Managing e-mail Advertising Frequency from the Consumer Perspective

Abstract

With the growth of e-mail advertising, advertisers must manage their e-mail frequency to preserve opt-in lists in an environment of saturation. This paper presents two empirical studies suggesting that to alleviate consumers' perception of being under heavy e-mail pressure, advertisers should help them discard nonrelevant e-mails with minimum effort. The research reveals that perceived pressure from any one advertiser is an individual phenomenon. Under conditions of low relevance, the effect of this pressure on unsubscriptions is moderated by the execution of e-mail advertising. Consumer perception of pressure from any one advertiser is crucial, as managers can control their own advertising but not overall e-mail advertising volume.