250+ Email Marketing Statistics You Need to Know for 2024

A lot has happened since that first email was sent back in 1971.

And what a moment that was. Computer engineer Ray Tomlinson sent that first magically message stating: something like QWERTYUIOP

So maybe the intention was more magical than the actual message.

Do you remember your first email? Did you think that little “you got mail” announcement would morph into the consumer powerhouse it is today?

And what a powerhouse it is!

Is email marketing worth it?

Email marketing is always under fire, especially with the popularity and rise of social media. You may be wondering, in this social world, is email marketing worth it?

Should my small business even bother with email marketing?

And I’ll tell you; the data doesn’t lie. Email Marketing is a must for your business, no matter what size or if you are just starting out.

Email Marketing Statistics

Since there are a ton of statistics about email marketing in this article, here’s a table of contents to guide you:

General Email Statistics
Email marketing Results Statistics
Email Open Rates by Industry
Email Deliverability Statistics
Email Marketing Frequency Statistics
Email Automation Statistics
Email Segmentation Statistics
Email Personalization Statistics
Email Subject Line Statistics
Email Content Statistics
Images in Email Marketing Statistics
Video In Email Marketing Statistics
Emojis In Email Marketing Statistics
Testing and Optimization in Email Marketing Statistics
Email Mobile Optimization Statistics

Let’s get to it!

Check out these General Email Statistics

• 306.4 billion emails are sent each day. That’s a lot of emails!!!
• 89% of marketers use email as their primary channel for lead generation.
• 72% of customers prefer email as the main channel for business communications.
• The average click-through rate for email was 2.6%.
• The average unsubscribe rate for 2020 was only 0.1%.
• The spam rate average was 0.02% in 2019.
• The average open rate was 18% in 2020.
• The average click-to-open rate was 14.1%.
• The average bounce rate was 0.7%.

What is a good open rate?

• A good open rate to aim for is 17-28%
• A good response rate is 10%.

What is a good Click Through Rate?

• A good CTR is 2-5%.
• 86% of business professionals give priority to email connections.
• 93% of B2B marketers use email channels for distributing content.
• 29% of marketers say email marketing is the most effective marketing channel (compared to 25% for social media, 25% for content marketing, and 22% for SEO).

Why is Email Important? One word: ROI

Email has a seriously good return on investment. In fact, for every $1 spent, you can expect to get (ready for this?) $42 in return!

And that’s just one reason email is so popular with marketers and small businesses.

Check out these Email Marketing Statistics:

What is the average ROI on email marketing?

• Email marketing’s ROI is 4200% ($42 for every $1 spent).

Is email marketing actually effective?

• 18% of companies achieve ROI greater than $70 per $1 invested
• 59% of B2B marketers prefer email for their lead generation.
• 40% of B2B marketers say that an email newsletter is the most important tactic in their digital marketing strategy.
• Marketing emails influence the buying decisions of 50.7% of customers.

Is email marketing more effective than social media?

• Email is 40% better at converting (compared to Facebook and Twitter).
• 37% say email is the most effective channel for customer retention and loyalty, while websites were said by 13% and social media by only 11%.
• 21% of emails get opened within the first hour of being delivered.
• Email marketing is mostly used for a. lead generation (85%), b. sales (84%), c. lead nurturing (78%), d. customer retention (74%).

Open Rates by Industry

Everyone wants to know where they stack up with open rates and click-through rates. Though every marketing list is a bit different, this list will give you a guide to your industry averages. Check out these Email Open Rates by Industry stats:

What an average open rates by Industry?

Agencies: Open Rates: 27%; CTR 3%.

Arts and Entertainment: Open Rates: 42%; CTR 7%.

Automotive and Entertainment: Open Rates: 6%; CTR 1%.

Communications: Open Rates: 28%; CTR 4%.

Education: Open Rates: 36%; CTR 6%.

Financial Services: Open Rates: 29%; CTR 5%.

Health & Beauty: Open Rates: 46%; CTR 4%.

Health Care: Open Rates: 41%; CTR 5%.

