Recommended reports
Email Marketing Statistics
The Email Marketing Statistics documents are part of Econsultancy's Internet Statistics Compendium package, a comprehensive compilation of internet statistics and online market research with data, facts, charts and figures that are ideal for presentations, business cases or client pitches, RFPs and understanding the marketplace as a whole.
Director at Reactor Mobile Ltd
25 October 2005 14:58pm
Does anyone know what the statistics are for what percentage of email users can see html vs plain text email? Ideally, if someone has this info broken down by email software that would hugely useful.
President at Rubix Interactive
25 October 2005 15:16pm
My personal experience has been about 95% HTML and 5% at best TEXT. AOL used to be text only, but since they started using IE, they accept HTML. Only the old email clients and one-off business email clients use text. Even Lotus Notes accepts HTML.
Another point of interest. You cannot track text emails with most email marketing software providers. Unless you have a web analytics program that allows you to tag your URL strings with campaign IDs, you won't know how successful your email was at 1) driving traffic and 2) converting a sale.
I'd suggest using HTML and having a link at the top of the message, which allows subscribers to click a link to view the HTML email on your website...just in case it gets mangled.
Cheers,
Darren
http://darrencontardo.blogspot.com
Director at Reactor Mobile Ltd
25 October 2005 15:28pm
Thanks Darren
I am looking for some hard facts from research to use as a quotable fact. I also see the number being about 95% html, but haven't been able to find someone who has done the research, although I can't believe it hasn't been done.
Cameron
CEO at Econsultancy
26 October 2005 10:22am
I guess ideally you also need to know not just what the e-mail client software *can* do (and it must be at least 95% that support HTML) but, more importantly, what the users actually *choose* to see or not? I think Outlook has images turned off by default for unrecognised e-mails, for example?
Ashley
Director at Reactor Mobile Ltd
26 October 2005 10:50am
Agreed on wanting to know what people actually see, hence the survey is so interesting and surprising why I can't find it out there. Maybe I am not the best searcher on the web... hope that someone can do a better search than me.
Research Director at Econsultancy
26 October 2005 12:13pm
There is some pertinent information in this recently published Silverpop report http://www.silverpop.com/downloads/BrokenLink_Study.pdf I will add some highlights to E-consultancy's Internet Statistics Compendium. The report says that four out of 10 emails contain missing graphics and/or indecipherable messages. Gmail, Microsoft Outlook 2003 and AOL 9.0 failed to display images in more than half of messages received.
On 14:58:21 25 October 2005 CameronHulett wrote:
Director at Reactor Mobile Ltd
26 October 2005 12:24pm
Thanks. Good find and part of the answer. I will let you know if I find other related info.
Regards
Cameron
Head of Ecommerce at The Fragrance Shop
02 February 2010 11:32am
*bump*
Wondering if anyone has any more recent stats on HTML vs plain text? We're looking at changing our order confirmation emails to HTML but do we need to send multipart or can we get away with just HTML?
Cheers,
Chris.
CEO at Econsultancy
02 February 2010 12:16pm
@Chris
Have you checked our Email Marketing Statistics collection? I haven't looked but I'm sure it'll be in there.
However, one small note of caution. I wouldn't make your decision based solely on who can (notionally / technically) see what. For example, just because someone can see HTML doesn't mean they'll have the pictures/images showing (at least not by default).
Also, there is deliverability to consider. We still send many of our 'order confirmation' type emails as plain text, not because our members' email clients don't support HTML, but because we've seen deliverability rates on plain text emails to be higher than those for HTML emails. So we want to be very sure, or as sure as possible, that these emails actually get through.
Emperor at World
29 August 2010 17:42pm
Here is a statistic: 100 percent of people who send HTML email look amateurish. HTML email is the prime vector for malware, phishing and spam. Sending HTML email to someone is the equivalent of sneezing on them in the middle of cold and flu season. This is not to mention the order of magnitude bandwidth involved in HTML vs plain text (not only do you sneeze on me, but you are making me pay for it too).
Never, ever, send HTML email. It is that simple.