When the Gmail promotions tab was introduced, email marketers feared it would be the end of the world due to lower open rates. There followed a few years where it was possible to “cheat” the system and still land in the primary inbox. But nowadays, the algorithm is so effective that marketing emails almost always land where they’re supposed to – in the promotions tab.
Now, this is a good thing. The user experience has improved, and email performance remains the same or even better because users who open emails in the promotions tab are purposely browsing for deals and have a higher probability of converting.
Given the importance of the promotions tab, I want to highlight three Gmail features that evolved in 2024 and started having a significant impact on email performance.
It’s Easier Than Ever to Unsubscribe in Gmail
With the instruction of the new email sender guidelines in February 2024, Gmail now mandates that all senders include a one-click unsubscribe option. That resulted in Gmail now surfacing the unsubscribe button in two places.
Next to the sender’s name (on both web and app) when the email is opened:
Next to the action buttons on the right side when the email is hovered over (web only):
This may result in higher unsubscribe rates for some senders, but ultimately, it’s a good thing as it prevents spam reports, which are far more damaging to sender reputation.
Additionally, if a brand sends frequent emails and a recipient doesn’t open any for a month, Gmail may surface an unsubscribe prompt at the top of the promotions tab:
Gmail now Auto-Generates Offer Annotations
Gmail promotion tab annotations have existed since 2018, but initially, you had to implement a specific data schema into your emails to enable Gmail to read and display the necessary information.
This year, I’ve started noticing Gmail automatically showing the “Deal” annotation for some senders, including me, even though I don’t have it implemented. My assumption is that if the text within the email is well-formatted and contains the necessary data, the algorithm will surface the offer as an annotation automatically.
On desktop, the annotation appears on the right-hand side of the message, though it’s not that noticeable:
In the mobile app, however, it replaces the preheader and is much more visible:
This behavior isn’t documented by Google, but I suspect that for this automatic annotation to occur, the email needs to contain at least two key pieces of information:
- An offer description, like “20% off.”
- The offer’s end date and time.
Including a discount code is optional, but if present, it may also be surfaced in the annotation.
Some Emails Are Prioritized Through “Bundling in Promotions”
Bundling in promotions has existed since 2019, but recently, I’ve noticed it being pushed more actively, and I’ve even received a prompt asking if I want to turn the feature on.
Bundling in promotions highlights emails it deems most relevant to you, surfacing them at the top of your promotions tab under a category like “Top Picks.” This is important because it means send times no longer guarantee that new emails will appear at the top of the inbox – the algorithm determines which are the most relevant.
Other emails are sorted chronologically under “remaining promotions”.
This feature can be turned off in settings, but is turned on by default for all users that have the promotions tab turned on.
The Conclusion
Since its introduction in 2013, Gmail’s promotions tab has been a focal point of many changes, and it continues to evolve. With Gmail being the world’s leading email client, these updates carry significant weight for email marketers and brands alike.
Notably, the promotions tab feature is now being introduced in Apple Mail, signalling a broader industry trend. As we’ve seen with previous innovations, changes that start with one provider often spread across others, reshaping email marketing strategies in the process. This makes it even more crucial to stay updated on emerging features, such as the three described in this article.