Email marketing remains one of the most effective ways for brands to reach customers, but understanding what truly grabs attention in promotional emails is key to driving engagement and sales. Neuromarketing tools like eye tracking offer valuable insights into how consumers interact with digital content. In this study, RealEye, an online platform that uses simple webcams for eye-tracking, was employed to evaluate the effectiveness of various email campaigns from well-known fashion brands.
How RealEye Was Used
Evangelia Skourou and Dimitris Spiliotopoulos (2024) conducted an experiment to explore how different elements of promotional emails affect consumer attention and purchasing decisions. Participants were shown a series of six real promotional and welcome emails from fashion brands like Tommy Hilfiger and Lacoste, and their eye movements were tracked using RealEye. The emails were viewed for a maximum of 15 seconds, reflecting the average time a consumer spends on promotional emails, which is about 10 seconds.
Using RealEye, researchers were able to track:
The number of fixations within Area Of Interest
The amount of time that participants spent looking at the Area Of Interest (in milliseconds)
The number of gazes within Area Of Interest
The time to first gaze on the Area Of Interest
Heatmaps for participants who stated that they were captivated by the discount code in the Tommy Hilfiger email (authors' description).
Results
The RealEye experiment revealed key patterns in how participants interacted with email content:
Images Command the Most AttentionAcross multiple emails, large images consistently attracted and held participants' attention more than other elements like text or discount codes. This suggests that including high-quality, visually appealing images is crucial to keeping consumers engaged.
Titles Are Important in Welcome EmailsIn welcome emails, participants tended to focus on the email’s title more than any other element. This highlights the importance of crafting clear, engaging subject lines to draw readers in, especially when making a first impression.
Discount Codes Are Often OverlookedWhile discount codes are a common tool in promotional emails, they did not always capture immediate attention. The study found that participants often noticed discount codes later than other elements, indicating that their placement and design could be optimized to make them more eye-catching.
Color and Layout Influence EngagementThe placement and color of elements like prices and discount codes also impacted how quickly and easily participants noticed them. For instance, brightly colored text or prices placed in prominent areas of the email drew more attention than those in subtler tones or less noticeable positions. This emphasizes the need for strategic design choices in email layouts.
Conclusion
The use of RealEye in this study provided valuable insights into how consumers engage with promotional emails. The data shows that visual elements, particularly large images, play a key role in capturing attention, while discount codes and other promotional details need better visibility through careful design. By implementing these insights, marketers can refine their email campaigns to improve engagement and drive sales.
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