Email Marketing Statistics: Mind-Blowing Facts Inside

If your email marketing is falling flat, this will help.

By Ivana Taylor

Published on August 1, 2024

Does Email Marketing Really Work? (Spoiler Alert: YES.)

First, let’s acknowledge the elephant in the room: Does email marketing still deliver?

With so many new marketing tactics popping up, it’s tempting to dismiss email as “outdated.” But, the stats paint a different picture. A whopping 30% of marketers worldwide ranked email marketing as the top dog for return on investment (ROI) – higher than any other digital channel.

And it gets better. Email is 108% more effective than both banner ads and SMS marketing when it comes to grabbing consumer attention, according to a 2023 study by CM Group.

Is YOUR email getting these kinds of results? If not, you need to take a step back from your email marketing and make sure that you do a solid audit of your existing email marketing strategy to see what needs to change.

How to Audit and Review Your Email Marketing

If you’ve been sending emails and your email engagement is low (people aren’t opening, replying, or clicking) then you want to see what’s happening under the hood.

Are emails being delivered? Email deliverability is really important. And, in 2024, what used to be “nice to have” is now a requirement. Go into your email marketing software and check your deliverability numbers. They should be above 90%. In fact, they should be around 99%.

Clean your email list. If your deliverability numbers are low, that means that your email list has a lot of invalid email addresses, emails that bounce, a lot of spam reports, or general issues with compliance of email laws. And that means that you need to clean your email list. Here is a very short checklist of basic email list cleaning tasks:

Run your email list through a list cleaning and validation software. This will remove any invalid emails.
Revisit and confirm that you’ve set up CAN-SPAM, GDPR, DKIM, and SPF compliance. This will validate your business domain and IP address as a safe sender.
Run a re-engagement email sequence to any emails that have not opened emails in the last 60 days.
Clean out (export and delete) any email addresses that have NOT opened your emails after you’ve run the re-engagement sequence.

Segment your email list. A lot of small businesses tend to send or broadcast the same email to their entire list. You might thing that they find value in a mass marketing campaign, but if you’re open rate is low, if people are not clicking or engaging with your email, you can improve your email marketing statistics by creating smaller, more focused segments such as:

By engagement level: Your email marketing software can segment your list by level of engagement. You can select people who are opening specific emails, clicking on specific links, etc.
Areas of interest: If you’ve gathered emails from a specific lead magnet such as a lead magnet or webinar, you can create a segment that includes just those people who are interested in that topic.
Geography: If you do business by geographic area, you can segment your list by location and geography.
Purchase history: You can create lists and segments with email users who have purchased specific products or groups of products. This is a great way to segment because you can then send them emails on similar products or topics related to what they purchased.

Why Email Marketing is STILL Killing It:

So, why is everyone so obsessed with email marketing? A few key reasons:

**People prefer email**

You’re not alone in thinking that inbox zero is a myth. Your customers actually like hearing from you in their inbox – but only if it’s relevant and valuable. Around 60% of consumers prefer email as their go-to for brand communication.

But let’s be clear, people prefer to get helpful emails. Typically these are email marketing campaigns that help them save money with discounts, help provide them information they are always looking for.

Direct access = better engagement

Unlike fleeting social media posts, email allows strategic communication and provides a longer shelf life for your message. No more hoping your target audience scrolled at just the right moment.

Build long-term relationships

Forget fickle algorithms, email helps you build lasting relationships with customers based on trust and consistency – which leads to more conversions.

Email Marketing Statistics Every Business Needs To Know

Ready to really get your hands dirty with cold, hard data? Here’s a by-the-numbers look at current email marketing trends:

Statistic	Value
Global Email Users (2024).	4.5 billion¹
Consumers Who Check Email Multiple Times Per Day.	88%²
Emails Opened on Mobile Devices.	26-78% ³
Gen Z Members Checking Email at Least Once Per Day.	81% ⁴
Gen Z Primarily Using Smartphones for Email.	67% ⁵
Smartphone Preference for Opening Emails on Mobile.	81%⁶
Consumers Who Reopen Emails on Desktop After Mobile Viewing.	23% ⁷

Key Takeaways From These Email Marketing Statistics

Even with all of these email marketing statistics, these three stand out:

1. People Do Actually Like Email

It’s easy to think everyone prefers a text or a DM. However, email offers a way to build a different kind of connection. Consumers are seeking a more personal approach, and these statistics confirm this:

A full 60% of people prefer email as their main point of contact from their favorite brands. That means if you aren’t actively growing (and regularly pruning.) your email list, you could be missing out on valuable customer relationships (and revenue).

