June 24, 2010

By By Mark Dolliver

Despite all the complaints one hears about e-mail spam, a survey in the U.S. and 12 countries in Europe and Asia/Pacific finds plenty of consumers willing to act on marketing e-mails that catch their fancy.

Released this week, the study shows 58% of respondents saying an e-mail marketing message has prompted them to make a purchase at an offline store or via a call-center order desk.

The survey was commissioned by e-Dialog, a company that provides services to e-mail marketers. Polling was conducted in April among respondents who'd opted in to join consumer online panels in the 13 countries.

Fifty-seven percent of the respondents said they'd be more likely to buy a product in a store after receiving a marketing e-mail about it. The figure was a shade lower, at 54%, among respondents in the U.S.

A key for marketers is to get consumers to opt-in to receive their e-mailed sales pitches. Respondents said they're most apt to hand over their e-mail address for this purpose after clicking on a company's Web site (47%), when placing an order via the company's catalogue (46%) or during a consumer survey (45%).

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