List Rental Prices Decline Across the Board for First Time Ever

Permission-based b-to-b email saw a $12/M decrease.

By Chandra Johnson-Greene
Monday, October 6, 2008

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Since the company first began keeping track of list rental prices 20 years ago, Worldata has for the first time reported a downward trend in every single category for the Fall 2008 period, including permission-based email b-to-b, which showed the largest price decrease from the previous year.

Permission-based email b-to-b, which is the highest priced category, saw a decrease of $12/M to a straight average price of $293/M. The second largest price decrease occurred in the permission-based email b-to-c lists, which saw a decrease of $11/M.

“The findings are extraordinary, yet not surprising, considering this is a mirror of the U.S. economic conditions," Ray Tesi, SVP, Worldata, said in a statement. “It is likely this trend will continue, at least for the next quarter or two until the U.S. economy is stabilized. We are seeing strong usage in the Technology, Small/Medium Business, and HR channels of the business-to-business category, as b-to-b marketers take advantage of this attractive pricing.”

The struggling economy isn't the only reason for the drop in prices, Tesi told CM. "The market has become somewhat flooded with both email and postal files, so lists that may have been commodity a year or two ago may not be now because there are so many other choices out there. In order for list owners and managers to make that sale, they have to be competitive and, therefore, drop prices."

Cost-per-lead data also saw a slight decrease in the consumer and b-to-b categories. Cost-per-lead consumer programs averaged $1.15 per lead, a 4.17 percent decrease from last quarter, cost-per-lead b-to-b programs averaged $4.80 per lead, a 2.4 percent decrease, and white paper syndication cost-per-lead programs showed an average of $12.50 per download, a 3.85 percent decrease.

In order to reflect the country’s increasing utilization of international lists to grow its businesses, international b-to-b email pricing is being tracked in the index first time—it averaged $420/M during the fall quarter.