The internet has caused a massive shift in the business landscape. The internet has opened up innumerable avenues for companies’ marketing efforts.
The ability to connect with customers around the globe almost instantaneously using the internet has been very beneficial for marketing.
Email marketing is one area that businesses take great advantage of. And for good reason too; email marketing is much more effective than other forms of digital marketing and has a very high ROI.
We put together this comprehensive list of the 101 most important email marketing statistics. These facts and figures cover email marketing statistics on both the business and consumer ends.
These statistics will give you a snapshot of the current email marketing landscape and provide valuable information to incorporate into your business’s email marketing strategy.
General Email Usage Statistics
- There Are Over 4 Billion Email Users Globally
- Email use continues to climb around the globe. In 2019, there were approximately 3.9 billion email users worldwide. This number is expected to grow to 4.3 billion in 2023 [1].
- Almost 300 Billion Emails Are Sent Every Day
- An astounding amount of emails are sent every day. In 2019, approximately 293 billion emails were sent each day. This number is expected to grow to a staggeringly high 347 billion emails every day [2].
- The Average American Worker Receives 126 Emails per Day
- Americans are at the top of the email usage pyramid. On any given day, the average American worker receives 126 emails per day. That is basically 1 email every 11 minutes [3].
- 82% of Workers Check Their Email Outside of Work Hours [3].
- The Average Worker Spends 2.5 Hours per Day Checking Email [4].
- The Average American Has 1.75 Email Accounts [4].
- 91% of Those Age 15-24 Use Email on a Regular Basis [5].
- 86% of Those 65+ Use Email on a Regular Basis [5].
- Women Spend More Time Checking Email
- The average woman spends about 7 minutes more on average checking email each day compared to men [6].
- 50% of People Check Their Email as the First Thing Online
- Conversely, only 14.8% check social media first [7].
B2C Email Marketing Statistics
“B2C” means “business to consumer” and concerns selling products through businesses directly to consumers. Several businesses have adopted B2C email marketing strategies to maximize conversions and revenue.
- 26% of Small Businesses Use Email Marketing to Sell Products
- Small and medium businesses have a lot to gain from running email marketing campaigns. 1 in 4 small-to-medium-sized businesses use email marketing to sell products directly to customers [8].
- The Average B2C Marketer Sends 3-5 Emails to Customers Every Week [9].
- 80% of Retail Workers Say Email Marketing Increase Customer Retention
- According to surveyed retail workers, 80% agree that email marketing helps retain the most clients. Other good retention strategies are social media (44%) [8].
- Welcome Emails Can Increase Revenue by 320%
- Sending an automated welcome message to customers can boost average revenue per customer by 320%. Customers who feel noticed are more likely to buy more [8].
- 59% of Customers Say Marketing Emails Influences Their Purchases
- Almost 60% of customers say marketing emails influence their buying behavior [9].
- 81% of B2C Companies Use Emails to Acquire Customers
- Over 4 out of every 5 small businesses say that email marketing is their main method of getting new customers [1].
- Abandoned Cart Emails Result in 69% More Orders
- Abandon cart emails are sent to customers when they leave a page without purchasing what is in their cart. Sending 3 abandoned cart emails results in 69% more orders than just sending a single email [1].
- 60% of Consumers Subscribe to Lists to Get Promotional Deals [7].
- The Average Subscriber Receives 13 Commercial Emails per Day [7].
- Only 14% of Subscribers Say Half the Emails They Recieve Are Useful [7].
- 88% of Consumers Want Transparency About How Their Email Info Is Used [7].
- 50% of Campaign Emails Are Opened Within 6 Hours [10].
- 54% of People Want to See More Video Content in Email Marketing Campaigns [10].
- Landing Pages Have a 25% Capture Rate
- 1 in 4 people who visit a company’s landing page will give their email info [10].
B2B Email Marketing Statistics
“B2B” means “business to business” and refers to operations that are directed towards selling products and services directly to businesses. Email marketing is most popular in the B2B sector, mostly because of the information structure of businesses.
- Over 9 in 10 B2B Marketers Distribute Content Via Email
- Emails marketing is practically ubiquitous among B2B companies. 93% of B2B marketers say they utilize email marketing to distribute content [9].
- Companies Spent More Than $350 Million on Email Marketing in 2019
- US companies spent more than $350 million on email marketing in 2019 and this number is expected to grow in 2020 [9].
- 86% of Business Professionals Like Communicating via Email
- Over 8 in 10 business employees say they prefer communicating via email over other methods [8].
- B2B Emails Get the Most Response on Tuesdays
- B2B emails get the most engagement on Tuesdays out of every other day in the week [8].
- 8 in 10 Companies Use e-Newsletters to Market Content
- 40% say that those newsletters are critical to company success [11].
- 1 in 3 Companies Plan to Increase B2B Spending
- Over 30% of companies say they plan to increase email marketing spending in the following year [11].
