Data breaks down cost of email unsubs for retailers

While most merchants will see big increases in their email subscription rates over the next few weeks, there will also be a crash once the holiday season has past. That, according to new data out from Bluecore, because shoppers are signing up to get those holiday deals and then unsubscribing once they're through buying for the holidays. What's more, they've broken down exactly what retailers can expect to lose from these unsubscribes.

by Kristina Knight

Starting at the low end, merchants who have an average order value of $50 will lose about $17.92 in revenue for every unsubscribe from their email lists; for those with an AOV of $100, look for a loss in revenue of about $36. And, according to Bluecore's experts, over a six month period merchants who see 10,000 shoppers unsubscribe from their lists will lose nearly 3,600 purchases.

Just how much of an issue is the holiday unsubscribe rate? According to Bluecore during the holiday season merchants can expect to see a 57% higher than average unsubscription rate.

"These spikes can likely be attributed to shoppers who subscribe during the holiday season to find the best deals and then unsubscribe shortly thereafter," said Jared Blank, SVP of Marketing and Insights, Bluecore.

Bluecore also broke down the monetary value of unsubscriptions over a six month period. For retailers with that $50 AOV, unsubs over a six month period can equal just over $179,000 in lost revenue and retailers with AOV's at $100 could lose up to $358,000 over a six month period.

Tags: Bluecore, email content, email marketing, email tips, email unsubscription costs, email unsubscriptions