Packaged Goods

The average email open rate rose to 27.4% in Q4, a slight increase from 27.2% in Q3, and a significant 10.5% gain from Q4 2011's 24.8%, according to [download page] a new report from Epsilon. But click rates continued to lag, unchanged from Q3's 4.5%, but down 13.5 from Q4 2011's 5.2%. A recent report from Experian CheetahMail also found open and click rates to be moving in opposite directions. Read more »

An analysis of more than 100 billion visits to more than 1,000 websites across 8 major markets worldwide by Adobe Digital Index reveals that for the first time, tablet traffic exceeded smartphone traffic in February 2013 (8% and 7% of page views, respectively). Adobe attributes the result to higher engagement from tablet users, who view 70% more pages per visit than smartphone users, and notes that each country analyzed saw its share of tablet traffic double during 2012. Read more »

A slight majority of 18-34-year-olds shoppers download coupons from online sources, whether they be manufacturer websites (53%), retailer websites (53%), or couponing sites (55%), details SymphonyIRI in a new report. The study also finds that many Millennials research products online, though they're nearly twice as likely to do so on websites (42%) than on blogs (23%) or social media (22%). In fact, they're far more likely to leverage social media to get coupons (40%) than to research a product. Read more »

1.4 trillion display ad impressions were delivered in the US in Q4 2012, up almost 6% year-over-year, details comScore [download page] in a new study. As comScore's report notes, the number of high-volume advertisers (that delivered at least 1 billion impressions per quarter) was fairly constant from Q4 2011 to Q4 2012, which the researchers suggest is an indication that growth in the market is being fueled by an increase in small and mid-sized advertisers. Read more »

When it comes to overall product satisfaction, packaging matters to almost as many consumers as the brand itself, according to a new study from MeadWestvaco. But brands are failing to satisfy consumers in this regard, with less than 1 in 5 being highly satisfied with product packaging in general. While the initial shelf appeal of packaging satisfies most, it's not as important to them as other attributes such as use, storage, and disposal. And in those areas, consumers satisfaction drops significantly. Read more »

The fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector accounted for 25.1% of global ad spend in Q3 2012, according to [download page] new data from Nielsen, which previously reported 4.3% year-over-year growth in spending for the quarter. FMCG was by the far the largest sector by ad spend share, trailed by entertainment (11.7%), industry and services (11.2%), and healthcare (9.9%). Nielsen notes that FMCG spend grew by 9.6% in Q3 on the back of increases in food and drink advertising. Read more »

Brands are getting better at responding to questions posed to them on Facebook, although they still have room to improve, according to new data from Socialbakers. As the volume of questions posted to Facebook brands grew by 26% between Q2 and Q4 2012, Socialbakers finds that 55% of those questions were answered, a healthy rise from 48% in Q3 and just 30% in Q2. Still, that means that brands are leaving an average of 45% of questions posed on Facebook to them unanswered. Read more »

22% of consumers - and 27% of 35-54-year-olds - had trouble affording regular groceries in Q4 2012, as "shopper sentiment" fell to its lowest point in 6 quarters, per new data from SymphonyIRI. The squeeze felt by 35-54-year-olds contributed to above-average incidence of several money-saving strategies. For example, they were 15% more likely than the average consumer to buy brands other than preferred because of sales and 21% more likely to choose products due to loyalty card discounts. That approach extended to other areas outside of groceries, too. Read more »

4 in 10 emails sent are now being read on a mobile device, says Return Path in a new report, up 300% in the past 2 years alone. In fact, that 38% of email opens in the US now occurring on a mobile device surpasses the share of opens using a webmail account on a browser (31%) and via email desktop clients (also 31%).  Read more »

The average email open rate increased to 27.2% in Q3, rebounding from a small drop in Q2, and representing the highest level in at least 2 years, finds a [download page] new report from Epsilon. The 27.2% rate in Q3 represented a 6.5% quarter-over-quarter increase and a more substantial 14.6% year-over-year rise. Although the average click rate saw only a marginal increase of 0.1% points from Q2, that was the first quarter-over-quarter increase since Q3 2011. Read more »