Email Marketing ROI Statistics
➤According to Hubspot’s report on content and media strategy, email marketing has the 3rd highest ROI among other channels like paid social media content (57%), organic social media content (48%), and organic search (SEO) (45%).
➤ Email marketing ROI statistics reveal that businesses earned 36 U.S. dollars for every U.S. dollar invested in email marketing.
➤ The highest ROI, with 45 dollars per one dollar spent, belongs to the retail, e-commerce, and consumer goods industries.
Email Marketing Industry Size Statistics
➤ Email marketing revenue statistics show that, in 2020, the global e-mail marketing market was valued at 7.5 billion U.S. dollars.
➤ This figure is expected to increase to 17.9 billion by 2027. Also, it is expected that the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for that period will amount to 13.3%.
➤ Statista’s research on e-mail users shows that in 2020, the number of e-mail users was 4,037 million, and it is expected to reach 4,594 million by 2025.
This statistic helps us understand how big the e-mail marketing industry is and why it is worth implementing it for businesses.
➤ With the unstoppable growth of the internet, in 2021, the number of e-mails sent and received worldwide was 319.6 billion daily.
➤ This number is expected to increase to 376.4 billion daily e-mails by 2025, according to Statista’s email statistics.
Email and Social Media Advertising Statistics
➤ Another unstoppable power of the online world is social media. The next statistic might be surprising for social media lovers.
➤ Same source above shows that the CTR of online advertising emails in Belgium and Germany was 5.5% and 4.3%, respectively, while the average global CTR for social media for the same period was 1.3%.
➤ Data on email marketing shows that email subscribers are 3.9 times more likely to share your content in social media
Email Marketing Popularity Statistics
➤ In the United States, a survey on the popularity of email marketing shows that 79% of millennials and 57% of respondents from Generation Z like being contacted by brands via email.
➤ According to Hubspot marketing stats, almost half of the customers say they have 50 emails.
➤ Email marketing statistics show that 99% of us check it every day, with some checking it as many as 20 times a day!
Time Spent Reading Brand Email Statistics
➤ The average time spent reading brand email statistics might be the wake-up call your business needs.
It is seen that there has been a decrease over the last couple of years, from 13.4 seconds in 2018 to 10 seconds in 2021.
This data shows the importance of writing short and well-designed emails in order to keep the receivers reading.
Email Client Usage Statistics
➤ The most used email clients (sorted by share of email opens) are Gmail, with a 36.5% open rate, followed by Apple iPhone email, with 33% of email opens.
Email Open and Click-Through Rates Statistics
➤ According to Barilliance’s email marketing stats, open rate for emails (dataset includes aggregated data from 2016-2021) for 2021 is 43.76 which is a little bit lower than 2020 data.
➤ Click-through rate on the other hand, is significantly higher compared to 2020, 15.22% and CTOR is 19.92%.
Same data also shows the conversion rates for both send base and click-through base.
➤ The numbers are similar to 2020. CR for send base is 1.33% and CR for click through base is 15.22%.
➤ CampaignMonitor analysis on email marketing stated that the industries with the highest open rates are:
- Education 24.9%,
- Government and Politics 26.7%,
- and Nonprofits 25.5%.
➤ Email statistics also show that the average email conversion rate was 15.91% in 2019, 15.67% in 2020 and 15.22% in 2021.
➤ The CR in 2021 is slightly lower from previous years but still we can see 15% CR in 2021.
➤ Back in 2019, a survey conducted by Statista on the most effective marketing channels showed that 73% of in-house marketers and 75% of agency marketers selected email marketing as excellent or good for ROI.
➤ Email marketing statistics that reveal average email conversion rate by campaign is showing us another thing.
➤ The lowest conversion rate is for “browse abandonment” campaign types with a 4.10% CR.
➤ The highest conversion rate is for “email my cart” type of campaigns.
These emails are sent after a customer adds an item to their cart but leaves without conversion. The CR for these campaigns are 24.58%.
➤ Salesforce article on email marketing statistics show that personalized subject lines are 22.2% more likely to be opened.
Popular Email Types & Times Statistics
➤ According to global data on the best time to send emails, the best day for open rates is Friday, and the best day for click-through rate is Tuesday.
➤ Let's see some statistics from 2022 email marketing benchmarks now.
➤ It is revealed that the shorter the better. Shorter email campaigns have better results (single message autoresponder cycle) has a 98.39% open rate and 37.26% CTR.
➤ According to the same source above, each hour passed, the chance your prospects to open your email is decreasing. Almost 22% of all email campaigns are opened in the first hour after sending.
➤ What about the email marketing campaign tactics?
Triggered email campaigns are the most effective ones with open rate 38.03%, CTR 6.76%, CTOR 17.77% and unsubscribe rate with 0.43%.
Triggered emails are the ones that are sent automatically via subscriber behavior.
➤ Welcome emails rock! Data shows that the average open rate for welcome emails is over 86% & the average CTR is around 25%.
➤ According to the data, the best time to send reminder emails is shown below table.
If you send a webinar reminder 1 hour before the webinar, you will receive 138.41% open rate and 64.41% CTR. If you send your reminder at the start time, you will get 108.01% open rate and 39.26% CTR.
➤ What about forms on landing pages to gather email addresses?
The less fields, the better.
- If your form has two fields; the conversion rate is 3.07%
- If your form has three fields; the conversion rate is 1.22%
- If your form has more than 4 fields; the conversion rate is 1.16%
➤ Don’t spam! Who doesn’t hate spam?
