Promotional emails influence 48% of millennials' purchase decisions at least 'some of the time'

Dive Brief:

A new report from ad tech firm Fluent on digital promotions found promotional email is the most effective way of influencing millennials' purchasing decisions, with 48% of U.S. millennial internet users saying promotional emails impact their purchasing decisions at least "some of the time," according to eMarketer.
Ads on social media and ads on news/entertainment sites performed about equally, with 44% of respondents saying social and online ads influence purchasing decisions at least some of the time. Promotional text messages were the least effective channel, with 42% saying they affect purchasing decision at least some of the time.
Overall, about 25% of U.S. millennial internet users said their purchasing decisions are influenced most or all of the time by promotions across channels. Between 32-44% of respondents said they are never influenced by promotions, depending on the channel.

Dive Insight:

Promotions influence most millennial consumers at least on occasion, but few are influenced most or all of the time.

While recent research by App Annie found that 13-24-year-olds prefer communications via messaging apps and email is slipping with younger demographics, the latest research from Fluent shows that may not be the case. In fact, email was the most popular and well-received channel by millennials among the options provided by Fluent's survey. Research from UK-based email tech firm Adestra found that 68% of teens prefer to be contacted by email versus 7% for both text and push notifications.

That doesn't mean emails to millennials should be treated the same way as emails to older demographics. Younger demographics are more likely to open emails on their mobile devices, making it essential to ensure that any email marketing campaigns targeting millennials are mobile-friendly.

“Email has adjusted and adapted to the mobile presence and remains a flexible channel. It can stand on its own, or support other channels – digital and print – very well,” Marie Homne, senior marketing strategist at Yesmail, told Marketing Dive. “Email remains a strong and viable channel through which we interact with all generations. Wherever the consumer goes with their mobile device, email will be right there with them.”

Marketers should be using responsive design to make sure emails are easily viewed on mobile devices. Mobile emails that use responsive design get 24% more clicks and a 55% higher mobile click-to-open rate, according to Homne.