Forrester Research has released a report this month entitled “Email Marketing Comes Of Age” on how email still remains an important tool for driving targeted traffic to your web business. Alas, this 6-page report is not free and costs $279 (such as high price for a mere 6-page report!)

I checked around other sites that may have had access to the report and Internet Retailer and DMNews.com among others wrote about some of the findings of the study, to wit:

• E-mail has reached almost universal penetration: 97% of consumers and 94% of marketers use it
• Average click-through rate for an e-mail campaign is about 5%, which is about the same as in 2003
• More than 50% of those who read the marketing emails are likely to purchase the items on impulse.
• 29 percent of all online consumers buy impulsively immediately following an offer, rather than waiting.
• Those who buy products advertised in e-mail spend 138% more than typical non-readers
• 47% of consumers who think e-mail is a great way to find out about new products or promotions are willing to pay a premium for products that save them time and hassles
• Women are more likely to forward emails to friends
• Younger shoppers ages 18 to 34 represent one-third of all consumers who maintain a discrete e-mail address for promotions.

While email may have lost its sheen, but it still remains a powerful tool in marketing your bsuiness online.