The Relevance of Mobile Email

5 key stats on the mobile email evolution

I recently moved to a new city, with a population nearly four times the size of the town I formerly lived in. While acquainting myself with the town, I’ve realized one thing: nearly everyone I’ve seen thus far is attached to their mobile phones.

This has been the case in local restaurants, in coffee shops, and even in the house I’m living in. The interesting thing, is that all the phones have been smartphones, and that the individuals aren’t talking on them, they are perusing the Internet and sending text messages.

I’m well aware of the significance of smartphones, and the inherent value they provide, but I’m never witnessed the immense usage as much as I have now. Being around a larger population certainly affords the opportunity, and has persuaded me to research and share some data related to email consumption on smartphones.

The importance of mobile email

First, it’s worth noting that all of this data is coming from Return Path, a leader in email solutions. Their findings have shown that 50% of mobile phones in the US are smartphones.

As half of Americans with mobile phones have the capability of being online, there is certainly more to do than check email, right? Even though that may be true, it’s reported that 88% of people check their email with a smartphone daily. And over 40% of the time spent on mobile Internet is dedicated to email.

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As digital publishers have learned, mobile is changing the way content is consumed. The activities that are engaging to mobile users may not be the same as the ones heavily used on desktops or laptops. However, one thing that has remained popular is email. And with the case of mobile email use, the numbers are growing. Return Path reports that, “by the end of 2012, more people will be reading emails on a mobile device than on a desktop or webmail.”

One of the most important stats pertaining to mobile email is its ability to drive revenue. People have often questioned the staying power and relevance of email, especially as social media has become so popular. Still, email is viewed as a trusted and reliable source for important communications. People access and pay bills through email. They receive important documents, including bank statements through email. This has not changed on mobile devices, and consumers are taking action as 56% of consumers have made a purchase from their smartphone after receiving an aligned marketing message with email. The amount of trust in making purchases via smartphones seems pretty impressive, this early in the game.

Additional mobile email stats

In concluding, I wanted to share a few more stats:

-The weekends have higher mobile email usage than during the weekdays. This is likely the case as working professionals are typically in front of laptop and desktop computers more often during the week.

-Emails are closed or deleted by 63% of Americans and 41% of Europeans if the email isn’t properly optimized for mobile.

-Yahoo! mail is the most popular webmail used on smartphones; Apple devices account for 85% of mobile email read.

For more information, check out Return Path’s informative infographic on the subject matter.