May I have your attention, please? An investigation on opening effectiveness in e-mail marketing

Academic research has yet to provide a comprehensive view on how to capture individuals’ attention when a promotional e-mail reaches their inbox. This study investigates the variables that influence consumers’ attention toward promotional e-mails, operationalized as open rates, and proposes an integrative model that combines and integrates visible, temporal, and contextual elements. The empirical analysis uses ordinary least squares linear regression to validate the model with data obtained from a multinational sample. The dataset, which is global in nature, comprises 5765 different promotional e-mails sent between 2013 and 2018 by different multinational companies to 455 million users located in 73 countries. The analysis provides information about the relative importance of the variables that influence individuals’ decisions to open a promotional e-mail and shows that the frequency of mailing and the use of segmentation techniques significantly affect the individual’s attention to e-mail marketing communications. The results also show a non-transparent opportunity cost associated with every e-mail sent and give advice on how to control that virtual cost. The research provides further recommendations to marketing professionals to improve the effectiveness of e-mail marketing campaigns.