11 Email Marketing Stats to Guide Your Strategy

Email marketing can be one of the most effective methods of outreach for your brand. Do it right, and it might even be the most effective. Having a direct line to your leads’ inboxes is a powerful thing, providing you with an opportunity to send targeted, action-driven content that results in more traffic to your site, more interest in your product or service, and ideally, more customers.

However, becoming a master of the email marketing domain requires that you pay close attention to industry statistics, and we’re here to help you out. Here are some of the most compelling email marketing stats to help guide and inform your strategy.

1. For Every Dollar Spent, You Get $42 In Return

The return on email marketing continues to surge, jumping from 38:1 in 2018 to 42:1 in 2019. The highest returns are for the travel, tourism, and hospitality industry, which saw an ROI of 53:1 in 2019. Source: Litmus

2. 78% of Marketers Have Seen an Increase in Email Engagement In the Past Year

Marketers around the globe are seeing growth in email engagement, which refers to conversions like open rates, click-through rates, and shares. Source: HubSpot

3. By 2023, Half of the World’s Population Will Be Using Email

About 3.9 billion people on the planet are using email right now, and that number is expected to grow to 4.3 billion users by 2023. That’s a big pool of leads even by today’s numbers, especially when compared to other forms of outreach like social media (2.95 billion users now, 3.43 billion users expected by 2023). Source: Statista

4. 81% of Small to Medium Businesses Rely on Email as Their Primary Customer Acquisition Channel, and 80% as Their Primary Customer Retention Channel

Email marketing is a mainstay channel for SMBs, both in terms of lead generation and lead nurturing. It’s even leveled the playing field in many ways, giving smaller companies a chance to compete with big names who can afford to spend heavily on paid ads and optimized organic search efforts. Source: Emarsys

5. The Average Open Rate for a Welcome Email is 82%

Welcome emails have the highest open rate for businesses. Set the right tone off the bat, and you’ll have a better chance of maintaining an impressive open rate throughout your campaign. Source: GetResponse

6. One-Third of Marketers Don’t Consider Email to be Integrated With the Rest of Their Marketing Efforts

Failing to integrate email marketing with the rest of your marketing strategy is a big missed opportunity. If you’re one of the one-third of marketers who aren’t taking a full picture approach to your marketing efforts, it’s time to change course. Source: HubSpot

7. On Average, 15% of Emails Never Make it to The Inbox

Around the globe, about 85% of emails are delivered where they’re meant to go, with the rest of them ending up bounced or in spam folders. It’s a good rate overall, but you should still take steps to enhance email deliverability instead of assuming your emails are making it the inbox. Source: ReturnPath

Need help getting to the inbox? Download our Email Deliverability Formula. 

8. A/B Testing Can Increase Your Email Marketing ROI by as Much as 37%

Brands that take the time to A/B test their emails see a big surge in their ROI. So if you’re looking for a quick boost, make A/B testing a regular part of your email marketing strategy. In addition to increasing your ROI, it’s also a great way to try out new features like live content, interactive elements, and dark mode and see how they perform. Source: Litmus

9. Personalized Emails Deliver Six Times Higher Transaction Rates

Personalization is one of the best ways to make a notable (and profitable) impact with your emails. To make it really count, personalize not just the subject line but the content, sending recipients information and promotions specifically geared toward their needs. Source: Instapage

10. 42% of All Emails Are Opened on Smartphones or Tablets

Mobile now accounts for almost half of all email opens, meaning you need to ensure that your messages are optimized for mobile use. Source: Litmus

11. 99% of Consumers Check Their Email at Least Once a Day

The reasons that email is so effective for brands are multi-faceted, but what it might ultimately come down to is simply that email is where consumers are spending a lot of their time. Not only is nearly every single consumer checking their email every day, but 50% are checking it more than ten times a day. Source: DMA

What’s the biggest takeaway from these email marketing statistics? Email matters. B2B or B2C, small or large, email offers massive potential for businesses with very little overhead. And thanks to email automation software, it’s easier than ever before to take a great strategy and run with it. Put lots of thought — and lots of testing — into your emails, and you’re pretty much guaranteed to see results.