Quick and easy - and more transparent - email subscription processes are a major recent trend, according to a study of the email newsletters of top online retailers by the Direct Marketing Association's Email Experience Council (EEC), conducted by RetailEmail.Blogspot, writes MarketingCharts. Moreover, the confirmation page has grown in importance, with many retailers allowing users to subscribe just by entering an email address but then asking for delivery and content preferences on the subscription confirmation page, the study found.

Another best-practice approach is the provision of sample newsletters, according to the study.

Among other findings:

• 28 percent of retailers offer more than one email content selection, ranging from two to 50.
• Less than a mere 7 percent of retailers tell subscribers how many emails to expect.
• Nearly 12 percent of retailers offer plain-text versions of e-newsletters during sign-up.
• Just 3 percent of major online retailers use double-opt-in.
• 92 percent of retailers have an email sign-up form or link on their homepage.
• Some 43 percent of retailers allow customers to sign up for email with one click from their homepage.
• Subscriber name (31 percent) and ZIP code (18 percent) were the two most often required pieces of information.