On Monday, an app designed to help pull timely information from email messages, like package tracking numbers, was unveiled by one of the companies that helped bring email to the masses: Yahoo.
While many people have moved on from their Yahoo addresses since the company’s heydey in the Web’s infancy—Yahoo first launched free email accounts 25 years ago in October 1997—the company says that one in four U.S. consumers still has a Yahoo Mail account. And the new app can be used with email accounts from other major providers, with Yahoo aiming to provide a better experience for everyday consumers, regardless of which email service they use.
“Consumer email really is different from the rest of email, when people receive email at work or school,” says Josh Jacobson, senior VP and general manager at Yahoo Communications, the unit that includes email. “A lot of the person-to-person communication has moved to texting, but email has really stepped up in being essential in running the business of life.”
The new app focuses on displaying relevant information from commercial messages in the inbox rather than just displaying a subject line and date. Yahoo found that many Gen Z consumers set up email addresses specifically for the purpose of online shopping, and the app is designed to cater to those uses—particularly after a jump in online buying and related email traffic during the pandemic.
At the top of the inbox, key information is prominently displayed, such as flight confirmation codes, when packages are scheduled for delivery or ready for in-store pickup, and free trials about to expire or convert to paid plans. “Surfacing the relevant information at the right time is something people really appreciated,” Jacobson says, explaining that many users had expressed concern about their deliveries getting nabbed by “porch pirates.”
For commercial emails, users can filter messages by brand or tap to see such details as emailed deals, purchase receipts, and received gift cards. “We found a hidden treasure,” says Shiv Shankar, senior director of product management for Yahoo Communications, explaining that many users fail to open gift cards they receive, often getting lost in the shuffle with a traditional inbox.
The app will become the default for Yahoo’s existing mobile users on iOS and Android. And for those who don’t already use Yahoo services, the app is compatible with other mobile-account providers, such as Gmail and Microsoft’s Outlook.
While the new features will appear first in Yahoo Mail’s mobile apps, Jacobson says that if they’re well received, they’re likely to migrate to the company’s other mail interfaces, including its website. Yahoo offers free and ad-supported services, as well as a premium version called Yahoo Mail Plus, priced at $5 per month. Jacobson says most of the new features will be available in the free plan. One feature only included for Plus users: a button to quickly see emails they sent to themselves, used by many in lieu of a notes app.
These features obviously require Yahoo’s systems to scan through users’ emails, but Jacobson emphasizes that the company has established secure, encrypted connections between its servers and other email providers and points out that automated email processing has been the norm since spam filtering became a standard feature.
Jacobson adds that the company will likely find more delivery ways to make the commercial email more useful. “In terms of a market perspective, email is not dead,” he says.
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