Key Insights
Essential data points from our research
For every $1 spent on email marketing, the average return on investment is $42
The global email marketing market was valued at $7.5 billion in 2020
Email marketing revenue is projected to reach $17.9 billion by 2027
81% of SMBs rely on email as their primary customer acquisition channel
B2B marketers say new product and feature announcement emails have the highest click-through rate affecting revenue pipelines
60% of consumers say they have made a purchase as the result of a marketing email
Marketers who use segmented campaigns note as much as a 760% increase in revenue
Automated welcome emails generate 4x more opens and 5x more clicks than regular email campaigns
Emails with personalized subject lines are 26% more likely to be opened to generate revenue
Mobile email views account for 41.9% of all email opens, directly influencing mobile revenue
23% of consumers who click an email on a mobile device make a purchase
Emails with a single call-to-action increased clicks by 371% and sales by 1617%
37% of brands are increasing their email marketing budget in the coming year
10% of marketing budgets are allocated specifically to email marketing on average
58% of marketers plan to integrate AI into their email marketing to boost revenue
Automation & Personalization Outcomes
- 1Marketers who use segmented campaigns note as much as a 760% increase in revenue
- 2Automated welcome emails generate 4x more opens and 5x more clicks than regular email campaigns
- 3Emails with personalized subject lines are 26% more likely to be opened to generate revenue
- 4Sending 3 abandoned cart emails results in 69% more orders than a single email
- 5Transactional emails (which are automated) generate 8x more opens and greater revenue than regular marketing emails
- 6Birthday emails generate a 342% higher revenue per email than standard promotional emails
- 750% of companies feel that personalization can increase email revenue by 10% or more
- 8Nearly 21% of email revenue comes from automated triggers
- 9Cart abandonment emails have a 45% open rate and a 21% click-through rate
- 10Personalized emails deliver 6x higher transaction rates
- 1174% of marketers say targeted personalization increases customer engagement and revenue
- 12Triggered email campaigns generate 24x more revenue per send than batch-and-blast emails
- 13Using 'First Name' in the subject line increases the click-through rate by 28%
- 1491% of the most successful users of automation agree it is "very important" to the overall success of their marketing revenue
- 15Browse abandonment emails can facilitate a 124% increase in purchase intent
- 16Retailers engaging in advanced personalization see a $20 return for every $1 spent
- 17Automated emails drive 32% of all email marketing revenue despite being less than 2% of sends
- 18Revenue per email is 4.7x higher for segmented campaigns compared to non-segmented campaigns
- 19Back-in-stock automation emails achieve the highest open rate of any automation type at 65.32%
- 2080% of customers are more likely to purchase from a brand that provides personalized email experiences
Interpretation
Consider this your marketing wake-up call: targeted segmentation, timely automation and personalized subject lines are not optional extras but profit machines; segmented campaigns can boost revenue by up to 760%, triggered and transactional emails earn far higher opens and clicks and account for roughly a third of email revenue despite representing under 2% of sends, abandoned cart, welcome, back-in-stock and birthday automations dramatically lift orders and revenue, and retailers practicing advanced personalization can see returns as high as $20 for every $1 spent.
B2B & B2C Sector Performance
- 181% of SMBs rely on email as their primary customer acquisition channel
- 2B2B marketers say new product and feature announcement emails have the highest click-through rate affecting revenue pipelines
- 360% of consumers say they have made a purchase as the result of a marketing email
- 4B2C marketers who connect with customers through automated emails see conversion rates as high as 50%
- 564% of B2B marketers use email automation techniques to drive revenue
- 659% of B2B marketers cite email as their most effective channel for revenue generation
- 780% of retail professionals indicate that email marketing is their greatest driver of customer retention
- 831% of B2B marketers say email newsletters are the best way to nurture leads into revenue
- 9B2C emails get 57.4% more opens than B2B emails affecting top-of-funnel revenue
- 1085% of retailers consider email marketing one of the most effective customer acquisition tactics
- 1150% of B2B marketers consider email to be the most impactful channel for multi-channel strategies
- 12Fashion industry emails have an average revenue per email of $0.12
- 13B2B email marketing campaigns see an average click-to-open rate of 12.6%
- 1479% of B2B marketers credit email as the most effective distribution channel for demand gen efforts
- 15For eCommerce brands, email marketing accounts for approximately 25% of the total online revenue
- 16B2C customers are 6x more likely to click a link in an email than a Twitter link
- 17Professional services in B2B see a 24% open rate, driving high-value contract revenue
- 18Travel agency emails generate an average of $0.06 revenue per email
- 1977% of B2B buyers prefer to be contacted via email impacting sales velocity
- 20Welcome emails in the retail sector generate 320% more revenue per email than other promotional emails
Interpretation
Put simply, email is the marketing workhorse, beloved by SMBs, B2B buyers, and retailers for acquisition, retention, and demand generation, supercharged by automation and welcome messages that multiply opens, clicks, and revenue, and responsible for roughly a quarter of eCommerce sales, so ignoring it is just walking away from steady, measurable income.
