NEW YORK, Feb. 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Experian Marketing Services, a global provider of integrated consumer insight and targeting, data quality and cross-channel marketing, showed that overall email volume increased 11.2 percent in Q4 2013 versus Q4 2012, according to its 2013 Q4 Email Benchmark Report. The cross-channel marketing leader also found that there was a 50 percent year-over-year increase in the number of email campaigns using coupons during the 2013 holiday season.

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The benchmark report's spotlight on coupons in emails reveals a rise in coupon campaigns. Coupons provide a means of offering cross-channel promotions and allow customers to customize their experience by choosing the venue for their transactions, whether it is in-store, online or mobile. Coupons and special offers commonly are delivered via email. These findings are further demonstrated by Experian Marketing Services' 2013 holiday season email trends and analysis study that found a 50 percent year-over-year increase in the number of campaigns offering coupons.

Additional findings include:


    --  Emails with coupons have higher open, click, and transactions rates and
        generate revenue per email that is 48 percent higher than other
        promotional emails
    --  Coupons that are redeemable in-store were the most frequent redemption
        type offered, as 80 percent of the coupons reviewed were able to be
        redeemed in-store, while 70 percent were able to be redeemed online.
    --  Twenty-one percent of in-store coupons emailed encouraged customers to
        show the coupon in the store on their mobile device

"Our 2013 Q4 Email Benchmark Report offers evidence that using emails with cross-channel promotions, such as coupons, is key to creating high levels of user engagement from customers," said Peter DeNunzio, general manager for cross-channel marketing at Experian Marketing Services. "For example, welcome email campaigns with coupons had a 2.5 times higher transaction rate compared to welcome emails without coupons."

Industry performance analysis
The Q4 2013 benchmark report also reveals a breakdown of specific industries using Q4 year-over-year analysis for 2013, compared to 2012.

"Helping marketers to enhance their understanding across various industries, our report offers performance analysis within the categories of business products and services; consumer products and services; catalogers; media and entertainment; multichannel retailers; publishers; and travel," added DeNunzio.

Findings from year-over-year industry analysis includes:


    --  For business products and services, 50 percent of brands had
        significantly positive increases in transaction rates, and 67 percent of
        brands had significantly positive increases in revenue per email
    --  Open rates rose for consumer products and services, as 55 percent of
        brands had statistically significant increases in total open rates as
        compared to Q4 2012
    --  With large increases in volume, year-over-year click and transaction
        rates declined for catalogers
    --  For media and entertainment, overall year-over-year click rates were
        lower in Q4 2013, but results were mixed, as 46 percent of brands had
        statistically significant increases in clicks compared to Q4 2012
    --  Fifty-two percent of multichannel retailers had statistically
        significant increases in transaction rates and revenue per email
        compared to Q4 2012
    --  All metrics for publishers either matched or surpassed the 2012
        performance
    --  While open rates showed a decline for the travel vertical in Q4 2013, 67
        percent of brands had statistically significant increases in opens
        compared to Q4 2012

Experian Marketing Services' Q4 2013 Quarterly Benchmark Report is available to download: http://ex.pn/1eqbyoM.

About Experian Marketing Services
 Experian Marketing Services is a global provider of integrated consumer insights and targeting, data quality and cross-channel marketing. We help organizations from around the world intelligently interact with today's dynamic, empowered and hyperconnected customers. By coordinating seamless interactions across all marketing channels, marketers are able to plan and execute superior brand experiences that deepen customer loyalty, strengthen brand advocacy and maximize profits.

For more information, please visit http://www.experian.com/marketingservices.

About Experian
 Experian(®) is the leading global information services company, providing data and analytical tools to clients around the world. The Group helps businesses to manage credit risk, prevent fraud, target marketing offers and automate decision making. Experian also helps individuals to check their credit report and credit score, and protect against identity theft.

Experian plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. Total revenue for the year ended March 31, 2013, was US$4.7 billion. Experian employs approximately 17,000 people in 40 countries and has its corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with operational headquarters in Nottingham, UK; California, US; and Sao Paulo, Brazil.

For more information, visit http://www.experianplc.com.

Experian and the Experian marks used herein are service marks or registered trademarks of Experian Information Solutions, Inc. Other product and company names mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.

Contact:
 Suzanne Blackburn
Experian Marketing Services
1 212 863 4648
suzanne.blackburn@experian.com

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SOURCE Experian Marketing Services