Last week’s election result surprised many, not least Theresa May. We will ignore the machinations of party politics and the problems with forming a coalition and concentrate on what its likely effect will be on email marketing.

Let’s start by saying there is no consensus. A few minutes rustling through newspapers and online will reveal any number of opinions, most of them contradictory. Chaos is too mild a word to describe the situation.

What most agree on, although whether this makes it more likely is open to question, is that a ‘hard’ Brexit, ie dropping to WTO level, is less likely. Many go even further and have announced that the EEA is the most likely target. 

You can take your pick of possibilities. Thankfully, there are some conclusions that make sense even against such an unstable background. 

Firstly, the advice given on these pages in the past of actively working towards compliance with new EU regulations that apply to email marketing and data protection is now, more than ever, true. Even if we leave with a ‘hard’ Brexit, any trading agreement with the EU will have a compliance condition. 

Certain sectors of the market will be hit. House building is likely to be one of these, although DIY will probably remain at its present level or rise a bit. 

Most commentators agree that ‘big ticket’ purchases are likely to drop in the short term. This seems to mean until another election or one appears unlikely. One would assume that luxury holidays would fall into this category. One suggestion was that there might be a late season rush for camping paraphernalia. Whether this will be maintained into 2018 is unknown.

It will be some time before there is stability in exchange rates as various leaks from negotiations and the political situation will cause concern. The expected rise in base rates in the USA will also make things less predictable.

Customers could well concentrate on the cheaper options and high street sales might suffer. If so then email marketing might see something of a rise. 

EU data protection requirements are likely to remain whatever the result of current political uncertainty. Keep doing what you are doing, but do it better.