Internet Marketing: Open Rates: 17%; CTR 3%.

Legal Services: Open Rates: 29%; CTR 3%.

Non-Profits: Open Rates: 48%; CTR 6%.

Publishing: Open Rates: 37%; CTR 9%.

Real Estate: Open Rates: 29%; CTR 3%.

Restaurants & Food: Open Rates: 39%; CTR 4%.

Retail: Open Rates: 29%; CTR 4%.

Seasonal Templates: Open Rates: 48%; CTR 4%.

Sports & Activites: Open Rates: 37%; CTR 4%.

Technology & High Tech: Open Rates: 25%; CTR 3%.

Travel: Open Rates: 29%; CTR 3%.

Unknown: Open Rates: 24%; CTR 3%.

Email Deliverability Statistics

In order to be effective, email has got to actually land in the inbox, and as these stats show, that isn’t always the case.

Check out these email deliverability stats:

• 15.8% of all emails go missing or are caught by spam filters
• 84.2% is the percentage of the average email deliverability rate
• 45% of the total email traffic was SPAM share in December 2021
• 47.3% of all emails in 2020 were spam
• The average unsubscribe rate was 0.2%, and the spam rate reached 0.02% in 2019
• Email Validation can reduce bounce rate by 90%!

Frequency Email Marketing Statistics

With email marketing, everyone wants to know what is the best time to send email. These email marketing statistics speak loudly about the perfect sending frequency and sending time.

• 61% of email subscribers/customers would like to receive promotional emails every week, 38% say they want it more frequently.
• Most marketers get in touch up to six times a month – a recommended frequency to avoid being marked as spam.
• 38-49% of respondents check their email every couple of hours.
• 51% of respondents 18-24 years old check their email while still in bed each morning.
• Marketers reach out to their clients (per month): 2-3 times (32%), 4-6 times (19%), once (17%), 6+ times (16%).
• 28% of email subscribers say they’d like to see promotional offers twice or even three times a week.
• 18% of email messages are sent on Thursdays, 17% on Tuesdays, and 16% on Wednesdays.
• 11 AM is the best time for sending emails. 12 AM shows the highest CTR.
• The lowest open and click-through rates are on weekends.
• Traffic peak is in autumn and winter with the holiday seasons (especially on Black Friday and Cyber Monday).
• 50% of marketers, however, claim that there is no perfect time for sending email campaigns as every subscriber and business is different.
• The best days for sending email campaigns are Tuesday and Thursday.
• 50% of respondents 18-34 years old get to inbox zero.
• Top 3 reasons why people unsubscribe are: too many emails (59%), info no longer relevant (43%), or don’t recognize the brand or remember signing up (43%).

What are the benefits of Email Automation?

If you’re wondering how all these marketers and businesses are sending all these emails and still having time for anything else, it is all due to email automation. And if you’re passed on automation in the past, now is the time to jump aboard the automation train.

• 51% of companies are currently using automation.
• 64% of B2B professionals say that they use email automation techniques.
• The greatest marketing automation benefits are:
• – saving time (30%)
• – lead generation (22%)
• – higher revenue (17%)
• – customer retention (11%)
• – monitoring marketing campaigns (8%)
• – shortening of the sales cycle (2%)
• 47% of marketers think automation is worth the price.
• 68.5% of marketers believe that automation improved the targeting of email messages.
• Triggered email messages result in 8 times more opens and higher earnings than common bulk emails.
• The average spam and unsubscribe rates of triggered emails are only 0.58% and 0.06%, respectively.
• The best tactics for automation are to map the customer journey (53%) and use personalized messages (51%).
• Automation tools are used for sending these types of emails:
• welcome sequence emails (47%)
• promotional emails (46%)
• transactional emails (28%)
• invitations and reminders (27%)
• blog post updates (26%)
• upselling emails (23%)
• event-triggered emails based on customer lifecycles (15%)
• The average open rate of a triggered email campaign is 46%, CTR – is 11%, and the click-to-open rate – is 24%.

Email Segmentation and Personalization

If you want to improve your email results, personalization and segmentation are the way to go. And email software makes both of these easier than ever.

