A recent survey of UK consumers claims that marketing e-mails they receive have become less relevant than they were a year ago.  However nearly two-fifths (39 percent) said they would be more likely to forward information they found useful onto a friend, according to new research.

The e-Dialog E-mail Attitudes Report 2010, which surveyed 2,000 British consumers, revealed that there has been a 34 percent annual increase in the number of people who feel the marketing e-mails they receive are irrelevant

Of the 13 percent of people who feel that e-mails have become more relevant, 17 percent claim this is as a result of being given the ability to opt out of e-mails which are not of interest or that they no longer wish to receive.

This suggests that web-savvy British consumers are prepared to correct the issue themselves if they feel a brand is still not getting the content right.

Director of Digital Marketing Services of PureNet, the York-based e-Commerce and e-Marketing specialist, David Pemberton, said: “It is surprising that companies are still failing to send e-mail messages that are tailored specifically for their audience.

“However consumers are now much better at filtering the e-mail messages they receive ensuring they receive just what is of interest to them.

“The report quite clearly demonstrates that while significant progress has been made in e-mail marketing, companies still need to improve the targeting of campaigns if they want to shake off the ‘irrelevant’ label which many consumers apply to the marketing messages they receive.

“Better targeting, and a clearer understanding of the desired content will set them in good stead for more effective campaigns in 2010.” .