CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwired - November 15, 2016) - For the first time, mobile accounted for a third of all email-driven revenue in Q3 2016, a milestone in the shrinking gap between desktop and mobile, according to data from Yes Lifecycle Marketing's cross-channel marketing platform Yesmail360.

In the newly released Q3 2016 Benchmark Report - Mind the Gap: 3 Factors that Impact Email Success, mobile also marked a 37 percent year-over-year increase in email-driven revenue and a 50 percent increase from Q3 2014. The report also revealed that nearly half (48 percent) of email-driven orders originated from mobile this quarter. This was up 14 percent from last quarter and 34 percent year-over-year.

In Q3, 59 percent of all email clicks occurred on a mobile device, up 55 percent over the past three years, further demonstrating that consumers are becoming increasingly comfortable making purchases on mobile devices.

With the significant rise in mobile purchases over the last couple of years, desktop has taken a hit. Desktop click-to-open (CTO) was only 4 percent higher than mobile CTO in Q3. Contrastingly, in Q3 2015, desktop CTO was 31 percent higher than mobile CTO and in Q3 of 2014 that difference was 80 percent.

"The gap between mobile and desktop has never been smaller, and it continues to shrink at an astonishing rate. For some industries, like Entertainment and Retail, that gap practically no longer exists," said Michael Fisher, president of Yes Lifecycle Marketing. "Regardless of industry, marketers must understand the needs of their subscribers and tailor email marketing content accordingly to drive mobile engagement. Implementing responsive design and catering specifically to on-the-go consumers are no longer an option, and marketers who choose to ignore them are missing revenue opportunities."

Like with mobile and desktop, the gap between smartphone and tablet is also shrinking rapidly. Two years ago, in Q3 2014, tablets drove more revenue than smartphones, but smartphones today are responsible for 70 percent of mobile-driven revenue. Smartphone orders specifically have more than doubled since 2014 (from 17 percent in 2014 to 39 percent of all email-driven orders in 2016), demonstrating that consumers are quite comfortable making purchases while on the go.

"As we approach the holidays, mobile emails, especially on smartphones, will be even more important drivers of engagement and purchases for brands," said Michael Iaccarino, president of Infogroup, parent company of Yes Lifecycle Marketing. "Marketers who want to be successful this holiday season should prioritize the mobile experience and push a cross-channel mobile strategy that engages and converts their customers. Having the technology that allows for the effortless build of such strategy is instrumental for success."

Other findings include:

• Eighty-one percent of mobile purchases in Q3 were made on smartphones, leaving tablets to account for only 19 percent of orders.
• Overall email click rates have declined 18 percent year-over year, 23 percent from 2014 and 24 percent from 2013.
• In Q3 2016, emails sent on Friday sparked the highest CTO rate with an average of 16.6 percent.

For the full analysis, download the Q3 2016 Benchmark Report here.

About Yes Lifecycle Marketing
Yes Lifecycle Marketing provides solutions that orchestrate cross-channel marketing communications to drive results and revenue. This is accomplished by leveraging technology, data, analytics, creative, and strategy to activate and optimize insights-driven, real-time, relevant communications. This holistic approach gives marketers the ability to source a full-service offering of best-of-breed technology and solutions from a single vendor in order to achieve their desired outcomes across all on and offline channels. To learn more, call 1-877-937-6245, email sales@yeslifecyclemarketing.com or visit www.yeslifecyclemarketing.com.

About Infogroup
Infogroup is a big data, analytics and marketing services provider that delivers best in class data-driven, customer-centric technology solutions. Our data and software-as-a-service (DaaS & SaaS) offerings help clients of all sizes, from small companies to FORTUNE 100™ enterprises, increase their sales and customer loyalty. Infogroup provides both digital and traditional marketing channel expertise that is enhanced by access to our proprietary data on 245MM individuals and 25MM businesses, which is distributed real-time to our clients. For more information, visit: www.infogroup.com.