- 59% of B2B Marketers Say Most of Their Revenue Comes from Email Marketing
- As is the case with B2C companies, B2B companies see great returns from email marketing. Nearly 6 in 10 B2B marketing professionals say that email marketing is a significant portion of their revenue stream [8].
Email Marketing ROI Statistics
In general, email has the highest ROI out of all other marketing strategies. One reason why is because email campaigns are relatively cheap to create compared to other types. Companies will focus on increasing email ROI in the coming years.
- Every $1 Spent on Email Marketing Returns $42
- Email marketing continues to boast an extremely high ROI. For every $1 spent on email marketing, B2C companies can expect to make $42 [1].
- 18% of Companies Have a 7,000% ROI on Emails
- That comes out to $70 generated for every $1 spent [12].
- 20% of Companies Have an ROI Less Than 500%
- That is less than 5$ generated for every $1 spent [12].
- 59% of Marketers Say Email Marketing Has The Biggest ROI
- Email marketing is possibly the most effective marketing strategy. Among surveyed professionals, nearly 6 in 10 say that email marketing has the highest ROI out of all marketing strategies [9].
- 20% of Marketing Emails Never Reach an Inbox
- That is about 1 in every 5 marketing emails [13].
- Segmented Email Marketing Campaigns Can Make 760% More Revenue
- The benefit of segmented campaigns is that they can target users based on specific demographics/info [9].
- Email Drives Nearly 20% of Business Transactions
- This figure is compared to 20% for paid search and 21% for organic traffic [12].
- Email My Cart Campaigns Have the Highest Average ROI
- Email My Cart campaigns generate 54.9% more revenue per email than other campaign types. Browse abandonment was the next best campaign type [12].
- But Only 1% of Emails Come From My Cart Campaigns [12].
- Loyalty Programs Increase Average Customer Revenue by 13% [4].
- 66% of Marketers Say They Want to Improve Email Engagement [4].
Open & Click Rate Statistics
In general, mobile emails boast the highest open and click-through rates. Despite what you might think, longer email campaigns seem to have better CTRs. Personalizing emails and using unique subject lines are another way to boost open & click rates.
- The Average Marketing Email Open Rate Across industries Is 22.1%
- This figure includes both B2B and B2C companies. Open rates in Europe are the highest of all continents at 26.84% [13].
- The Average Marketing Email Open Rate Decreased from Last Year
- Average open rates from 2015-2018 were about 25% [13].
- However, It Is Expected to Grow in 2021 [13].
- Personalized Emails Have Higher Open Rates
- Emails that have a personalized subject line are opened 50% more often than emails with generic subject lines [1].
- Automated Email Messages Boost Conversion Rates by 50%
- Triggered emails give a better customer experience. Automated email messages boost conversion rates by 50% for B2C companies [11].
- Mobile Emails Have a 61% Open Rate [13].
- Desktop Emails Have a 39% Open Rate [13].
- Responsively Mobile Emails Generate More Clicks [6].
- Marketing Emails About Hobbies Have the Highest Open Rates
- People are more interested in products related to their hobbies. Marketing emails about products related to hobbies have an astoundingly high 27.35% open rate [9].
- Trigger Campaigns Generate an Average of 306% More Clicks [12].
- The Global Average Clickthrough Rate Is 3.43%
- The average click rate in North America is 2.98% while the average click rate in Europe is 4.35% [13].
- Emails Sent On Tuesday Have the Highest Open Rates
- Emails sent on Tuesdays have a 21.26% open rate. The next best day is Monday at 21.22%
- Emails Sent On Saturdays and Sundays Have the Worst Open Rates
- Emails sent on Saturday have a 17.50% open rate and emails sent on Sundays have a 17.90% rate [13].
- Peak Email Open Times Are Between 1-4 PM
- Along with the specific day, there is a specific time it’s best to send emails. The open rate between 3-6 PM is 6-7%, compared to an average of 5% for the rest of the workday [13].
- Emojis in Subject Lines Can Increase Open Rates
- 56% of brands that say they use emojis in marketing email subject lines have higher open rates than those that do not [9].
- 6-10 Words Is the Optimal Subject Line Length
- Emails with 6-10 words in the subject line have a 21% open rate compared to 16% for 5 or fewer words [14].
- Emails With the Person’s Name in The Subject Line Have an 18.3% Open Rate
- This is compared to 15.7% for those without [14].
- Emails With Lyrics/Movie Titles in the Subject Line Have a 26.2% Open Rate
- This is compared to the based 15% open rate for emails with generic subject lines [14].
- The Average Click Rate Across Industries Is 3.71% [7].
- Multi-step Conversion Processes Have Higher CTRs
- 4-step campaigns have a CTR of 1.0% while 1-, 2-, and 3-step campaigns have a CTR of 0.74%, 0.62% and 0,.84% respectively [7].
