How to keep emails from getting lost in the holiday inbox surge | MarTech

31% of consumers delete emails within seconds based on the subject line. The issue is especially prevalent among Millennials and Gen Z. Global volumes of legitimate, permission-based emails have doubled since early 2020, contributing to inbox overload. Younger generations still engage positively with email, and engagement increases with age, with education and income influencing channel preferences. Overall preference for email is down 5.5% this year while WhatsApp use is up 5.1%. Demand for multichannel experiences has declined nearly 7%, one in six consumers finds personalization invasive, and complaints about overly personal messages have risen 43% year over year.

However, despite all the planning and crafting of email messages, 31% of consumers delete emails within seconds, basing their decision on the subject line, according to data from Validity. The issue of quick deletions is especially prevalent among Millennials and Gen Z. The sheer volume of email is part of the problem. Validity says global email volumes (for legitimate, permission-based emails) have doubled since the beginning of the COVID pandemic in early 2020, when brands were throwing everything they had at digital channels.

To say that younger generations are turning away from email in favor of other channels isn't entirely accurate. The demographics of email use and engagement are far more complicated. "Even the younger generations still engage positively with email," Guy Hanson, VP of customer engagement at Validity, told MarTech. In fact, people engage more with email as they get older. Hanson said that their education and income all influence their channel preferences.

"Relative to other channels, email is losing traction in terms of popularity, and that's mostly due to Gen Z," Sophie Cheng, SVP of product marketing at Sinch, told MarTech. Sinch's research found that consumers' preference for email is down 5.5% this year, while WhatsApp use is up 5.1%. That's probably not surprising because younger generations often adopt new technology and, with it, new preferences.

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