Is it worth it to be unethical Consumers attitudes toward personalized commercial e-mails

Abstract

A current trend among companies worldwide is to invest in some kind of online advertising as a way to reach consumers. One of the most frequently used online ad formats is personalized e-mails that use the consumer's real name or online name (for example, Hello Susan or Hi, ShopGir501) in the subject line. As personalized marketing and one-to-one marketing have recently gotten more attention than ever in the American media, many companies have come to believe that personalized ads will benefit the bottom line. However, some researchers warn that there may be negative effects of personalized e-mails because of consumers rising concern for their privacy. This study utilized a comprehensive online survey to examine the effects of personalized e-mails on the attitudes and buying patterns of consumers who receive them. The participants included 199 American consumers. The results showed that personalized e-mails tended to generate negative, rather than positive, effects on the participants overall. More specifically, female participants had more negative opinions about the e-mails than the male participants. © 2011 Macmillan Publishers Ltd.