What are the best email marketing tactics?

• The top email marketing tactics are: list segmentation (51%), personalization (50%), and triggered emails (45%).
• Email list segmentation and personalization are the most effective email strategies.
• Over half (53%) send the same email to their entire list, while only 4% use layered personalized targeting. 31% of businesses use basic segmentation
• 58% of revenue is generated due to segmented and personalized emails.

Why is Segmentation important in Email marketing?

• Segmented email campaigns have a 50% higher CTR than untargeted campaigns.
• Marketers sending segmented campaigns notice a 760% increase in revenue.
• During a SuperOffice email marketing test, a segmented email campaign earned a 94% open rate and a 38% CTR versus a 42% open rate and 4.5% CTR in a non-segmented email campaign.
• Segmented email open rates increased by 39%; revenue, deliverability, and sales leads all increased by 24%, and transactions by 18%.

Why is personalization important in email marketing?

• 62% of marketers say that personalization is one of the most effective techniques.
• The top 3 reasons for personalizing an email are improved open rates (82%), better customer satisfaction (58%), and higher CTR (75%)
• 66% of marketers personalize their emails based on age data
• 10% of respondents are annoyed by not enough or no personalization.
• Emails with personalization in the subject line are 22% more likely to be opened.
• 88% of users say they are more likely to respond to an email positively if it looks like it’s been personally created for them.
• 62% of emails are opened with a personalized subject line.
• Addressing the recipient by name can increase open rates and Click-Through-Rates up to 35%.
• The most frustrating things about email personalization are: recommending items they’re not interested in (34%), expired offers (24%), misspelled names (15%), inappropriate season or location offers (14%), and already purchased promotions (13%). How many of you are super annoyed when it says First_Name at the top of your email???

Email Subject Lines

Writing a perfect subject line can make or break your email campaign. Don’t believe me?

Check out these email subject line stats:

• 47% of people open emails based on the subject line
• 69% of customers report emails as spam based on the subject line only.
• In one study, emails without a subject line were intriguing enough that they delivered an 8% higher open rate.
• Welcome emails bring in 320% more revenue per email than other promotional emails.
• Open rate subject line word count:
• 6-10 words (21%),
• 0-5 words (16%)
• 11-15 words (14%)
• 16-20 words (12%)
• Emails including “fw:” in the subject line are 17% less likely to be opened.
• Emails with personalization in the subject line are 22% more likely to be opened.
• The email subject line most often contains:
• the customer’s name (46.21%)
• the product name/details (44.01%)
• the company name (42.88%).

Email Content

How long your email is, what’s included, and how you sign off also have a great deal to do with how many sales, responses, and how happy you make your email recipients.

How do you stack up with these email content stats:

How long is the average email?

• An average marketing email message consists of 434.48 words, and it takes 3.3 minutes to read.
• Most (19% of subscribers) respond to messages of 200-250 words, 17% to those under 50 words, and 15% – to 150-200 words long emails.
• iPhones cut off the subject lines over 32 characters.
• 52% of managers add signatures to emails.
• Emails with signatures, including a photo, receive 32% more replies than emails without them.
• Emails with discount codes have an 8 times higher chance of making a sale than those without any discounts.
• 7 lines is the perfect length for an email signature (75% of senders include contact info, 60% add a phone number, less include Twitter (7%), Facebook (3%), or LinkedIn (2%) links.
• 17% of adults use a formal style for email communication, 33% prefer an informal style, and 49% say it depends.

What are Popular sign-offs?

• Thanks (62%),
• name or initials (46%)
• Sincerely (44%)
• Love (28%)
• Regards (22%)
• “Thanks” is said to be the least annoying sign-off as only 3% disliked it, while 21% disliked “Peace.”
• 40% of people asked would like email messages to be more informative than promotional.

Images in Email Marketing

Sure email content matters, but perhaps the email appearance matters even more. These email marketing image stats say images matter a whole lot.

