The Alchemy Worx Consumer Mailbox Index, a monthly survey of what email marketers are up to...
The AWCM Index [pronounced: aw-suh m], regularly reports on volumes, frequency, send days, from addresses, and spam folder messages received by the monitor.
The AWCM Index reveals a 20% increase in the total volume of emails received in October 2009 compared to September (up from 287 to 344). This is the highest level recorded since December 2008 and 15% higher than October 2008 (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Monthly volume received
Weeks 41-44 saw consecutive increases in the number of emails, from 69 in week 41 to 86 in week 44. Week 45 and week 46 however saw consecutive decreases to 76 (Figure 2).
Figure 2: Weekly volume received
The number of companies sending emails increased in October 2009 to 73 (from 67 in September) of the 107 companies on the AWCM Index (Figure 3).
Figure 3: Number of Companies Mailing per Month
With the increase in the number of emails sent in October (+20%) higher than the increase in the number of companies sending emails (+9%), the average number of emails sent per active company increased to 4.7, the highest level recorded since December 2008 (Figure 4).
Figure 4: Average Frequency
Across the 68 weeks that the AWCM Index has been running, the majority of messages (90%) were received on the monitor on week days. Thursday and Friday were the most popular send days during the working week, accounting for 21% and 23% of mailings respectively, ahead of Wednesday (18%), Tuesday (15%) and Monday
(13% - Figure 5).
Figure 5: Average Day of the Week (Aug08 - Oct09)
The share of messages received on Mondays, Saturdays and Sundays increased in Q4 2009 over Q3 2009, with Saturdays increasing for the third consecutive quarter. Tuesdays lost share for the fourth consecutive quarter, while Wednesdays lost share for the second consecutive quarter (Figure 6).
Figure 6: Day of the Week by Quarter
Methodology
The AWCM Index was started in July 2008 with a fixed number of subscriptions. The index is made up of subscriptions to over 100 free email newsletters or offer programs. The companies represented in the survey cover a broad range of consumer goods and services, including travel, retail, supermarket, comparison sites, DIY / furniture, fashion, health, jewelry, mobile phones, movies, music, photography and electrical goods. Please email us for a full list of companies.
Analysis has been undertaken by Alchemy Worx and the independent Research agency BML.
