“There was justifiable apprehension as GDPR’s introduction approached, not to mention plenty of blind panic as the clock ticked down. However, two years down the line we now have plenty of research which tells a more positive story.
After only a year of GDPR coming into effect, email marketers witnessed a whole host of benefits, including an uplift against all major KPIs according to the DMA’s Marketer Email Tracker report. Despite initial concerns, marketers experienced increased deliverability (67%), open rates (74%), click-through rates (75%) and conversion rates (67%).
Negative KPIs showed corresponding reductions, with metrics such as bounce rates, opt-outs and complaints also reducing – meaning positive implications for reduced list churn, and increased customer lifetime value as a result.
The reason for this boost is simple enough. More robust consent, improved data quality, clearer setting of expectations, and the provision of greater choice meant senders were building lists where trust levels between senders and recipients were stronger, meaning greater engagement and a higher propensity to transact.
As a result, marketers have been benefitting from the value of ‘quality over quantity’ and have a strong incentive to maintain these higher quality lists.”
GDPR: what have we learned so far and where is data protection law going? by Guy Hanson in Econsultancy