DoubleClick Study Says Personal, Professional E-Mail MergingDoubleClick Study Says Personal, Professional E-Mail Merging

Consumers are increasingly merging their personal and professional e-mail usage, a study of e-mail users by DoubeClick Email Solutions said Wednesday.

The survey data indicates that consumers may be increasingly tethered to their jobs as they check their professional e-mail evenings and weekends. For marketing professionals, the results raise questions about the value of a “best time” of the day and week to send marketing material to consumers.

DoubleClick said 55 percent of the respondents look at their work e-mail at home in the evening and 54 percent view work e-mail on weekends. Conversely, 48 percent check their personal e-mail at work.

DoubleClick found also that nearly half of the respondents owned at least three e-mail accounts with 95 percent having one primary account. For online purchases, 72 percent use a single address for purchasing online.

The survey also found that concern among consumers over spam is dropping as other Web nuisances continue to grow.

“While spam still constitutes the largest portion of e-mail that consumers receive the overall percentage has dropped every year since 2002,” the report stated. “Viruses (75 percent are very concerned), identity theft (67 percent), spyware (66 percent) and scams (61 percent) are of greater concern to consumers.”