E-mail usage: How Germans, Austrians and Swiss differ
Although Germans, Austrians, and Swiss speak the same language, they differ significantly in terms of dialect and customs. United Internet Media wanted to find out how this plays out in digital communication and commissioned MindTake Research to survey more than 3,000 email users in the three countries.
While the Swiss tend to use mobile devices to communicate outside the home, Germans prefer to use the big screen in the evening. Austrians, on the other hand, are primarily interested in simple and convenient use.
Germans, Austrians and Swiss have different expectations
Email providers have to meet different expectations in the DACH countries. The study "Email for you - insights into private communication in the DACH region" examined three factors that lead to the choice of private email provider: "simplicity & convenience", "product performance/security" and "recommendation/image". Four different user types were identified through clustering, which can be used to identify preferences in the individual countries.
The "discerning", who attach importance to all factors, can be found in roughly equal proportions in all three markets. The "usability-oriented" are primarily interested in a simple and convenient service. This group is more prevalent in Austria than in Germany and Switzerland. In Austria and Switzerland, the "uncomplicated", for whom all points are less important in comparison, tend to be represented more frequently than in Germany. For the "hard facts-oriented", on the other hand, "product performance/safety" and "simplicity/convenience" are more important than image or recommendations. They are most frequently found in Germany.
The Swiss are ahead when it comes to out-of-home use of e-mail
Important for campaign planning: email usage also differs significantly depending on the situation in the DACH region. While writing and reading emails at home is most common in all three countries and at a similar level, the Swiss are much more active outside the home - whether at work, on the move, in public institutions or with relatives, friends and acquaintances. The Germans rank in the middle of the field in terms of out-of-home values, while Austrians use e-mail somewhat less outside the home.
Cross-national trends can be seen in the choice of screens: all screens, i.e. PC/laptop, smartphone and tablet, are used for reading emails, while DACH residents tend to use PC/laptop and smartphone for writing, while the tablet is less relevant as a writing device.
The big screen is more popular in Germany than in the Alpine countries
The study also provides useful information for multi-screen planning: If you look at the usage patterns of the screens over the course of the day, one thing stands out: There is a greater temporal separation in screen usage among Germans. The desktop and laptop are used more in the evening than in Austria and Switzerland. The large screen therefore plays a greater role in Germany than in the Alpine countries.
The top e-mail-related application is the online store
Email is the basis for many other services on the Internet. This also makes e-mail a particularly suitable advertising environment for promoting these services. When it comes to the top application for external services, there is consensus across national borders: email is essential for the booming online shopping segment, for example for registering and logging in. Behind this, the study shows different gradations in the individual countries: In Germany, online stores (83.8 percent) are followed by online auctions (68.9 percent) and social networks (66.6 percent). In Austria, the order is: online stores (81.9 percent), social networks (64.9 percent) and public institutions (59.4 percent). In Switzerland, email is used most frequently in online stores (80.5%), social networks (73.7%) and app stores (65.2%). The top applications overall also include online media libraries/streaming, online banking and tickets.
"The study shows that, despite many similarities, there are also clear differences in the DACH region on closer inspection. These details provide advertisers with important information on how, when and on which screens advertising is best played out. At the same time, the study shows the great potential of the advertising environment. The top e-mail-related application is retail. But the freemail portals also offer excellent opportunities for advertisers in the banking and finance sector, providers of streaming services as well as ticketing, travel and gaming to place their offers," says Rasmus Giese, CEO of United Internet Media.
Email as a multiplier - 50 percent of DACH users forward advertising
Once sent, many messages do not remain in the inbox but are forwarded. Email is a real multiplier: emails received are shared by over 40 percent of DACH residents. In Germany, 40.6 percent forward messages received, in Austria the figure is 44.6 percent and in Switzerland as high as 47.7 percent.
It all depends on the content of the email: Messages for general private exchange (68.7 percent), emails with media (56.2 percent) and invitations to events (48.0 percent) are shared particularly frequently. For the advertising industry, it is particularly pleasing that marketing messages in particular reach many other consumers: Advertising, offers/product recommendations (50.1 percent), newsletters (44.4 percent) and also brochures (35.7 percent) are readily shared. Germany recorded particularly high figures: more than one in two (54.4%) share advertising/offers and product recommendations. Among the Swiss and Austrians, the figures are still 48.4% and 48% respectively.
E-mails, instant messengers and social networks are used in parallel
When it comes to digital communication, emails, instant messengers and social networks are not mutually exclusive. There is no such thing as either-or. In the DACH region, an average of 90 percent of e-mail users also use instant messengers for private communication. 75 percent even use all three services. In comparison, the Swiss make greater use of all forms of communication. The users surveyed want to remain loyal to electronic mail in the future. In all three countries, they do not want to do without e-mail under any circumstances.
About the study
- Name of the study: Email for you - Insights into private communication in the DACH region
- Publication date: July 2017
- Institute conducting the study: MindTake Research, Vienna
- Sample: representative of the Internet population aged 14 and over in Germany, Austria and Switzerland by gender, age and education (prerequisite: private e-mail use)
- Survey period: March 15, 2017 - March 28, 2017
- Reference: free download
