Email Flow Structure
The flow of email data directly affects how the channel can be used and how it might change. The structure of this flow has evolved considerably in a few short years. Email is less and less a direct channel between sender and recipient; inbox providers and client providers are playing a larger role.
Apple’s introduction of Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) affected more than open rates. The flow of email data has moved to the mobile-duopoly battlefield, where the divergent visions of Apple and Google are playing out.
This change in structure will affect some markets more than others. Google- dominated markets such as India are less affected by these changes; some vendors and marketers will be able to experiment with Google’s vision for email, including greater interactivity. Other vendors, such as email advertisers, will face Google lockout in those markets.
In duopoly markets like the US, marketers and vendors will face a more complex set of choices. Marketers will be flying with fewer instruments, as the feedback signals in email have become weaker and (arguably) less useful. Vendors and marketers will have to balance tactics and resources to operate effectively in the space between the giants.
As these giants square off, they face their own external forces. Privacy legislation, monopoly regulations and a growing societal desire to reclaim control will shape their decisions more directly than in the past decade.