- Most People Say They Prefer HTML-Format Emails [15].
- But Plain Text Emails Actually Have Higher Open Rates [15].
Email Spam Statistics
A lot of marketing emails get marked as spam and never see the light of day. Spam can cost companies and affect the success of marketing campaigns.
- 60 Billion of Junk Emails Are Sent Everyday
- A large portion of sent emails is spam or junk. Of the 300 billion emails spent every day, almost 60 billion (~20%) are junk or spam messages that either get bounced or filtered [3].
- Spam Accounts for Nearly 54% of Email Traffic [16].
- China Generates the Largest Amount of Spam Emails
- Approximately 20% of all global spam messages originate in China. This makes sense as China is the most populated country in the world [16].
- The Spam Rate Is Decreasing
- Global spam in 2018 was 55%. This number has decreased from 69% in 2012 [16].
- 7% of Marketing Emails Are Sent to Spam Folders [16].
- Trojans and Spyware are the Two Most Common Kinds of Spam Emails [16].
- Spam Campaigns Generate About $7,000 per Day
- It’s no secret what motivates spam campaigns. Even though they are annoying they can still generate up to $7,000 a day [17].
- Spam Costs Businesses $20 Billion Every Year
- Most of these costs come from lost productivity and technical expenses [17].
- 3 in 4 Businesses Fall for Phishing Scams in 2016
- The most common tactic businesses fell for were fake invoices (26%) [17].
- Apple IDs are the Most Popular Scam Target [17].
- 80% of All Spam Is Sent By 100 Groups
- Most spam emails originated from a list of 100 groups with about 200-300 members each [17].
Email Marketing Statistics By Device
Email marketing works differently depending on the device. For a long time, email marketing was dominated by desktop use. The advent of mobile web surfing has caused a massive change in how people interact and respond to emails. Most emails nowadays are interacted with through mobile devices, specifically smartphones.
Desktop
- 26.9% of People Prefer Checking Emails on Desktop [18].
- Older People Are More Likely to Check Emails on Desktop
- 77% of those 35+ check email on desktop first compared to only 67% of those 18-34 [18].
- Microsoft Outlook Accounts for 56% of All Desktop Opens
- The most common version is Microsoft Outlook 2013 [18].
- Desktop Emails Generate More Clicks
- The click rates for desktop emails is 14% compared to only 11% for mobile devices [18].
- Only 30% of People Open an Email on Desktop After Opening It on Mobile [18].
Mobile
- 41.9% of Emails are Opened on Mobile Devices [6].
- 3 in 10 Business Professionals Check Email on Mobile [9].
- Mobile Opens Account for 50% of All Email Marketing Opens [18].
- 75% of Customers Say They Check Emails Primarily With a Smartphone [6].
- Younger Generations Are More Likely to Open Mobile Emails
- 40% of those aged 14-18 will check email on their mobile device first [6].
- Mobile Users Check their Email 3 Times More Frequently [18].
- 52% of Customers Will Not Interact With a Company After a Bad Mobile Experience [18].
- iPhone is the Most Popular Mobile Device to Check Emails [6].
- But Android Users Spend More Time Viewing Emails [6].
- 73% of Companies Prioritize Mobile for Their Email Marketing Campaigns [19].
- Non-Mobile-Responsive Emails Can Be Deleted In Just 3 Seconds
- Formatting matters. If an email has poor mobile formatting, 70% of the time an email with a bad mobile layout will be deleted in 3 seconds [18]
- 44% of Customers Say Receiving Too Many Mobile Emails Is Annoying
- Other complaints were irrelevant emails (37%) and small fonts (32%) [6].
- People Respond to Mobile Emails 52% Faster than Desktop [6].
- The Average Mobile Reply Has 20 Words [6].
- Leisure and Recreation Have the Highest Mobile Read Rates
- Leisure and Recreation emails are read at a rate of 60% compared to 38.2% for School & Education [6].
Tablet
- 18% of Emails Are Opened on Tablet [20].
- 21% of Mobile Users Check Email with a Tablet [6].
- iPad is the Most Popular Tablet For Opening Emails [21].
- 9% of mobile users claim they read email using an iPad. More people check iPads are actually more common than Android/Google Phones for checking email [21].
- Tablet Email Usage Is Concentrated in the Evening
- People open tablet emails most often between 8-11 PM [20].
- 39% of Android Tablet Users Spend 15+ Seconds per Email
- 32% spend less than 3 seconds and 28.5% between 3-15 seconds [6].
- 43.28% of iPad Users Spend Less Than 3 Seconds per Email
- Conversely, only 27.5% spend more than 15 seconds [6].
Conclusions
Email marketing has only grown in the past decade and is not going anywhere anytime soon. If your company wants to remain competitive, then they need to incorporate email insights into their marketing strategy.
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