September email numbers continue on high side

On average, Responsys shows retailers sent more than 15.5 promotional emails to their customers in the month of September, that is a record high for the month. It's also an increase of over 15% YoY. For the year retail emails are up 19% over 2011 numbers.

"Promotional email volume continued to rise at a strong rate during September," said Chad White, Research Director at Responsys. "At this pace, 2012 email volume is set to surpass 2011 volume by Thanksgiving While holiday messaging as a percent of total emails sent is still appropriately in the single digits, a record number of retailers have signaled to their subscribers that it's time to start thinking about Christmas. Many retailers like Macy's are focused on promoting holiday décor, but some retailers like Kmart and Toys "R" Us are already messaging about gift-buying by promoting layaway and preorders for 'hot' toys. By the end of October, more than 65 percent of retailers will have begun their holiday email messaging."

More than one-quarter (28%) or retailers had mentioned the upcoming holiday season in emails by the end of September, the earliest mentions that Responsys has tracked.

Meanwhile, outside of email, retailers showing interest in the social pinning site Pinterest. Responsys reports 55% of retailers are now mentioning Pinterest sites and pins in their promotional emails with 53% mentioning specific pinboards and 17% promoting Pinterest contests.

Tags: email marketing, email messages, email trends, Responsys, retail email trends