For decades, email has been the backbone of business communication. It’s formal, universal and easy to archive, making it a default choice for sales teams, customer service departments and marketing functions alike.
But, in recent years, email has become increasingly crowded and increasingly ignored. Open rates have steadily declined, response times have slowed and customers now treat their inboxes as places to avoid rather than engage.
At the same time, messaging platforms like WhatsApp have surged in business use, even though they started out with the intention of being mostly for personal use.
In the UK alone, more than 40 million people use WhatsApp, many of them daily. As consumer behaviour shifts towards fast, visual and conversational communication, businesses are beginning to ask a difficult question: is email still the most effective way to reach customers, or are messaging channels overtaking it?
The Decline of Email Engagement
Email’s relevance isn’t disappearing, but its reliability is definitely weakening. Spam filtering, crowded inboxes, promotional tabs and notification fatigue mean that even well-crafted messages often go unread. In some sectors, open rates sit at around 30 per cent or lower. Now, that doesn’t mean email is dead, but it does mean businesses must diversify the way they communicate.
Today’s customers expect immediacy. They want communication that’s short, visual and easy to act on.
Of course, messaging apps meet these expectations naturally. They appear on the home screen, not in a crowded inbox. They create real-time conversations instead of long, easily forgotten email threads. And most importantly, they feel more human.
Why WhatsApp Is Becoming a Front-Line Sales and Engagement Tool
WhatsApp has emerged as one of the most powerful channels for direct communication because it fits seamlessly into the everyday lives of modern consumers. Messages are typically opened quickly, responded to quickly and absorbed more easily than long emails. For businesses, this creates an opportunity to reach customers with high-impact content at the moment they are most interested.
The rapid rise of AI-powered video and automation is also accelerating this shift. Instead of sending static text, businesses can now send personalised visuals instantly, without adding to staff workload. This enhances engagement and shortens buying cycles, especially in sectors that rely on high-consideration purchases.
Henry’s Cars: A Real-World Example of WhatsApp Outperforming Email
A recent example comes from Henry’s Cars, the Glasgow retailer for Honda, Skoda and Suzuki. The company moved its vehicle enquiry follow-ups from email to WhatsApp through an integration combining Phyron’s automated AI video technology with Konversable’s messaging platform.
The motivation was simple: customers were ignoring email follow-ups, which slowed conversations and weakened sales opportunities.
WhatsApp changed this completely.
Henrys Cars is now seeing a 90% open rate on vehicle enquiries sent through WhatsApp. In comparison, email typically delivers 30 to 35% open rates in the automotive sector. Reply rates have also risen sharply, with 22.5 to 25% of customers responding directly to automated video messages. One in four customers is now replying to progress their enquiry.
When customers submit an enquiry, they receive an AI-generated Phyron video of the exact car via the Konversable platform. This gives them a fast, visual overview of the vehicle, which is easier to absorb than a text-only message and simple to share with others.
Peter Mustard, Dealer Principal at Henrys Cars, said: “At Henrys, we’ve found that when a customer enquires about a car through our WhatsApp channel, they love the fact that they are sent a video of the car as part of the response. It’s easy for them to share with friends and family, and it helps build the desire and excitement to take the enquiry to the next stage.”
The integration even places a WhatsApp icon inside the Phyron video player, allowing customers to tap the screen and start a conversation instantly. Wes Beard, Managing Director at Konversable, explained: “You’re hitting the customer when they’re hot. They’re already looking at that car, and then suddenly they see it come to life in a video inside WhatsApp. It’s instant, visual and exciting.”
Mattias Kellquist, CEO at Phyron, added: “Henrys is getting real conversations back from their enquiries because customers see the exact car, on their phone, within seconds.”
So, Is Email Over? Not Quite, But Its Role Is Changing
Now, let’s be clear: email still matters, especially for formal communication, long-form content and business documentation.
But examples like Henry’s Cars demonstrate that for fast, engaging and emotionally resonant communication, messaging apps such as WhatsApp are becoming a stronger tool.
The question for businesses is not whether to abandon email entirely, but whether to rethink how and when they use it—and whether messaging platforms could deliver better results where speed and engagement matter most.
