Email marketing typically goes on vacation in August when sending volumes drop significantly and open rates are generally lower than other months. However, the research results confirm how special 2020 was. The values returned are well above the averages recorded this month. The following graphs show that, looking only at delivery themed mailings, August saw one of the highest numbers of DEM mailings with around 5 million emails sent and a rate 11% opening. DEM delivery keywords This trend is probably synonymous with the need for last-minute purchases via convenient and fast e-commerce and delivery services (often made free and even faster for summer holidays). In fact, the month of August has turned into an impromptu and unplanned vacation for everyone. It is no coincidence that e-commerce recorded a peak in delivery-themed mailings this month, identical to those of March and April, with around 4 million emails sent . free e-commerce keywords Speaking of sectors, again, the most sent messages were in retail, beauty and home.
More importantly, home and garden products also saw a significant spike in mailings in August, with delivery-themed emails splitting around 10%. In summary By far, COVID-19 and delivery themes have taken center stage in the 2020 email campaign. We analyzed emails with keywords related to these two thematic spheres in the subject. This resulted in an increase in shipments and openings which followed the same evolution as the spread of the virus: a peak in Image Masking Service the first months (March and April), a plateau at lower levels and a drop in summer, followed by a gradual increase as infections and restrictions increased over the fall. Before 2020, companies never included words like “delivery”, “free delivery”, “home delivery” or “at home” in the subject line of their emails. The two brands that had already implemented this type of service and those that had to prepare to set it up to survive focused their communication on this issue from the start of the emergency.
Data from the study shows an increase in the subject lines of delivery-themed mailings during the month of April . This is true for both B2B and B2C (obviously with lower volumes for the former) with 21 million emails . B2C published 3% of its mailings with such a subject . Nearly 8 million were DEM communications . Clearly, this indicates that companies had taken the hit of the march, then organized and reacted quickly. They readjusted their campaigns to contain the emergency and find a solution to social distancing. The public was informed of the possibility of benefiting from home services, in particular from companies that had never used this type of option. The greatest interest has been in emails on the subject of B2B delivery , an industry that probably had never focused its campaigns on such issues before the pandemic. Indeed, B2B achieved the highest open rates . They trended between 15% and 20% above the average for other emails. If only the DEMs are considered , then the rate is even higher , with peaks of around 25%.