- Retailers are turning to more aggressive marketing efforts
- Late night marketing and tracking filled emails are now the norm
- Tracking pixels and links track your online activities without your knowledge
During the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend, America’s 50 largest retailers sent nearly 42 billion marketing emails to their customers.
These statistics come from Proton, one of the most secure email providers. The study analyzed emails sent between Tuesday, November 4 and Monday, December 1.
The report shows that nearly 80% of brands included a secret tracking pixel or link in every email during this period, and that 10 billion emails were sent to US inboxes during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend.
Brands are fighting for attention
When it comes to rewards for the most spammers, brand CB2 sent an average of 2.11 emails per day with 13 trackers in each email, Macy’s managed to send seven emails in a 24-hour period, and J. Crew sent three emails with 40 trackers each.
Brands also ignored non-invasive marketing strategies and started sending emails late at night and even early in the morning. Banana Republic sent one email at 12:39 a.m. on Black Friday morning, and Macy’s sent seven emails between 10:58 p.m. and Saturday 12:16 p.m.
When it comes to trackers, retailers often include a small, invisible image in the email that can automatically record the user’s location and device type. These trackers are used to create a user profile that allows retailers to bombard potential customers with targeted marketing campaigns.
“Spam Watch’s findings confirm a stark reality: the inbox has become a very noisy, high-volume channel where brands fight for attention and quietly collect data every time you open it. This is no accident: it’s a planned attack on your attention and privacy,” said Anant Vijay Singh, Product Manager at Proton Mail.
“At Proton, we believe you don’t have to sacrifice your data just to shop online. We created Proton Mail to break this cycle and empower users to reclaim their digital freedom and block the silent scaremongers that have taken control of their lives.”