The research, which was supported by marketing automation platform Deployteq and based on a survey of more than 2,000 consumers, found that 64% ranked email first for information about sales and offers, 53% for new products and services, and 44% for advice, information and reviews.

The proportion of respondents who said that brand messages on email were useful more than doubled between 2021 and 2023 from 15% to 32%.

Click-through rates have also risen across all types of email communications, including from 24% on discounts and sales in 2021 to 46% in 2023.

The DMA also found that 37% of consumers now keep personal and marketing emails separate by using different inboxes, a significant jump from 23% in 2021.

In addition, 79% of respondents use their mobile to receive email communications from brands, shops and websites – up from 62% in 2021 – ahead of using desktop and laptops, with their use down to 37% this year from 64% in 2021.

Ian Gibbs, insight director at the DMA UK, said: “While squeezed consumer wallets have made it harder to elicit a specific acquisition or sale in response to marketing comms, the need to nurture customers through difficult times becomes a role of fundamental importance for brands.

“The email channel arguably offers unrivalled effectiveness in fulfilling this role and its relevance to consumers continues to rise.”

Pauline Bull, marketing director at Deployteq, added: “We see trends even more in favour of mobile as internet data becomes more accessible and the need for immediate gratification rises; it’s easier to check emails on a phone than on a laptop.

“Therefore, having a user-friendly platform that spans across multiple channels such as WhatsApp, mobile app, SMS and email help to tailor your communications directly to customer preferences in a few clicks is now more important than ever.”