Google & Facebook own 8 of the 10 most popular apps in the US

Source:  June 2017 data from comScore, reported by Techcrunch, 25th August 2017

55% of email is opened on a mobile device

"The rise of mobile technology has transformed the world in many ways, including the way users interact with email. Mobile email opens have nearly doubled over the past five years and more than half of emails are now opened on mobile devices, according to a new research report from email solutions provider Return Path.
Released today, The Email Client Experience analyzes the breakdown of platforms and devices that people use to open email. The report also looks at when people are most likely to open email, as well as the length of time they typically spend reading an email. Data from May 2016 to April 2017 is compared with results from a similar study in 2012.
Following are a few of the report’s key takeaways:
Mobile is preferred nearly 2:1 over webmail. During the period analyzed, 55 percent of email was opened on mobile devices—up from just 29 percent in 2012. By contrast, webmail opens (meaning email opened on an internet browser like Gmail.com or Yahoo.com) dropped 26 percent over five years—from 37 percent to 28 percent. Desktop email (defined as email opened on software that is installed on a desktop or laptop, like Outlook or Apple Mail) had the lowest share of opens with just 16 percent—down from 34 percent in 2012.
iOS continues to dominate Android. While email opens on both iPhone and iPad have fallen slightly over the past five years, iOS still maintains a huge advantage over Android. Combined, iOS accounts for an overwhelming 79 percent of mobile email opens, compared to 20 percent for Android. In 2012, just 14 percent of mobile emails were opened on Android, while 85 percent were opened on iOS.
Gmail has overtaken Yahoo in the webmail race. Webmail still holds a significant percentage of email opens, and Gmail has emerged as the clear leader in the webmail space. In 2012, just six percent of webmail opens occurred on Gmail; that figure jumped to 59 percent during the period analyzed. Yahoo has experienced a precipitous decline over the same period, accounting for just 5 percent of webmail opens during the study period—down from 37 percent in 2012.
Mobile opens peak on the weekend; webmail and desktop gain during the workweek. Not surprisingly, the greatest percentage of mobile email opens occur on the weekend—60 percent on both Saturday and Sunday, compared to a range of 51 to 55 percent Monday through Friday. Accordingly, both webmail and desktop opens increase during the workweek, when people tend to be in front of their computers. Webmail opens hold steady at 26 percent on the weekend and about 29 percent during the week, while desktop accounts for just 13 percent of opens on the weekend and 16 to 19 percent during the week."

Source:  Data from ReturnPath, 18th July 2017

Lena Dunham's Lenny Letter has 400,000 subscribers and an open rate of 65%

"This mix has helped Lenny Letter reach more than 400,000 subscribers, and the newsletter has a covetable 65 percent open rate. All content is also published to the Lenny Letter website (after a delay), and the site’s uniques topped 600,000 in February. While Lenny Letter doesn't have thorough demographic information on its readers yet, most are women between the ages of 18 and 34."
Source;  Nieman Lab, 2nd March 2016

TV is no longer the dominant screen in British living rooms

"Myth 1: TV is the dominant living room screen and entertainment the dominant activity
Only 50% of UK online adults now say the TV set is the focal point of their living room, whilst 70% report they ordinarily use a connected device whilst watching TV – this rises to 87% of 16-34s. Multi device activity peaks between 6-9pm.
During TV programmes, over one third (34%) check emails, 31% Instant Message or text and 25% shop online.
The biometric data revealed that about 60% of the time a person is most highly engaged during an evening TV session is in non-TV related activity, such as using a digital device or talking to someone.
“Second screening is ingrained to such a degree that all screens are now equal, there’s no hierarchy, only fragmentation of attention – actually switch-screening is a much more accurate term,” says Tim Elkington, the IAB’s Chief Strategy Officer. “Furthermore, entertainment is only a small part of the living room media activity. It’s now a multifunctional space where people jump between individual and group activities, be it shopping, social media, emails, work or messaging.”
Myth 2: TV programmes and ad breaks determine behaviour
The study revealed the traditional assumption that people cram non-TV related behaviour into the ad breaks is no longer valid.  
For example, the incidence of checking emails is consistent during TV programmes and ad breaks (both 34%) whilst texting or Instant Messaging is only 1% higher during the ad break than the programme. The device tracking showed, overall, there was actually more online activity per minute during a programme than an ad break.
Furthermore, the declining “kettle power surge” during ad breaks in peak TV occasions over the last 25 years provides more evidence of the change in the traditional rhythm of the living room. During the biggest TV event in 1990 – England’s World Cup semi-final against West Germany – National Grid data compiled by British Gas shows a power surge equivalent to 1.12 million kettles boiling at the same time immediately after the match. In 2014’s biggest TV event – England’s World Cup match against Uruguay – the power surge was the equivalent of only 410,000 boiling kettles."

