Key Insights
Essential data points from our research
For every $1 spent on email marketing, the average return on investment is $36
59% of respondents say email marketing influences their buying decisions
Email marketing is used by 64% of small businesses to reach customers
The average open rate for a welcome email is 82%
The average click-through rate for B2C emails is approximately 2.1%
Emails with a single image have the highest click-through rate of 2.78%
Segmented campaigns drive a 760% increase in revenue
Marketers who use segmented campaigns note as much as a 760% increase in revenue
Personalized emails deliver 6x higher transaction rates
Mobile clients account for 41.9% of email opens
23% of consumers who open an email on a mobile device open it again later
42.3% of consumers delete emails that are not optimized for mobile
43% of recipients report email as spam based solely on the email address
69% of email recipients report email as spam based solely on the subject line
51% of people unsubscribe from emails because they receive them too often
Consumer Preferences & Behavior
- 143% of recipients report email as spam based solely on the email address
- 269% of email recipients report email as spam based solely on the subject line
- 351% of people unsubscribe from emails because they receive them too often
- 460% of consumers sign up for an email list to receive promotional offers and deals
- 586% of consumers would like to receive promotional emails from companies they do business with at least monthly
- 615% of consumers would like to receive promotional emails daily
- 749% of consumers said they would like to receive promotional emails from their favorite brands on a weekly basis
- 826% of consumers unsubscribe because the content is no longer relevant to them
- 9B2C customers are 40% more likely to open an email that contains a discount code
- 1078% of people unsubscribe from emails because they’re receiving too many emails from the brand
- 1154% of consumers share their email address with brands to track orders
- 1234% of consumers only read emails from brands/companies containing products/offers that interest them
- 13Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) cues in emails increase engagement for 60% of millennial consumers
- 1421% of email addressees report email as spam, even if they know it isn't
- 15Customers who receive an email about their abandoned cart are 2.4 times more likely to complete the purchase
- 1690% of consumers find custom content useful
- 17The top reason (59%) people unsubscribe is that the emails are not relevant to them
- 1876% of subscribers have made a purchase from an email marketing message
- 1932% of consumers say they will stop doing business with a brand they love after one bad experience, including poor email communication
- 2040% of consumers wish emails were more informative and less sales-oriented
Interpretation
Treat email like a thoughtful letter, not a shouting billboard: nearly 70% will mark you as spam for the subject line and 43% for the sender, so prioritize a trustworthy from-address, relevant timing and frequency (most unsubscribe for too many or irrelevant messages), deliver real value with discounts, personalization and useful content to drive opens and purchases, and use timely abandoned-cart nudges and tasteful FOMO because one bad or overly salesy email can lose customers.
Engagement Benchmarks
- 1The average open rate for a welcome email is 82%
- 2The average click-through rate for B2C emails is approximately 2.1%
- 3Emails with a single image have the highest click-through rate of 2.78%
- 4The average bounce rate for email campaigns across all industries is roughly 0.7%
- 5Video in email can increase click rates by 300%
- 6Including the word "newsletter" in the subject line can decrease the open rate by 18.7%
- 7Emails sent on Fridays have the highest open rates (roughly 18.9%)
- 8Subject lines with 6 to 10 words have the highest open rate, roughly 21%
- 9Adding a phone number to an email can increase click-through rates by up to 20%
- 10The average unsubscribe rate for 2022 was 0.1%
- 11Interactive email content increases the click-to-open rate by 73%
- 12Emojis in subject lines can increase open rates by 56% compared to plain text subject lines
- 13The average email open rate across all industries is 21.33%
- 14Emails with personalized subject lines generate 50% higher open rates
- 15Plain-text emails have a higher open rate than HTML-heavy emails in many A/B tests
- 16Cart abandonment emails have an average open rate of 45%
- 1747% of email recipients open an email based on the subject line alone
- 18Emails with social sharing buttons have a 158% higher click-through rate
- 19The average click-to-open rate (CTOR) across all industries is 10.5%
- 20Emails sent between 9 AM and 11 AM usually receive the highest engagement
Interpretation
Treat email like a friendly nudge not a billboard, because concise personalized subject lines of six to ten words with an emoji sent between nine and eleven on Fridays, paired with a single strong image or video, interactive elements, a phone number and social buttons, can lift engagement well beyond the sleepy two percent click-through average while welcome and cart recovery messages already grab huge opens and unsubscribe and bounce rates remain tiny.
