Northbrook, IL — Monetate released its quarterly E-commerce report, revealing that email remains the top dog in valuable user engagement over social media and search. Email’s conversion rate of 4.25% is eight times that of social media and four times that of search, despite the fact that social media’s engagement has risen by 77% in the past year.

Although social media is successfully directing fans to their respective websites, there are still few fans following through with any purchases, suggesting that businesses ought to rally their efforts elsewhere. Many companies are encouraging their employees to start conversations with their social media fan base, focusing on entertainment and witty banter to win over the readers’ affections, and hopefully, their pocketbooks. This latest report reveals, however, that it is through email that companies truly get their bang for their buck. By way of sales notifications, merchandise previews, and special deals, email is still the best way to turn advertising into a profitable venture.

While the rise of mobile and tablet browsing is something companies ought to begin taking into account, the most important takeaway from Monetate’s research suggests that email is in it for the long haul.