Mobile Devices Used For 66 Percent Of Email Opens

Movable Ink has released their first quarter of 2014 US Consumer Device Preference Report, showing that 66 percent of email messages are opened on either a smartphone (47.2 percent) or a tablet (18.5 percent).  These statistics illustrate a continuation of the move away from using desktop computers for reading email.

The report indicated that this number is up slightly from 65 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013.  Conversely, PC email opens went down to 34 percent in this latest report.

The majority of mobile email opens occur on iOS devices, with iPhones representing an impressive 38 percent of this activity, which is more than PC email opens as a whole (34 percent).  The report further indicates that iPhones and iPads combined represent over half of all email opens (54.5 percent), while Android devices combined have dropped to 10.8 percent since the previous report. Interestingly, Apple mobile device owners generally spend more time viewing their emails than those who are using other methods.  The report indicates that approximately 38 percent of iPhone users spent 15 seconds or more viewing each message, while only 35 percent of Android smartphone users did the same.

All of these statistics point to an overall trend toward the increasing popularity of mobile devices, and Apple devices in particular.   While composing long emails is still slower on a mobile device, reading email is quickly shifting away from the desktop.

Another interesting finding in the Movable Ink report is the fact that smartphone email opens peak in the early morning, before regular working hours, while tablet email usage is highest in the evening between 8pm and 11pm.  Smartphone usage continues to be dominant throughout daytime hours.

Overall, Movable Ink’s report clearly illustrates to marketers the increasing importance of ensuring that all of their email and associated “landing pages” are mobile friendly.