According to Epsilon’s Global Consumer Email Study, conducted by ROI Research, the survey of over 4000 consumers in 13 countries finds that Email remains a mainstay communication, showing that 87% of North American(and 74% of European respondents are more likely than their peers in APAC to use email as their primary online communications tool.

Instant messaging as the main channel for communication, is notably high in APAC with 28% of respondents, while text/SMS and social networking remain consistently low across all regions. While most consumers manage one primary inbox for the programs they subscribe to, mobile phones and PDAs are gaining popularity for time-sensitive alerts such as news, weather and finance/stock information.

Email is also replacing other channels of communication. Over one-third of respondents have replaced traditional (communication) channels in favor of email for communications from:

Banks (40%)
Promotional postal mail (38%)
Telemarketing (34%)
Offline coupons (14%)
Telemarketing (28%)

PBEs (permission-based email) are more likely to elicit actions from APAC respondents including clicking on a website, signing up for more information, watching a video clip, clicking on an advertised link or purchasing on or off-line. APAC also leads in reported usage of a PDA or Smartphone for email with 32%, significantly more than North America (9%) and Europe (7%).

59% of APAC consumers report making an offline purchase as a result of email communications, followed by North America (53%) and EMEA (37%). Half of APAC respondents feel that “subject” lines are the most compelling feature to open a permission-based email; over two-thirds of North American and European respondents select the “from” line. Discount offers, free product offers, familiar brand names and personalization of subject lines increase the likelihood of opening among all respondents.

Other key findings from the study include:

Respondents cite security and lack of attractive offers/promotions as the primary reasons why they do not interact with the emails they receive.
North American respondents are the most likely to unsubscribe.
Irrelevant content and frequency are cited as the two most likely reasons for un-subscription.
Eight in ten North American respondents have added PBE addresses to safe sender lists; overall, more than half of respondents have added PBE addresses to safe sender lists.
Respondents are most concerned about viruses, identity theft, phishing, and scams. Concerns about phishing and pharming have increased significantly from 2005 to 2009 for US respondents.

Kevin Mabley, SVP of Strategic Services at Epsilon,  ”… these findings reinforce the need for marketers to speak to consumers in a two-way dialogue… respecting… (consumer) preferences and past interactions… knowledge of local marketplace trends is crucial and testing each strategy and program will provide confirmation of what’s working.”