More retailers are planning to get personal in the next 12 months, according to a recent study from SLI Systems. 

Of the 276 retail professionals worldwide surveyed, nearly half said they have plans to add personalization to their ecommerce efforts within a year, in response to "increasing threats" from ecommerce giants like Amazon. 

Meanwhile, a third said personalization is already a part of their strategy, with many leveraging a mix of online and offline data to tailor a distinctive experience for shoppers, particularly in regards to email. Fully 57% said they send out emails triggered by online behavior, and another 25% said they send emails triggered by offline behavior. 

That mirrors a study Retail TouchPoints released in August 2018, which found that seven in 10 retail executives worldwide focus their personalization efforts on email. Ecommerce was next (64%), followed by mobile apps and sites (37%) and in-store (29%).  

How effective are these emails? Depends on whom you ask. According to the Retail TouchPoints survey, more retailers are focusing their efforts on email, above anything else, so it's clearly working for them. 

Meanwhile, a study Coherent Path conducted last year, which analyzed whether a retailer sent the same emails to purchasers and nonpurchasers on the same day, found sharp differences in email practices among the different sectors it surveyed, including department stores, apparel, sporting goods and health and beauty. For example, those in the health and beauty category scored considerably better than other verticals, with only 24% of purchaser emails matching nonpurchaser emails. The average across all sectors was 62%.