Despite the growing popularity of social media and rapidly developing marketing technologies, email marketing is still alive and well and is the most mature player in the digital marketing sphere.
And with over 361.6 billion global emails sent daily in 2024, data proves that email marketing is still a powerful tool with unmatched reach. Plus, email marketing is a channel with fantastic ROI. By 2027, email marketing revenue worldwide is expected to reach $17.9 billion (Statistica).
So, are you excited to learn the most important email marketing stats in 2024? Find them all here and use the data to boost your email marketing campaigns.
Let’s kick off this post with…
1. Potential Email Reach and Demographics
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Stats That Matter #1 – Average Email Open Rates
The average open rate varies depending on the source. According to Campaign Monitor, it’s 21.5%, but GetResponse says it’s 26.8%.
Average out these numbers, and you get a 26.78% open rate across four major email marketing platforms.
Wait, their number varies. Does it mean that one email marketing service provider is better than the other? Not really. It likely just represents a discrepancy in how thoroughly and how often their users purge inactive email recipients from their email list.
According to research conducted by MailChimp, here are more specific averages according to industry:
| Business | Average Open Rate |
| Hobbies | 40,54% |
| Professional Services | 32.74% |
| Business and Finance | 31.34% |
| Creative services/agency | 32.36% |
| Ecommerce | 29.81% |
How to use this data: Knowing the average open rate gives you a yardstick against which to measure your success. If your open rates are significantly lower, keep reading to see why this may be the case.
Stats That Matter #2 -Top Devices People Use to Open Their Emails
What about devices used to access emails?
The Winner: Mobile Phones
It’s no secret that more people are opening their emails on mobile devices than ever before. Emarketer found that 55% of all emails globally are opened on phones, leading to an entire field called mobile email marketing.
The remaining 45% is split with email opens in desktop and web apps. Did you know that if an email is read first on a mobile device and then opened for a second time on a desktop, that subscriber is 65% likely to click through?
How to use this data: Use a mobile-first design process. Consider the smallest screen first and then add content for larger ones. This will include:
- A single-column format
- Avoiding large chunks of text
- Formatting text so that it’s big enough to read on a small screen
- Smaller images that are quick to load
Stats That Matter #3 – Welcome Emails Are Still the King of Engagement
Welcome emails have the highest open rate (63.91%) of all email types and an average click-through rate of 14.34%. [1]
Frankly, it’s nearly impossible to get this type of success rate or opportunity ever again, so you have to make the most of your welcome emails. When a customer takes the effort and time to sign up for your email list, it signals that your brand resonates with them.
How to use this data: Use your welcome email series wisely to introduce products, establish subject matter authority and encourage conversion with special offers and discount coupons.
Stats That Matter #4 – Age Group that Uses Email the Most
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According to the American Press Institute, millennials (age 27- 42) spend more hours on their email daily than other generations.
Millennials and Gen Z (age 11-26) are the generations most obsessed with reaching “Inbox Zero,” an approach to email management that aims to keep the inbox almost empty (if not empty) at all times. It also means responding, delegating, or deleting an email as soon as it is received.
How to use this data: Let’s use a skincare business as an example. Armed with the knowledge that most of your potential customers are between 17- 42, you can focus on your products that cater specifically to them.
Stats That Matter #5 – Email Segmentation
Email segmentation involves dividing email subscribers into smaller segments according to set criteria. This was found to be the most successful email marketing strategy.
According to Hubspot research, segmented campaigns performed better compared to their non-segmented counterparts, with 30% more opens and 50% more clickthroughs.
How to use this data: Start by analyzing your email list and segmenting it based on various criteria like demographics, purchase history, engagement level, and interests. Then, send laser-focused marketing emails to each group with content that focuses on their needs or interests.
Stats That Matter #6 -Visual Content in Email Campaigns
Foreign Factory’s Challenge for Brands found that 45% of consumers prefer brands that do not take themselves too seriously – a signal for firms to position themselves as genuine and approachable.
So, do you want to spice up your content? Use videos, emojis, or images in your email marketing campaign.
Videos
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When you embed a video in your (initial) email marketing campaign, it has the potential to receive a 65% increase in click-through rates. Yes, trends favor video!
Other interesting email marketing stats relating to the use of video are as follows:
- 88% of marketers using video claimed it has directly helped increase their sales.
- 91% of businesses nowadays use video as a marketing tool.
- Attaching a video in an email marketing campaign leads to a 200-300% CTR increase.
- 91% of users report watching a video to learn more about a product, and 89% are swayed to make a purchase.
- Using the word “video” boosts open click-through rates by 65%, opens rates by 19%, and reduces unsubscribe rates to 26%.
Take advantage of this information right away and see results. You’ll thank us later.
Emojis
People love emojis. Whether we like it or not, they have become a part of our daily lives. But is there still a place for them in our email subject lines in 2024?
Well, yes. According to Experian, the open rate of emails with emojis in the subject line is 56% higher compared to the plain subject lines. However, before you enthusiastically start adding smiley faces and hearts, consider the following:
- Everyone is doing it. This means that not using emojis might actually help you stand out more.
