Adobe (Nasdaq:ADBE) today released findings from its second annual email
survey, focused on U.S. white collar workers’ habits and behavior
related to personal and work email. The report shows that people
constantly check their personal and work email, with smartphones
overtaking computers as the device consumers use most regularly to check
email. Time spent checking email increased 17 percent Year-over-Year
(YoY) and people expect email will remain the preferred way of
communicating at work in five years. Email in the workplace is becoming
less formal and more brief, with expectations of quick responses
increasing. Nearly 70 percent check email while watching TV and 45
percent while in the bathroom.
“This survey underpins that email is here to stay in our personal lives
and in the workplace. The next generation of workers expect fast
responses to email and brevity, mirroring interactions in their personal
lives and their shorter attention span,” said Kristin Naragon, director
of Email Solutions, Adobe Campaign. “Marketers must adapt their approach
to address email behaviors and avoid adding to the noise of the inbox.
This means fewer emails and ensuring those sent are mobile-optimized,
personalized and contextual to offer the best possible digital
experience.”
Additional survey findings from U.S. white collar respondents include:
-
“Always on” email culture in business: Almost one-half of the
people surveyed expect a response to email within less than an hour at
work. Expectations are dramatically higher with older millennials
(25-34): over one-fourth expect email responses within a few minutes.
On the weekend, people send 19 work emails and read 29 emails on
average. 79 percent admit to checking work email on vacation and
nearly one-fourth divulge that they frequently or constantly check
email on vacation. Smartphones are the primary device on which
millennials check email (90 percent for ages 18-24; 88 percent for
ages 25-34).
-
Work email becomes less formal: Nearly 70 percent of
respondents say that texting has impacted their work emails, making
emails more concise (37 percent) and less formal (20 percent). 42
percent have used an emoji in a work email. The “thumbs up” emoji is
most popular (31 percent) at work. One-fourth say their use of emojis
in the workplace is increasing. Most respondents prefer email at work
versus other communication methods, most often citing its efficiency.
-
Checking email during conversations is acceptable: Less than 10
percent would be annoyed by someone checking or responding to email
during a face-to-face conversation with a friend or family member.
Pokémon Go players beware – playing a game was cited by more than
one-fourth of workers as the most annoying thing someone could do
during a conversation. In the workplace, respondents cited the most
annoying email behavior as people who “reply all” when it’s
unnecessary.
-
People are so addicted to email that they’re detoxing: 45
percent reported attempting a self-imposed email detox, a break from
checking email. People that work in technology are most likely to
report taking a detox (66 percent versus 39 percent) and 82 percent
reported sticking with their planned detox, which lasted an average of
5.3 days. The majority saw a positive impact from their email detox,
with 37 percent reporting they felt liberated and 34 percent feeling
relaxed.
-
Consumers prefer to receive marketing offers via email: 50
percent prefer to be contacted by brands via email, followed by direct
mail at 22 percent and social media at nine percent. Yet respondents
find less than one-quarter of email offers interesting enough to open.
Consumers report intolerance of waiting for images to load on a
smartphone.
Adobe
Campaign enables marketers to automate, manage and execute
personalized campaigns across email, web, social, display and mobile
channels, as well as offline channels including direct mail and point of
sale. The Adobe Campaign team will host a TweetChat with email marketing
influencers on Wednesday, Oct. 5 at 4 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Join
the discussion on Twitter at #AdobeChat.
Methodology
Adobe surveyed more than 1,000 white collar workers in the U.S. and more
than 3,000 white collar workers in the U.K., France and Germany about
their use of personal and work email. The surveys were conducted between
July 28 and Aug. 16, 2016. All respondents owned a smartphone.
Helpful Links
About Adobe
Adobe is changing the world through digital experiences. For more
information, visit www.adobe.com.
© 2016 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved. Adobe and the
Adobe logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe
Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. All
other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Adobe
Melissa Chanslor, 415-832-5489
chanslor@adobe.com
or
Stefan Offermann, 408-536-4023
sofferma@adobe.com