Dive Brief:

• The average consumer spends 5.4 hours each weekday checking email, and the vast majority prefer this medium as their primary communication channel at work, according to Adobe Campaign’s third annual consumer email survey. The survey included more than 1,000 white-collar workers in the U.S.

• Despite that fact, the overall number of hours consumers spend on email each day decreased 27% from last year. The survey found declines in both personal and work email.

• Results also demonstrated younger people are more likely than other age groups to check email while conducting other activities like working out or dining with friends.

Dive Insight:

Email uses old technology and has limited functionality, yet it remains the go-to tech tool for most people. A recent survey from Robert Half Technology similarly found 73% of CIOs said email is still the preferred method of communication.

These findings probably don't come as good news to companies like Microsoft, Amazon and Facebook that are spending substantial sums to create different consumer-like messaging platforms for enterprises.

For businesses looking to market to potential customers, the survey is also confirmation that old-fashioned email remains a very effective marketing tool. Although businesses may consider other platforms, personalized, well-timed messages sent via email are still very effective.