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The Impact of Gmail’s New Inbox: Top Three Considerations for Email Marketers

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At the end of May, Gmail announced a “new inbox” that automatically sorts users’ email into three different tabs: “Primary,” “Social,” and “Promotions.” Now that Gmail’s redesigned inbox has started to roll out—what have we observed so far, and what key considerations should email marketers keep in mind for future promotional campaigns?

Our VP of Marketing, Jordan Cohen, shared his perspective on this subject in a few different publications recently. Below are his top three considerations for email marketers:

1. **Send-time optimization will be an exercise in futility.
**“Is Gmail’s New Inbox an Email Marketing Killer?” July 19, 2013, EContent Magazine
“Marketers do need to account for the greater length of time that will take place between the moment they hit the send button, and the moment the recipient actually opens the email. A marketer’s ever-popular ‘One Day Only Sale’ email might be expired by the time the recipient gets around to visiting the Promotions tab. Travel and event tickets, and limited availability inventory might be sold out.”

2. When users do check the “Promotions” tab, they will be in a buying mode.
“Gmail Inbox revamp spells trouble for time-sensitive mobile offers,” July 23, 2013, Mobile Marketer
“If people click on the promotions tab, it means they are in a higher-intent buying mode… It means they are clicking the tab thinking I want to go and see what commercial offers are waiting for me in my email inbox as opposed to having all email in a single inbox and missing some stuff there.”

**3. The macro-trend of rising smartphone adoption may offset the impact of Gmail’s new inbox, but this change cannot be ignored.
“Coping With The New Gmail Inbox,” July 24, 2013, MediaPost
“**By last count (June 2012), there were 425 million Gmail users in the world, and it may be up to half a billion by now—so the effect can potentially be substantial. That said, the larger macro-trend of rising smartphone adoption means that the number of consumers who actually use the tabbed Gmail interface will be smaller.

BUT even though not all Gmail users will be using the new, tabbed inbox system, there will still be millions — if not hundreds of millions — who will, representing anywhere from 10% to 20% of an average B2C email marketer’s list. Marketers will have to rise to the occasion and adopt new strategies and technologies if they want to stay relevant with their Gmail-using recipients.”

Have questions on Gmail’s new inbox? Leave a comment below, or reach out to us directly at contact@movableink.com.

Interested in learning more about how agile email marketing can benefit your email marketing goals? Contact us!

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