Email provider customer churn to soar

Study suggests 32 percent of marketers could switch services.

Marketers will be making major shifts between email providers in the next 12 months, according to a report by Jupiter Research.

The research firm suggested that market churn in email service providers could reach 32 percent, meaning that one in three customers could be switching to a new email provider within the next year.

The study looked at 28 email providers serving clients ranging from small markets to large enterprises.

Jupiter Research concluded that, as services become more homogenous, users will begin to base their decisions on price and service as opposed to number of features.

"As the email market becomes increasingly mature, email service providers that lack tight integration with their clients, or a satisfying process and service experience, are susceptible to client churn," said David Daniels, vice president and research director at Jupiter.

The trend could herald dramatic upheaval in the email marketing industry, which Jupiter reports to have brought in US$885 million in spending last year alone.