Budgeting, Strategy & Future Growth
- 137% of brands are increasing their email marketing budget in the coming year
- 210% of marketing budgets are allocated specifically to email marketing on average
- 358% of marketers plan to integrate AI into their email marketing to boost revenue
- 482% of marketers plan to increase their spending on email personalization technology
- 549% of companies are using email automation to streamline their budget usage
- 6Investment in email marketing software is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10% through 2028
- 787% of marketers plan to increase their email marketing interactive features budget
- 883% of marketers believe their email personalization strategy will be critical to future revenue growth
- 925% of marketers say their biggest budget priority is increasing subscriber engagement
- 10The number of daily email users is expected to reach 4.6 billion by 2025, expanding the revenue TAM
- 1161% of startups invest in email marketing during their first year to secure early revenue
- 1230% of marketers intend to use AI for writing email copy to reduce overhead costs
- 1315.4% of all marketing spending is predicted to be on email automation by 2025
- 14Spending on email hygiene services to protect revenue lists is growing by 15% annually
- 1544% of marketers plan to switch email service providers to improve revenue tracking features
- 16Daily email volume is projected to reach 376.4 billion emails by 2025
- 1766% of marketers are investing in increasing their list size to scale revenue
- 1820% of marketers plann to implement AMP for Email to increase in-mail revenue conversion
- 1978% of marketers have seen an increase in email engagement (and associated revenue) over the last 12 months, prompting budget hikes
- 20By 2023, 40% of marketing teams will use AI to optimize email drive times for revenue maximization
Interpretation
Email isn't dead; it's getting smarter and richer as brands pour money into AI, personalization, automation, interactivity, hygiene and AMP, scale lists and swap providers to optimize send times and convert booming user growth and email volume into measurable revenue.
ROI & Global Market Value
- 1For every $1 spent on email marketing, the average return on investment is $42
- 2The global email marketing market was valued at $7.5 billion in 2020
- 3Email marketing revenue is projected to reach $17.9 billion by 2027
- 459% of marketers say email is their biggest source of ROI
- 5Companies using email to nurture leads generate 50% more sales-ready leads at 33% lower cost
- 6Email marketing ROI in the retail sector is $45 for every $1 spent
- 7The ROI for email marketing in the software and technology sector is $36 for every $1 spent
- 8Media and publishing companies see an ROI of $32 for every $1 spent on email marketing
- 918% of companies achieve an ROI greater than $70 per $1 spent
- 1073% of marketers rate email as the number one digital channel for ROI
- 11Small businesses estimate their email marketing ROI is roughly 122%
- 12Email usually generates $38 for every $1 spent according to Campaign Monitor's benchmarks
- 13Integrated email campaigns can boost sales revenue by 52%
- 14The average order value of an email sale is 3 times higher than that of social media
- 15Email marketing makes up 15-23% of total company revenue on average
- 16Top-performing brands generate over 40% of their total revenue from email marketing
- 1729% of marketers look at ROI metrics to evaluate email effectiveness
- 18European companies average an ROI of $41 for every $1 spent
- 1947% of marketers state that email marketing is the most effective lead nurturing tactic for revenue
- 20Shoppers who buy products through email spend 138% more than those that do not receive email offers
Interpretation
With an average return of about $42 for every dollar spent, a market set to swell to $17.9 billion by 2027, and consistent evidence that email nurtures cheaper, more sales-ready leads while driving higher order values and large shares of company revenue, email marketing is the quiet revenue engine brands ignore at their peril.
User Behavior & Engagement Metrics
- 1Mobile email views account for 41.9% of all email opens, directly influencing mobile revenue
- 223% of consumers who click an email on a mobile device make a purchase
- 3Emails with a single call-to-action increased clicks by 371% and sales by 1617%
- 460% of smartphone users have contacted a business directly using the search results such as "click to call" in emails
- 5Including a video in an email can increase click rates by 300%, driving higher revenue potential
- 6Apple iPhone is the most popular email client, accounting for 57% of opens which dictates design revenue
- 742.3% of consumers will delete an email if it is not optimized for mobile, resulting in lost revenue
- 8Interactive email content increases the click-to-open rate by 73%
- 9Adding emojis to subject lines can increase open rates by 56% leading to more sales opportunities
- 10The average revenue per recipient for mobile clicks is $0.40 less than desktop, suggesting a need for better mobile checkout optimization
- 1135% of email professionals say mobile optimization is their biggest revenue challenge
- 12Emails with social sharing buttons see a 158% increase in click-through rate
- 13Tuesdays see the highest email open rates which correlates to weekly revenue spikes
- 1469% of mobile users delete emails that aren't optimized for mobile
- 15Users are 3x more likely to share content via email than social, extending revenue reach
- 16Adding user-generated content to emails increases conversion rates by 5%
- 1750% of people buy from marketing emails at least once a month
- 18A 'free shipping' offer in an email is the most effective incentive for 72% of consumers
- 1961% of consumers prefer to be contacted by brands via email over other mediums
- 20Customers who interact with live content in emails are 21% more likely to convert
Interpretation
Treat every email like a tiny storefront on a tiny screen: with 41.9% of opens on mobile and iPhone alone accounting for 57% of those, up to 69% of users will delete an unoptimized message, while simple moves like a single clear call to action (which has driven 371% more clicks and 1617% more sales), embedded video, interactivity, emojis, social sharing, user-generated content and free shipping can turn email into a reliable revenue engine instead of a deleted curiosity.
