Key Insights
Essential data points from our research
The global email marketing market was valued at $7.5 billion in 2020 and is projected to increase to $17.9 billion by 2027
For every $1 spent on email marketing marketers make $42
59% of marketers say email is their biggest source of ROI
81% of emails are now opened on mobile devices
23% of consumers who open an email on a mobile device open it again later
46% of smartphone users prefer to receive communications from businesses via email
The average open rate for all industries is 21.33%
The average click-through rate for email marketing is 2.62%
The average unsubscribe rate for all industries is 0.26%
Segmented email campaigns have an open rate that is 14.31% higher than non-segmented campaigns
Personalized subject lines increase open rates by 26%
Automated welcome emails have an open rate of 82%
Emails with emojis in the subject line have a 56% higher open rate
Interactive email content increases the click-to-open rate by 73%
44% of consumers prefer to receive promotional emails
Automation & Personalization
- 1Segmented email campaigns have an open rate that is 14.31% higher than non-segmented campaigns
- 2Personalized subject lines increase open rates by 26%
- 3Automated welcome emails have an open rate of 82%
- 4Sending 3 abandoned cart emails results in 69% more orders than a single email
- 533% of marketers use AI to generate email subject lines
- 6Transactional emails have 8x more opens and clicks than any other type of email
- 7Marketers who use segmented campaigns note as much as a 760% increase in revenue
- 851% of marketers say list segmentation is one of the most effective email strategies
- 9Personalized emails deliver 6x higher transaction rates
- 1074% of marketers say targeted personalization increases customer engagement
- 11Automated email messages generate 320% more revenue than non-automated emails
- 1249% of businesses use some form of email automation
- 13Birthday emails generate 342% higher revenue per email than promotional emails
- 1491% of consumers are more likely to shop with brands who provide relevant offers and recommendations
- 15Companies using automation for email marketing see a 53% higher conversion rate
- 16Trigger-based emails perform 3x better than nurture and batch emails
- 1755% of marketers are now using AI for email personalization
- 18Subject lines customized with a recipient's first name can increase open rates by 50%
- 1966% of marketers are working toward securing internal resources to execute personalized email programs
- 20Welcome emails generate 4x more opens and 5x more clicks than regular email marketing campaigns
Interpretation
Email marketing is no place for spray and pray; when you segment and personalize every subject line, use AI to polish messages, and automate welcome, transactional, trigger, abandoned cart and birthday sequences, small open-rate gains turn into exponential lifts in engagement, conversions and revenue, with some programs reporting hundreds of percent increases and individual messages massively outperforming regular campaigns.
Benchmarks & Engagement
- 1The average open rate for all industries is 21.33%
- 2The average click-through rate for email marketing is 2.62%
- 3The average unsubscribe rate for all industries is 0.26%
- 4Friday is the day with the highest email open rates (18.9%)
- 5Saturdays have the worst open rates at 17.3%
- 6The Education industry has the highest open rates at 28.5%
- 7Retail has a relatively low average open rate of 17.1%
- 8The highest click-to-open rate is in the Government sector at 14.3%
- 9The average hard bounce rate across industries is 0.40%
- 10Emails sent between 9 AM and 11 AM usually get the highest open rates
- 1147% of email recipients open an email based on the subject line alone
- 1269% of email recipients report email as spam based solely on the subject line
- 13Real estate businesses have an average bounce rate of 1.25%
- 1445.37% of emails are classified as spam
- 15The average email deliverability rate is 79.6% globally
- 16Non-profit organizations have an average click-through rate of 2.79%
- 1720.39% of all emails in North America are opened
- 18The bounce rate for the Construction industry is 0.48%
- 19Emails with no subject line have an open rate 8% higher than those with a subject line
- 20The Travel industry sees an average click-through rate of 2.25%
Interpretation
With average open and click rates hovering at roughly 21.33% and 2.62% respectively, the data is blunt: subject lines and timing matter most—47% of opens depend on the subject and 69% flag spam for the same reason, Fridays and 9 to 11 AM perform best while Saturdays and retail lag, education and government show the strongest engagement, and worrying deliverability signals like a 79.6% global delivery rate, 45% of mail being classified as spam and industry bounce spikes mean you must clean your lists and craft relevant, irresistible content if you want those meager clicks to actually move the needle.