Mobile & Technology
- 1Mobile clients account for 41.9% of email opens
- 223% of consumers who open an email on a mobile device open it again later
- 342.3% of consumers delete emails that are not optimized for mobile
- 4Launching a mobile-responsive email design can increase unique mobile clicks by 15%
- 5Apple iPhone creates 34.3% of all email opens
- 6Dark Mode is used by roughly 35% of email users on mobile
- 785% of users use smartphones to access email
- 870% of people make use of mobile coupons sent via email
- 935% of business professionals check email on a mobile device
- 10Emails displaying incorrectly on mobile are deleted within three seconds by 70% of users
- 11Gmail has over 1.8 billion active users worldwide, heavily influencing B2C tech standards
- 1256% of email users unlock their phone specifically to check an email notification
- 1369% of mobile users delete emails that aren't optimized for mobile without reading them
- 14AMP for Email (interactive email) is supported by major clients like Gmail and Yahoo, allowing engaging purchases inside the inbox
- 1551% of email marketers are currently using automation
- 16One out of every three clicks within an email occurs on a mobile device
- 17Font size of 16px is recommended for mobile email readability to avoid zooming defects
- 1840% of consumers say they have at least 50 unread emails in their inbox, requiring optimization to stand out
- 19Adding SMS integration to email automation increases conversion rates by up to 50%
- 20Android devices account for approximately 9% of email opens globally
Interpretation
These numbers make one thing clear and a little alarming, email is now a mobile battleground: 85% of users check email on smartphones, 41.9% of opens happen on mobile (34.3% from iPhone and about 9% from Android), roughly 23% will reopen a message later but up to 69 to 70% will delete unoptimized emails within seconds and 42.3% say they outright ditch non mobile friendly mail, so marketers who use 16px type, mobile responsive layouts, dark mode friendly design, AMP interactivity, automation and SMS integration to deliver coupon driven in inbox experiences will capture far more clicks and conversions while those who don’t will be ignored in crowded inboxes shaped by Gmail’s 1.8 billion users.
Personalization & Segmentation
- 1Segmented campaigns drive a 760% increase in revenue
- 2Marketers who use segmented campaigns note as much as a 760% increase in revenue
- 3Personalized emails deliver 6x higher transaction rates
- 480% of consumers are more likely to purchase from a brand that provides personalized experiences
- 5Birthday emails generate 342% higher revenue per email than standard promotional emails
- 674% of marketers say targeted personalization increases customer engagement
- 7Using a real person's name in the "from" line increases the open rate by 35%
- 855% of consumers like email messages containing relevant products and offers
- 982% of marketers report using email personalization techniques
- 10Segmented email campaigns have an open rate that is 14.31% higher than non-segmented campaigns
- 11Triggered emails (based on user behavior) perform 3x better than nurture emails
- 1266% of marketers are processing data for personalizing emails
- 13Personalized subject lines increase open rates by 26%
- 1450% of companies feel they can increase interaction within email by increasing personalization
- 1562% of marketers prioritize personalization in email
- 16Click-through rates are 100.95% higher in segmented email campaigns compared to non-segmented campaigns
- 17Only 39% of online retailers send personalized product recommendations via email
- 1891% of consumers are more likely to shop with brands who provide relevant offers and recommendations
- 19Dynamic content in email can improve click-to-open rates by 73%
- 20Marketers using automation for personalization see a 53% higher conversion rate
Interpretation
Treat your email list like a dinner party guest list rather than a megaphone: segment, personalize, and automate your messages, and you will turn routine sends into dramatically higher opens, clicks, and revenue, often boosting results by multiples or even hundreds of percent.
ROI & General Strategy
- 1For every $1 spent on email marketing, the average return on investment is $36
- 259% of respondents say email marketing influences their buying decisions
- 3Email marketing is used by 64% of small businesses to reach customers
- 480% of business professionals believe that email marketing increases customer retention
- 5The global e-mail marketing market was valued at $7.5 billion in 2020 and is projected to increase to $17.9 billion by 2027
- 637% of brands are increasing their email marketing budget
- 7Email is the primary customer acquisition channel for 81% of SMBs
- 8B2C marketers who connect with customers through automated emails see conversion rates as high as 50%
- 973% of millennials identify email as their preferred means of business communication
- 1099% of email users check their inbox every day, with some checking 20 times a day
- 1131% of B2C marketers say email newsletters are the best way to nurture leads
- 1287% of B2C marketers use email automation as part of their marketing strategy
- 13E-commerce emails have a conversion rate that is roughly 40 times higher than Facebook and Twitter combined
- 1450% of people buy from marketing emails at least once per month
- 1578% of marketers have seen an increase in email engagement over the last 12 months
- 16Automated welcome emails generate 320% more revenue than traditional promotional emails
- 17Shoppers spend 138% more when marketed through email
- 1860% of consumers say they have made a purchase as the result of a marketing message they received by email
- 19Companies specifically testing alternate subject lines see a 26% higher return
- 20Email marketing drives an average order value that is at least three times higher than that of social media
Interpretation
Treating email like a second‑class channel is a costly mistake, because with an average $36 return per dollar spent, near‑universal daily inbox checks, strong millennial preference, dramatically higher conversion and order values from automated and welcome messages, and widespread adoption and budget increases among SMBs and brands, email consistently outperforms social and reliably drives acquisition, retention and revenue when marketers test and target their messages.
