaged with your brand – whether it’s directly
following their registration on your website or upon the completion of a purchase or transaction.
By combining a personalized and highly targeted message with the ideal timing of deployment,
marketers will be better positioned to communicate effectively with the consumer and improve
email metrics while increasing revenue.
6

Epsilon
Corporate
Headquarters
4401 Regent Boulevard
Irving, TX 75063
1-800-309-0505
info@epsilon.com
Email Experience Council
Direct Marketing Association
1120 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036
Ali Swerdlow
917.213.9721
ali@emailexperience.org
epsilon.com
emailexperience.org