Source:  IAB UK, 11th February 2016

Gmail has 900m Users

Gmail now has over 900M users! Thanks for helping us get here. pic.twitter.com/pvz1r4WVJP

— Gmail (@gmail) May 28, 2015

Note - No mention of whether this is monthly active users, or even addresses - I have about 3 that I use regularly for example.  Caveat Emptor!

A typical Gmail user receives about 5 emails a day

"All of the decisions revolved around the central fact that a typical Gmail user was receiving only about five emails per day, most of which were of promotional nature, and as such, required no response. This was in contrast to a typical Googler who received an average of about 450 emails per day, many of which were important to at least read, with a good chunk of them requiring a reply."
Source:  TechCrunch, 16th November 2014
Note - I'm assuming typical means modal...  & I'm assuming 'user' means 'account' - e.g. one person could have multiple accounts

People lose interest in emails they subscribe to over time

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Source:  MailChimp Blog, 25th November 2013

48% of emails are opened on mobiles or tablets

"Mobile opens continued their climb toward 50% by gaining another percentage point last month. Emails opened on smartphones and tablets now account for 48% of total opens. Of course, that increase in mobile opens always has to come from somewhere: in September, desktop opens increased to 33%, while webmail opens dipped to 19%.
Mobile opens have gained 10 percentage points since September 2012, while webmail clients have lost that same amount. Interestingly enough, desktop clients have remained relatively flat over the last year. There were some bumps along the road but no overall change from twelve months ago.
iPad and iPhone dominate mobile opens, with a combined total of nearly 80%. Android makes up a respectable 20% of opens, which BlackBerry and Windows Phone combine to represent less than 1%. Growth for each mobile OS has been slow and steady increases across the board."

Source:  Research from Litmus, 8th October 2013

70% of emails traffic in Q2 2013 was spam

"The percentage of spam in total email traffic increased by 4.2% from the first quarter of 2013 and came to at 70.7%.
The percentage of phishing emails in total mail traffic fell by 0.0016% and came to 0.0024%.
Malicious attachments were detected in 2.3% of all emails — that’s 1% less than in Q1 2013."

Source:  SecureList, 5th August 2013

US Ad Spend for 2011 & 2012 by format & buying model

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Source:  Press release from the IAB, 16th April 2013

Email app Mailbox was sold for rumoured $100m

"Disrupt alumnus Dropbox made the second in a series of super-savvy, super-early stage acquisitions today, picking up hyped-up email management app Mailbox in an acquisition that we’re calling “DropMail.”
We had been hearing that Mailbox was raising money, piquing the interest of Andreessen Horowitz among others, which is why today’s news that the company sold to the harmoniously named Dropbox didn’t come as a surprise. Sometimes an acquisition is the easiest way to raise resources for growth — especially when you’re tackling as expensive a problem as email. And have a six-figure wait list.
And we’re hearing that this particular acquisition was not cheap — The post-pivot startup cost the storage company “well over” $50 million, according to multiple sources. And we’ve heard that that the price was around $100 million in cash and stock."