2. Personalization Matters

You wouldn’t walk into a room full of strangers and launch into a sales pitch without a quick “hello.” The same logic applies to email marketing: Consumers expect emails tailored to them, whether that’s their interests, past purchases, or favorite cat memes. Here’s what happens when you personalize your email content:

Personalized emails can increase your click-through rates by 29%. That’s HUGE.

Think beyond just using their first name in your subject line. Go deeper with segmenting based on customer behavior, offering relevant product recommendations, and personalizing your messaging.

3. Don’t Just Hit “Send” and Ghost

Your job isn’t finished once that email is sent. To really make your emails excel, use these strategies:

A/B Test Everything. There’s no “one-size fits all” in email marketing. Experiment with subject lines, calls to action, email design, and send times. Then, use the results from your email marketing statistics to fine-tune your approach.
Automate Your Emails. Free up your time and wow your customers by setting up email sequences for welcome emails and abandoned carts. According to email research, automated emails can generate up to 320% more revenue than non-automated ones.
Segment, Segment, Segment. Remember how much people love personalized experiences? A HubSpot survey found that segmenting your email lists leads to significantly better open rates (65% higher.). Use customer data to your advantage by sending hyper-targeted messages to smaller, highly-engaged groups.

Recommendations Based on Key Email Marketing Statistics

Open Rate (39.64%):

Improve subject lines and preview text to increase curiosity.
Segment your audience for more targeted messaging.
Send emails at optimal times based on audience behavior.

Click-Through Rate (3.25%):

Use clear and compelling calls to action.
Include visually appealing and relevant content.
Test different email designs and layouts to see what resonates best.

Click-to-Open Rate (8.62%):

Ensure content aligns with the subject line promise.
Personalize email content based on user data.
Keep the email concise and focused on a single goal.

Unsubscribe Rate (0.15%):

Offer email frequency options.
Regularly clean your email list to remove inactive subscribers.
Ensure content is relevant and valuable to your audience.

Spam Complaint Rate (below 0.01%):

Use a recognized sender name and address.
Avoid spammy language and excessive punctuation.
Make the unsubscribe process easy and clear.

Bounce Rate (2.33%):

Regularly update and verify email lists.
Use double opt-in to ensure email accuracy.
Monitor and remove hard bounces promptly.

Granted, email marketing statistics vary by industry. And, as they say, your mileage will vary. But these latest numbers make it clear that you can’t afford to simply set it and forget it.

Conclusion

Email marketing statistics don’t lie: Email marketing in 2024 remains one of the most effective marketing tactics, generating ROI for savvy businesses that nurture relationships. The key to unlocking these results lies in crafting a personalized email experience. This requires A/B testing, using analytics, and embracing automation.

FAQs About Email Marketing Statistics

What Is the Effective Rate Of Email Marketing?

The effectiveness of your email campaigns varies depending on a variety of factors (your specific niche, list health, whether you’ve actually been following these tips…) but generally speaking a 3.5% click-through rate for marketing emails is a good starting point, especially in a post-Apple MPP world. However, anything under 2% is an opportunity for improvement.

How Effective Is Email Marketing?

Out of all the digital marketing channels available, 30% of marketers in 2024 report that email delivers the absolute highest ROI for their efforts – more than even social media. Pretty amazing right?

What Is The Average ROI for Email Marketing?

Globally, email marketing produces an incredible $36 return for every $1 invested. This highlights just how powerful a well-executed strategy can be.

What is the Average Rate for Email Marketing?

Although, once again, results depend on the industry, there are definitely some solid email marketing statistics you should be paying attention to when it comes to email:

Open rate: This refers to how many recipients open your email (ideally within the first 24 hours of sending it). On average, aim for 20%. That said, a healthy open rate in this day and age is closer to 30-40%. I do want to say one more thing about your open rate. New privacy standards have swapped data sharing from an “opt-out” to an “opt-In” and that means that 75% of people are no longer sharing their email “activities” and that the open rate number is no longer something that’s as accurate as it once was. The best way to use your open rate statistic is to simply aim to make it bigger than it’s been in the past.
Click-through rate (CTR): CTR refers to the number of people who click a link in your email. You should be striving for a CTR of around 2% – anything less, and you might need to work on the relevance and persuasiveness of your content or your segmentation.

These are just general guidelines, and remember to take your unique goals and audience into consideration. For some marketers, driving traffic to their site might be the primary focus, while others are hyper-focused on sales and conversions. Your email marketing metrics can give you invaluable information – so pay attention and use those insights wisely.