Gmail accounts make up 30 percent of marketing databases

The number of Gmail users subscribed to marketers' email programs has increased from 17 percent in 2014 to 30 percent today, according to new data released by Yes Lifecycle Marketing.

The company analyzed more than 7 billion emails sent through its cross-channel communications platform Yesmail360i. According to the findings, Gmail users make up nearly half (49 percent) of new subscribers -- those who opted into a brand's email program within the last 90 days -- and 38 percent of subscribers who opted in over the last year.

The report also finds that users of the 'Big Four' mail services -- Gmail, AOL, Outlook and Yahoo -- now make up two-thirds of email subscribers, up from 58 percent in 2014. Yahoo trails Gmail as the second most used provider with 19 percent of email subscribers. Gmail, though, is the only growing major service with AOL, Outlook and Yahoo all showing shrinking or stagnating user bases.

"In 2014, Gmail was still a relative newcomer despite being the second most popular ISP behind Yahoo; over a short three year-period, a combination of technological innovation and consumer preference has made it the absolute leader in subscriber share," says Michael Fisher, president of Yes Lifecycle Marketing. "This means marketers must pay special attention to Gmail-specific inboxing criteria if they want to make sure they're reaching consumers. Gmail places a lot of emphasis on subscriber activity and engagement, so marketers must focus on achieving positive user experience that prompts continuous interactions."

Of course part of the reason for this rise in popularity may be the ease of setting up new accounts on Gmail, allowing users to create additional addresses to keep marketing messages out of their main inboxes.

You can learn more about shifting email subscription patterns and how they affect marketers in the full report available from the Yes Lifecycle Marketing site.

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