Let the sun shine or let it rain?

Our research analysed open and click through rates on over 7,000,000 emails, across a wide variety of products and services, in an attempt to assess how weather can impact email marketing campaigns as the UK basks in the glory of the August sun – we wish.

Unsurprisingly, hot, sunny weather was shown to increase the effectiveness of campaigns promoting summer-related products or services, with recipients on a sunny day twice as likely to open emails promoting festival tickets as those on a rainy day. The holiday industry also benefited from the good weather, with open rates five times higher on hot days. When the sun shines campaigns promoting satnav systems enjoyed a 48% click through rate compared to 23% on bad weather days.

But as it’s a British summer, a thorough soaking cannot be disregarded. Fortunately for some, the rain was a bonus: consumers are far more likely to be thinking about ‘life-changing’ purchases such as cars or houses on a day with poor weather, and campaigns promoting restaurants are likely to be twice as effective too.

We also found that bad weather increased the likelihood of customers engaging with property-related emails, with an open rate of 8% versus a good weather open rate of 4%.

Somewhat counter-intuitively, consumers are more likely to open emails promoting some summer related products, such as camping equipment, when the weather is gloomy.

What does it all mean?

From our research into how weather effects can influence email marketing, we’ve shown that there is a clear benefit to monitoring specific campaign trends as a tool to inform future activity. This research and data-led approach is key to the success of any email marketing campaign, and is something we are keen to emphasise to anyone looking to use email marketing.

Marketers should look out for email marketing software that integrates Google Analytics reporting and which allow users to view relevant Google Analytics report results for individual campaigns. It’s just unfortunate that such software does not have the capability to tell you when you need to pack an umbrella or sun cream for your holiday!

There’s nothing more natural than a Brit talking about the weather.