It sounds a little like the end of an era, followed by a planned rescue mission. That is how FOCUS correspondent Dr Holger Schmidt puts it in his article “Die E-Mail-Retter” (The email rescuers). He looks at how email use has changed, falling sharply as people spend more time on social networks. Mobile use of mail services is also reducing the use of classic email. On top of that, mobile instant messaging, led by WhatsApp, is competing with email, says Dr Schmidt.
In a way, Dr Schmidt is right in his forecast for email. Social networks and mobile use have changed how people use the various private communication channels. As he writes, this shift mainly affects users aged 15 to 24. What is interesting is how far the change will show up in other age groups.
His analysis did not include email accessed through a client such as Outlook, OpenOffice.org or Lotus Notes, which plays a major role. According to contactlab’s “European Email Marketing Consumer Report 2011”, 21% of emails in Germany are still accessed exclusively through a client. To declare email dead, this kind of use would have to dry up too, and it is not examined in any detail here. Still, if the use of email via free webmail services declines, we can probably assume a similar change in the use of clients.
But who exactly is supposed to be rescued in “Die E-Mail-Retter”? Email itself? More likely the email providers, who are losing traffic as habits change, and with it their advertising revenue. Email itself has simply changed, and that means marketers need to rethink where they can reach their target audience. De-Mail could be a possible rescue for the providers. But it would in turn take relevance away from another medium, the letter, and so simply mean one more shift between communication channels…