• Two-thirds of surveyed people say they would prefer emails consisting mostly of images.
• 74% of users delete a message if it doesn’t open within 5 seconds or less (which is most likely to happen due to the size of the images in the email).
• Emails that include graphics have a higher open rate (27%) and CTR (4.5%) than text-based emails (20% and 3%).
• Research shows it’s best to keep the text to image ratio in email massages around 4:1.
• However, 43% of recipients read the emails without turning the images on.

Video in Email Marketing

Have you ever thought of using video with your email marketing? What happens when you use video in an email? Video in Email marketing stats says you may want to lean in on this strategy.

• As of 2020, 83.3% of internet users in the US viewed digital video content.
• 54% of consumers want more video content from a brand or business
• 86% of businesses use video in their marketing tool — up from 63% over the last 3 years
• 72% said they would rather learn about a service or product by video
• An email with a video receives a CTR increase of 96%.
• 81% of marketers say they use video as a marketing tool.
• Attaching a video to an email can lead to a 200-300% increase in its CTR.
• Using the word “video” increased open rates by 19%, CTR by 65%, and reduced the number of unsubscribes by 26%.
• 54% of respondents say they prefer emails with videos.
• 78% of marketers using video say it increases ROI.
• Emails with videos in them improve the CTR by 300%
• Sales teams that use videos in emails get a 16% higher open rate and a 26% increase in replies.
• 90% say that videos help them make purchase decisions.

Emojis in Email Marketing

Emojis in the email are highly debatable, depending on who you ask. Some say emojis are more effective in email, while others gasp at the thought.

Check out these emojis in email stats and decide for yourself:

Image via Mail Chimp

• Women react to using emojis more positively than men.
• 68% of millennials like seeing emojis, GIFs, and stickers in emails;
• 37% of respondents over 65 want to see emojis, GIFs, or stickers.
• Email messages with an emoji in the subject line show a 56% higher open rate.
• 76% of those surveyed have added emojis in their business emails at least one time (what rebels).
• Using appropriate emojis in a holiday campaign can reduce the complaint rate to 0%.
• Nearly half (46%) of young adults (18-29 years old) think emojis are work-appropriate, while only 28% think they’re inappropriate to use.
• Over 3.3 thousand emojis live across the web, so you have some choices to try this one out.
• Emojis grab attention, and About 60% of the time, they increase open rates by 25%. But about 40% of the time, they actually decrease open rates by 25%.
• Emojis boost brand awareness. Even if users don’t open your email, they start recognizing your brand by name and the emoji you use.

Testing and Optimization in Email Marketing

Very few marketers test their campaigns. It may be that though most email software platforms offer basic ways of testing, A/B testing, and other options, the truth is testing requires more time and planning.

Check out these email marketing testing stats:

• 60% of respondents don’t proactively test their email marketing
• 11% continuously test their email marketing
• More marketers test creative elements 20%, and subject lines 16%

Email Mobile Optimization

Many business owners underestimate the importance of mobile optimization for email marketing.

But these email mobile optimization stats say it’s time to listen up:

• 81% of users check their email on smartphones, 74% on desktops/laptops, 21% on tablets, 2% on a smartwatch.
• 88% of smartphone users check their email on their phones.
• Nearly 1 in 5 email campaigns weren’t optimized for mobile.
• 42.3% of email recipients will delete messages if they are not optimized for mobiles, and 32.2% will read the email later on desktop.
• 52% of B2C brands’ emails and websites are not mobile-friendly.
• 57% say they won’t recommend a poorly designed mobile website.
• In 2018, 46% of emails were opened on smartphones, and only 18% were on a desktop.
• 88% regularly check emails on their mobile devices.
• 30% of professionals use their mobile devices to check email.
• The 2 most popular email clients are Apple iPhone 34% and Gmail 26%.
• 75% of Gmail users are using their smartphones to check their inboxes.
• Mobile offers are ten times more likely to be used compared to the same offer in printed form.
• 20% say that mobile viewing has improved their email experience over the last few years.

So there you have it. 

Over 250 Email Marketing Stats for 2022 to make you fall in love with email all over again.

Have a stat to add that didn’t make the list? Comment below, and let’s get it in there.