Catalogers who use e-mail to reach customers and prospects are dealing with lists that change at a 31% clip, according to a survey released on Oct. 15 by e-mail change of address service Return Path and Global Name Registry, which manages distribution of e-mail addresses and Website domains using the “.name” domain to give individuals lifelong e-mail addresses.
The survey, conducted in August, also shows that consumers own 3.1 e-mail addresses on average, up from 2.6 in the 2000 survey. E-mail address changes were also comparable to the 2000 survey: Overall, 49% of respondents said they changed their e-mail address—work or personal—at some point. And among the 43% of those who changed their personal e-mail addresses, half of them said they did so because of an ISP change, while 16% changed to avoid spam, 12% because they moved, and 8% for a more “attractive” address.