GUELPH, ON, Jan. 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ - Inbox Marketer today released its annual report on Email Marketing Trends in Canada for 2012. The report shows that email open and click-through rates are growing in Canada while the opposite is happening in the U.S., and it reinforces that email is still the most effective relational and direct response tool for Canadian digital marketers.

"Overall, Canadian email metrics were slightly better than our U.S. counterparts in 2012," reports Geoff Linton, VP Sales & Marketing at Inbox Marketer. "Canadian click-through rates are slightly higher and bounce rates are lower." The study notes that open rates vary considerably between email service providers due to differences in reporting definitions between Canada, the U.S. and individual companies.

Sample key findings include:

• Open rates jumped to an average of 20.7% in 2012, reversing the three year downward trend
• Click-through rates averaged 5.5%, down slightly from the 2011 average of 5.7%
• Mobile devices continue to impact email with open rates continued growth; approximately 46% of emails are now opened on mobile devices in Canada.

"Email open and click-through rates are still very healthy, and email continues to be the digital workhorse of the marketing industry," continues Mr. Linton. "Email is still the most effective relational and direct response tool and integrates very well with the other digital channels, like social media."

Deliverability and inactivity by subscribers are two areas that continue to challenge email marketers.
On average, over 20% of legitimate email continues to be blocked by ISPs, and the proportion of inactive email addresses is rising.

The study compiled metrics from B2C clients over a cross-section of industries in Canada. The full report is available on Inbox Marketer's website at www.inboxmarketer.com/institute_whitepaper.asp.

About Inbox Marketer (www.inboxmarketer.com)
Inbox Marketer is a digital direct messaging firm that helps organizations use email, mobile, social media and the web to build online communities of customers and prospects. The company offers technologies and services that make it easier for digital marketers to integrate their communications across all digital channels and measure the responses across each communication touch point.

SOURCE Inbox Marketer Corporation