Source:  Techcrunch, 15th March 2013

Note - Mailbox only launched in January 2013

Instant messaging is more popular than search in China

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Source:  CNNIC via Marbridge Daily, 15th January 2013

Monetate's US Ecommerce Quarterly Report

Eq2 2012 final from Donna Tam

Includes data on ecommerce and conversion for social, search and email referrals, plus ecommerce benchmarks for different devices

80% of American mobile users multitask in front of the TV

"While 80% of mobile users multitask in front of TV, 70% say they multitask once a week, and 49% on a daily basis. More than 60% percent check their phones at least “once or twice” during a show with 15% active on their devices the entire time.
– 38% say their mobile activity enhances the broadcast, while another 38% say it’s distracting.
– The top 5 categories that attract multitaskers are reality shows, news, comedy, sports and food.
– 94% of mobile multitaskers communicate while watching TV, while 60% are looking up content. Of the communicators, the most popular activities in order are: texting, talking, email, social networking and IM.
– 44% of the content that multitaskers consume is unrelated to what’s on TV compared to 38% that’s related. 36% look up information about a commercial they just saw. Most multitasking activity, overall, happens during commercial breaks."
Source:  Research from Razorfish & Yahoo, reported by LostRemote, 10th November 2011
The original article is here.  There's no mention of the methodology, but since all shows referred to are Aerican, I'm assuming the study took place in the US.

The first email was sent in October 1971

"It’s become a firm fixture of everyday life, loathed by some but essential to nearly all of us, and yet its future is far from certain. Email is forty years old this month, with the first message having been sent in October 1971."

Source:  The Next Web, 8th October 2011

How email and social media influence purchase decisions

"Kantar Media Compete's study also found that nearly one in three consumers receive more than 20 emails from retailers in a week. And in good news for retailers relying on email, 89 percent of respondents at least occasionally click through to a retail site from an email or visit a retail site immediately after reading an email.
SMS, on the other hand, is still a largely untapped channel for brands to reach shoppers. During a typical week, three out of four consumers (72.2 percent) don't receive any text messages from retailers.
Do social networking sites influence purchase decisions? Yes. In fact, 35 percent of respondents say that Twitter feeds have been influential or extremely influential on purchase decisions, while 23.5 percent say that Facebook has been influential or extremely influential on purchase decisions."
Source:  Data from Kantar Compete, published in a press release, 13th September 2011
Note - All data is for the US only

The web in 60 seconds

Infographic by- Shanghai Web Designers

Source & full data: Go-Gulf.com, June 2011. Sadly the individual stats aren't sourced

The reasons why people 'unfollow' brands on Twitter and 'unlike' brands on Facebook

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Source:  Data from ExactTarget, reported by Mashable, 8th February 2011
Note - the report also includes data on email unsubscribes

The number of spam emails sent dropped dramatically in 2010

"The amount of junk e-mail being sent across the globe has seen a dramatic fall in recent months.
The volume of spam has dropped steadily since August, but the Christmas period saw a precipitous decline.
One security firm detected around 200 billion spam messages being sent each day in August, but just 50 billion in December.
While the reasons for the decline are not fully understood, spam watchers warn the lull may not last.
Around the Christmas holidays, three of the largest spam producers curtailed their activity, Paul Wood, a senior analyst at Symantec Hosted Services told BBC News.
"But it's hard to say why," he added."

Source:  Symantic Hosted Services, reported by BBC News, 6th January 2011

58% of internet users in America start their online day by checking their email

"Where do Americans begin their online day? According to a study released today by ExactTarget, 58 percent check their e-mail, while 20 percent go first to a search engine or portal site and 11 percent start with Facebook. A conscientious (or worried) 3 percent make their company's site or intranet their first online destination of the day. Five percent go first to a news site and 3 percent go to some other destination.
ExactTarget, which specializes in e-mail and digital marketing, conducted the survey in April among members age 15 and older of an online panel."
Source: Research by ExactTarget, reported in Adweek, 9th June 2010