Email Is Still King For B2C, Followed By Social, Websites, Apps
Email remains a dominant customer engagement channel and a top purchase driver, according to a study by MoEngage and Marketoonist. Among the 730 B2C marketing professionals surveyed, 90% use email for customer engagement, making it the most commonly used channel ahead of social media (80%). Additionally, email is considered the most effective marketing channel, with 76% ranking it as one of their most impactful tools. Social media follows at 57%, with other channels like SMS (45%) and direct mail (33%) lagging behind.
Personalization plays a crucial role in improving email effectiveness. A separate MoEngage analysis of over 312 million emails found that emails using behavior-based and journey-based personalization significantly outperformed basic broadcast emails in both engagement and conversion rates. For instance, in the Retail industry, the click-to-open rate (CTOR) increased from 0.97% for non-personalized emails to 13.81% for journey-based personalized emails. Similar trends were observed across industries like Banking and Finance, Media and Entertainment, and Lifestyle.
Marketers are increasingly adopting personalization strategies, with 90% incorporating some form of personalization in cross-channel campaigns. The most common approach is basic attribute-based personalization (42.7%), followed by customer journey-based (40%) and behavior-based (38%) personalization. However, challenges persist—budget/resource constraints (45.4%) and difficulties in delivering personalized experiences (39.5%) are the biggest obstacles. Many marketers cite an inability to identify gaps in the customer journey as a key barrier to personalization.
Despite these challenges, marketers remain optimistic, with 65% expecting to increase investment in marketing technology this year. AI is playing a growing role in personalization and automation, with 77% using AI for cross-channel marketing—most commonly for content selection (33.2%) and optimizing subject lines and targeting (32.3%). As personalization and AI adoption continue to expand, marketers will need to refine their strategies to enhance engagement and maximize ROI.
Key Actionable Takeaways:
Maximize Email Marketing Effectiveness – With 90% of B2C marketers using email, prioritize it as a key engagement and conversion channel.
Invest in Personalization Strategies – Leverage customer data to enhance email relevance through journey-based and behavior-based personalization.
Utilize AI for Email Optimization – Automate subject line generation, content selection, and targeting to improve open rates and conversions.
Improve Customer Journey Mapping – Identify gaps in the customer journey to create more personalized and seamless experiences.
Expand Beyond Basic Personalization – Move from demographic-based targeting to advanced segmentation, behavioral tracking, and real-time personalization.
Leverage Cross-Channel Integration – Align email marketing with social media, SMS, and website interactions to create a unified customer experience.
Address Budget & Resource Constraints – Prioritize high-ROI initiatives like email automation and AI-driven marketing to optimize resource allocation.
Enhance Data Collection & Utilization – Strengthen first-party data strategies to improve personalization and audience targeting.
Monitor Industry-Specific Trends – Tailor email strategies based on industry benchmarks to maximize engagement and conversion rates.
Increase Investment in MarTech – With 65% of marketers planning to boost marketing technology spending, invest in AI, automation, and data analytics tools for smarter engagement.