Content & Accessibility
- 1Emails with emojis in the subject line have a 56% higher open rate
- 2Interactive email content increases the click-to-open rate by 73%
- 344% of consumers prefer to receive promotional emails
- 4Including a video in email can increase click rates by 300%
- 568% of millennials use GIFs in their emails
- 6Subject lines with between 6 to 10 words have the highest open rate
- 7Adding a countdown timer to an email can boost revenue by 9%
- 8Only 2.4% of marketers say their emails are fully accessible to everyone
- 9Emails with a single call to action increased clicks by 371% and sales by 1617%
- 1056% of brands using emojis in their email subject lines had a higher unique open rate
- 11Plain text emails often outperform HTML emails in open rate for B2B
- 1277% of marketers say accessibility is a priority for their email program
- 13Using the word "Donate" in a subject line reduces open rates by 50% or more
- 14Using the word "Newsletter" in subject lines leads to an 18.7% decrease in open rates
- 15User-generated content in emails increases click-through rates by 73%
- 1682% of consumers say they are likely to follow a brand's recommendation if it includes user-generated content
- 17Emails that include social sharing buttons have a 158% higher click-through rate
- 18"Free" in the subject line can increase open rates by 10% in some industries
- 1965% of marketers believe that dynamic content is the most effective personalization tactic
- 20Using the recipient's name in the email body copy does not significantly improve open rates compared to subject line usage
Interpretation
Treat your emails like a charismatic party invite: sprinkle emojis, GIFs, video and interactive elements to draw people in, keep subject lines to six to ten words, use one bold call to action to skyrocket clicks and sales, avoid off-putting words like "Donate" or "Newsletter", offer plain-text and accessible versions for B2B and everyone else, and lean on user-generated content, social sharing and dynamic personalization to turn curiosity into trusted action.
Financial Impact & ROI
- 1The global email marketing market was valued at $7.5 billion in 2020 and is projected to increase to $17.9 billion by 2027
- 2For every $1 spent on email marketing marketers make $42
- 359% of marketers say email is their biggest source of ROI
- 4Email marketing revenue is estimated to reach nearly 11 billion U.S. dollars by the end of 2023
- 5Small business owners ranked email marketing as the second most effective medium for building brand awareness
- 618% of companies achieve an ROI greater than $70 for every $1 invested
- 7Consumers who purchase outcome products through email spend 138% more than those that do not receive email offers
- 850% of people buy from marketing emails at least once per month
- 959% of respondents say marketing emails influence their purchase decisions
- 10Email drives 174% more conversions than social media
- 11Total revenue across all transactional emails is 6x higher than standard bulk mailings
- 1280% of business professionals believe that email marketing increases customer retention
- 1337% of brands are increasing their email marketing budget
- 1460% of consumers say they have made a purchase as the result of a marketing message they received by email
- 15Shoppers spend 138% more when marketed to through email
- 1629% of marketers rate email marketing as the most effective marketing channel
- 1766% of online consumers made a purchase as a result of an email marketing message
- 18Email marketing has an ROI of 4400%
- 1996% of organizations believe that email marketing is important to their business success
- 2076% of subscribers have made a purchase from an email marketing message
Interpretation
Email marketing has quietly become the high-yield account of the marketing world: the sector is set to more than double from $7.5 billion in 2020 to $17.9 billion by 2027, routinely returns roughly $42 for every $1 spent with top campaigns posting even higher ROIs, drives far higher conversions and purchases than social while prompting shoppers to spend significantly more, and is convincing businesses large and small to shift more budget toward transactional and targeted inbox strategies that consistently out-earn bulk mail and keep customers coming back.
Mobile & User Behavior
- 181% of emails are now opened on mobile devices
- 223% of consumers who open an email on a mobile device open it again later
- 346% of smartphone users prefer to receive communications from businesses via email
- 442% of emails are deleted if they are not optimized for mobile
- 5Apple iPhone is the most popular email client accounting for 57.7% of all opens
- 699% of email users check their email every day
- 758% of consumers check their email first thing in the morning
- 8Nearly 1 in 5 email campaigns is not optimized for mobile devices
- 935% of business professionals check email on a mobile device
- 1040% of consumers say they have at least 50 unread emails in their inbox
- 11Dark Mode is used by 81.9% of people with their phone settings
- 1261.9% of emails are opened on mobile
- 1336.6% of people read emails on mobile devices while watching TV
- 14Gmail is the second most popular email client with 29.6% market share
- 1574% of Baby Boomers think email is the most personal channel to receive communications from brands
- 16Millennials are the age group most likely to check their email from bed (70%)
- 1734% of consumers check their email continuously throughout the day
- 1869% of mobile users delete emails that aren't optimized for mobile
- 1926% of users will unsubscribe if the email doesn't display correctly on their mobile device
- 2060% of smartphone users have contacted a business directly using the search results such as the click to call option
Interpretation
With about 61% of opens on mobile and the iPhone alone responsible for nearly 58% of those opens, yet one in five campaigns still not optimized for mobile and many users deleting or unsubscribing when emails do not display correctly, smart marketers must prioritize mobile first design, dark mode compatibility, overflowing inbox realities, bedtime and TV-side reading habits, and quick click to call actions, or risk watching engagement evaporate.
