One of the biggest beneficiaries of Big Data is one that very few saw coming – email.
Today, the information recorded about shopping habits and online consumer preferences is being used to shape branded email messages that have a much more potent impact on potential customers than they have ever had before.
And guess what? Consumers actually seem to like it.
A December 2013 survey of digital shoppers conducted by Harris Interactive found that people receiving emails that had been personalized based on information about their shopping behaviors were more influenced by these marketing messages.
81% of those surveyed admitted to being at least “somewhat” likely to make a purchase because of targeted email.
Even further, 80% of people polled said that they would be willing to receive more emails as long as they took into account their past shopping habits and helped the brands that they liked to improve the types of messages (and deals, of course) that they would receive. The survey found that nearly 70% were even willing to disclose personal information in order to get emails that were more relevant to their buying situation.
One of the major reasons that consumers are so willing to agree to accept more emails and provide their personal information is simply the fact that they’ve already opted in to receive these types of messages. In short, consumers like them and they want more.
By 2017, it is projected that there will be nearly 240 million email users in the United States, up from 230 million today. As a result, email marketing is surging like never before, thanks in no small part to the advent of Big Data.