Nearly three-quarters (71 per cent) of consumers prefer to be contacted by marketers through email, according to a new survey.
The smartFOCUS survey found that more than seven in ten prefer email communications, with only social media achieving double figures (21 per cent) out of the remaining marketing channels.
Just over two-thirds (69 per cent) said that they had been prompted by email to buy products.
Individuals were most likely to respond to communications about clothing and accessories (38 per cent), personal electronics (31 per cent) and discounts on dining out (27 per cent).
Commenting on the survey findings, smartFOCUS' operations director Tim Watson said that it reflected the maturity of email as a channel.
"There’s so much communication via email that marketers simply cannot ignore it. If companies want to communicate effectively with customers, they need to do so using the channels that customers use and interact with the most."
He added that it also provided measurable return-on-investment for marketers.
Telemarketing was the least popular form, with no respondents claiming they wanted to be informed of promotions or offers this way.
More than half (55 per cent) said that this was their least favourite means of receiving marketing communications.
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