Email Marketing Drives Cross-Channel Sales

Integration with offline channels needed to measure full effect

Cross-channel shopping is a major force in total retail sales. According to Forrester Research, nearly half of all sales are influenced by the web. While online product research often begins with search engines, email marketing can encourage offline action.

According to a worldwide study conducted by Lightspeed Research for email marketing firm e-Dialog, nearly six in 10 internet users around the globe said they were more apt to buy a product in a store after getting a marketing email.


In the US, the percentage was slightly lower, and only a handful of respondents said marketing emails made them decide not to buy.

"There is a tremendous opportunity for brands to strategically connect e-mail marketing to in-store, social networking and mobile channels to drive revenue, acquire new subscribers and importantly, connect the dots for cross-channel measurement and attribution," said Simone Barratt, managing director at e-Dialog International, in a statement. "But one must not forget to take differences across borders into account so as to optimize relevance and effectiveness in every channel."

There was significant variation by country in whether respondents had actually purchased in-store or over the phone because of a marketing email, with respondents in Asia-Pacific (except Japan) most likely to have done so and those in Europe least moved by email marketing. About half of US internet users had made a cross-channel purchase based on a marketing email.


Marketers can also use offline locations to drive email marketing efforts. Just under a third of internet users worldwide said they were willing to give their email address to store associates at the cash register. This not only helps build email lists but also aids in attribution. Offline sales associated with an email address can show marketers the cross-channel value of their email efforts.

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