Inbox Insider: E-mail drives sales away from the inbox

Given that e-mail is the choice form of communication for many consumers, it's no surprise that its influence on offline sales, brand advocacy and discovery is high.

This was one of the main findings of the Global Email Attitudes Survey, conducted by e-Dialog, an e-mail marketing and customer intelligence firm.

The survey queried 13,000 customers in 13 countries across the Americas, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. It found that the 58% of consumers are driven to make a purchase in-store or over the phone after receiving an email marketing alert.

The research indicated that websites are the preferred place for consumers to opt-in. However, consumers said they are also eager to subscribe to e-mail messages offline: 46% when placing a catalog order, 29% at the point of sale or 13% via SMS text messages. 

It's also noteworthy that more than half of consumers say they are willing to act as brand advocates to take part in special offers and promotions.

The main takeaway for marketers is that they should ramp up their e-mail marketing efforts and connect them to in-store and through social networking and mobile channels to drive revenue.