- While some love a good emoji, many view it as tacky and unprofessional.
- Use too many, and you can land yourself in the spam folder.
We’ll leave it to you to decide.
Pictures
Of course, our email marketing statistics would not be complete without highlighting the importance of pictures.
And so, let’s begin our email marketing stats in this category by HubSpot’s State of Marketing Report 2024. It shares that two-thirds of surveyed individuals prefer emails that contain pictures.
A word of caution, though: 74% of email users delete the message if it won’t open within 5 seconds. This happens most likely because the size of the photo in an email is too big.
The best email marketing practice when it comes to attaching images for email is to use 600px to 650px dimensions. But be sure to run plenty of tests to make sure that it looks right on different platforms, be it opened via a mobile device or browser.
It is likewise best to keep the text-to-image ratio 60:40 or 50:50.
How to use this data: The stats speak for themselves – people no longer want to read large walls of text. Embedding a video or including a few well-chosen images in your email can keep readers engaged and encourage conversions.
Stats That Matter #7 – Email Marketing ROI Statistics
Email marketing delivers a strong return on investment. Email marketing generates $42 for every $1 spent, or an astounding 4,200% return on investment, making it one of the top forms of marketing in 2024. |
In addition, traffic from email campaigns boasts an impressive average conversion rate of 4.29%. This is higher than the conversion rate averages for traffic from social media (1.81%), direct (2.93%), and search (3.04%), based on WordStream’s email marketing statistics.
According to Hubspot, 86% of professionals consider email marketing to be more important than other marketing channels.
How to use this data: Email deserves to be at the center stage of your marketing campaign. Give it the time and attention it deserves by using the best tools you can afford.
Your email might be top-notch but won’t convert if it lands in the spam folder. InboxAlly is a unique email deliverability tool that teaches inbox providers (e.g., Gmail, Yahoo Mail, etc.) to understand that the emails you send from your domain are important and valued by your recipients. This reinforcement process can drastically improve your sender reputation and ensure your email lands in the inbox, not spam folders.
Stats That Matter #8 – Automated Email Messages
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Automated email messages are smart, not lazy. According to research, 91% of marketers say marketing automation helps them achieve their objectives. [2] How so?
Save precious time: With automation, every email—from welcoming new subscribers to re-engaging those who’ve left items in their cart—is sent at just the right moment based on specific triggers and actions. This not only cuts down on manual work but also ensures your customers receive timely and relevant emails, making every interaction feel personal and thoughtful.
Segmentation: By analyzing behaviors, preferences, and past interactions, automation tools let you slice your audience into distinct segments. This means you can craft emails that speak directly to each group’s unique interests and needs, skyrocketing your engagement rates as your messages hit home every time.
How to use this data: These tools are designed to get the results you want from your campaigns. Use them to your advantage, and again, use the best automation tools you can currently afford.
Related: Best Cold Outreach Tools on the Market
Stats That Matter #9 – Cart Abandonment Emails
For online retailers and businesses, cart abandonment is a real problem. Even in 2023, cart abandonment open rates remained at an average of 70.13%.
A recent survey of online shoppers revealed the common reasons why online shoppers leave without paying.
The primary reason is the cost of delivery was higher than anticipated (48%), followed by the site wanting them to create an account (26%), they didn’t trust the site with their credit card information (25%), delivery was too slow (23%), or too long or complicated checkout process (22%).
How to use this data: One of the best ways is to re-target these audiences through a series of emails so they will eventually complete the checkout process. Of course, time is of the essence when it comes to using this email strategy. You only have a small window to send the abandoned cart email campaign after someone leaves their shopping cart.
Courtesy of Canva/Ivanastar
Stats That Matter #10 – Fewer Emails = Higher Open Rates
In a survey done by TechnologyAdvice, hundreds of US adults were asked why they marked emails as spam and 45.8% of them said it was because “they emailed too often.”
Nobody likes to be spammed with emails. According to a study by GetResponse, you’ll see far better results from sending one concise email a week packed with useful information.
So treat others the way you’d like to be treated. Do you enjoy receiving emails every single day from the same company trying to sell you their product? I doubt it. Consumers nowadays are overwhelmed by information overload, and they would appreciate not having to tick your daily email off the list.
How to use this data: Send fewer emails, and make the ones you do send really pack a punch. Take time to create a short video, add high-quality product images, write personalized subject lines and include thoughtful content that will resonate with your reader.
Email Marketing Stats Conclusion
With billions of emails zipping around the globe daily, standing out in a crowded inbox requires strategy, insight, and a touch of creativity. Whether using the power of personalization, understanding the shift towards mobile consumption, or harnessing the effectiveness of segmentation and automation, each statistic we’ve explored offers a roadmap to take your email campaigns from good to great.
But remember, even the most meticulously crafted email won’t drive results if it never reaches the inbox. That’s where InboxAlly steps in. With its innovative approach to improving email deliverability, InboxAlly ensures your messages not only land where they’re supposed to but also resonate with the people who matter most—your audience. Don’t let your emails get lost in the spam folder or, worse, overlooked. Let InboxAlly help you turn those stats in your favor.