The data on the importance of permission shows that 43% of email users report spam if they don’t know the source of the email and the sender.
Before You Leave...
It’s true that email marketing still has its place, and is by no means dead – especially when it comes to the service’s effectiveness.
While social media posts and ads generate buzz and awareness, nothing beats a carefully crafted email to drive action on the part of your recipients.
We hope you have enjoyed our roundup of email marketing statistics.
Whether you are a one-man/woman shop, or a company of thousands, everyone can learn something from these figures and statistics.
You can use this information to create smart marketing programs that are able to help your business dominate the competition.
Check this infographic we have prepared for you on email marketing statistics:
Check These Out!
- A Guide for an Effective Permission-based Email Marketing
- 10 Email Marketing KPIs and Metrics You Should Be Tracking
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the 80 20 rule in email marketing?
The 80/20 rule in email marketing (also called the Pareto Principle) means that roughly 80% of your results often come from 20% of your efforts, so the biggest gains usually come from optimizing a few high-impact areas rather than tweaking everything at once. In practice, that “20%” is typically your highest-intent segments (like repeat buyers or engaged subscribers), your best-performing campaigns (welcome series, abandoned cart, replenishment reminders), and the core levers that most influence performance (subject line, offer, timing, and a clear call to action). For example, improving your automated flows and tailoring messages to your most engaged subscribers can drive a disproportionate share of revenue compared with sending more one-off newsletters to your entire list. The rule is a reminder to analyze your data (opens, clicks, conversions, revenue per email) to find what’s already working, then double down—clean your list, focus on segmentation and personalization, and invest in the campaigns that consistently produce the majority of ROI.
What are good stats for email marketing?
“Good” email marketing stats depend on your industry, list quality, and goals, but strong benchmarks usually show healthy engagement and clear revenue impact. At a high level, email remains one of the most valuable channels because it reaches a massive audience (around half the world uses email, and it’s a leading workplace communication tool) and it’s consistently profitable—many studies report ROI around 36:1 (about 3600%), meaning roughly $36 for every $1 spent, with some industries like retail and e-commerce often higher. On the performance side, good stats typically include steady list growth (without relying on purchased lists), solid deliverability (emails consistently landing in the inbox), and engagement that doesn’t collapse over time—think stable open and click trends, meaningful click-to-open rates, and conversions that track back to specific campaigns or automations. A “good” program also shows improving revenue per recipient, strong results from automated sequences (welcome emails, cart abandonment, post-purchase), and clear segmentation wins (targeted sends outperforming “blast” emails). Finally, good stats include low complaint rates and unsubscribes, because long-term success is built on relevance, permission, and consistent value—not just one-time spikes in opens or clicks.
What is the 60 40 rule in email?
The 60/40 rule in email is a classic direct-response guideline that says about 60% of your results come from the quality of your list and targeting, and about 40% come from your message and creative. In other words, sending an average email to the right audience often outperforms sending a “perfect” email to the wrong audience, which is why segmentation, list hygiene, and permission-based growth matter so much. Applied practically, the “60%” includes things like attracting the right subscribers, keeping your list clean (removing inactive or invalid addresses), and targeting by behavior (recent buyers, high-intent browsers, engaged readers). The “40%” is your subject line, copy, offer, design, and call to action—still important, but secondary to reaching people who actually want and need what you’re emailing. If you’re trying to improve results, this rule suggests prioritizing better targeting and automation triggers first, then optimizing creative through A/B testing.
What is the 30/30/50 rule for cold emails?
The 30/30/50 rule for cold emails is a simple framework for allocating what drives replies and booked meetings: roughly 30% is targeting (who you email and why they’re a fit), 30% is messaging (how clearly and credibly you communicate value), and 50% is the offer (the relevance and strength of what you’re asking or proposing). Cold outreach works best when your list is tightly defined (right role, industry, pain point), your email is short and specific (personalized opener, one clear problem you solve, proof, and a direct call to action), and your offer is low-friction and highly relevant (for example, a 10-minute fit check, a tailored audit, or a concrete resource tied to their situation). The “50% offer” emphasis is important: even great copy won’t rescue an irrelevant or high-commitment ask, while a compelling, easy next step can win replies even with minimal wording. This rule also implies you should test offers as aggressively as subject lines—try different CTAs, meeting lengths, and value propositions—while maintaining good deliverability practices and respecting anti-spam laws.
What do experts say about email marketing statistics?
Experts consistently point to email marketing statistics as evidence that email remains one of the most efficient and scalable digital channels, especially for businesses that invest in segmentation, automation, and personalization. Across major industry reports, email frequently ranks among the highest-ROI channels, commonly cited around $36–$44 returned for every $1 spent, with retail, e-commerce, and consumer goods often leading the pack due to repeat purchase cycles and strong lifecycle automation (welcome, cart abandonment, post-purchase, win-back). Analysts also highlight that the market and audience are still expanding—billions of people use email globally, and hundreds of billions of emails are sent daily—so the channel’s reach is not shrinking even as social platforms evolve. At the same time, experts emphasize that “average” stats can be misleading: performance depends heavily on list quality, deliverability, and relevance, which is why modern best practices focus on consent-based list growth, behavior-based targeting, and automated journeys that send the right message at the right time. In short, the statistics reinforce a clear takeaway: email continues to outperform many channels on cost and measurable revenue, and the brands that see the biggest gains are typically the ones using data-driven personalization and automation rather than relying on one-size-fits-all blasts.
