Email marketing statistics: 48 you can use

Are you neglecting the power of email marketing? Email marketing is the use of email to promote your business in some way, and it's a cornerstone of any strong digital marketing strategy. But don't just take our word for it! Check out these 48 updated email marketing statistics to better understand the true value of email marketing in 2026.

These email marketing statistics won't just show the need for an effective strategy. They will reveal current tactics and emerging trends you should consider, including AI adoption, authentication requirements, and changing privacy landscapes.

Global email usage continues growing

• In 2025, 376.4 billion emails are expected to be sent every day, reaching over 408 billion by 2027.
• The global email user base reached 4.48 billion in 2024 and is expected to grow to 4.8 billion by 2027.
• 93% of people use their email every day, and 42% check it three to five times a day.
• 58% of users say email is the first thing they check online in the morning.
• 60% of consumers prefer to be contacted over email by businesses.
• Apple Mail holds the largest email client market share at 51.52%, followed by Gmail at 26.72%, and Outlook at 7.06% (2025 data).

Email delivers exceptional ROI

• 41% of professionals choose email as their single most effective marketing channel — more than double the next category.
• Email generates an average return of $36 to $42 for every dollar invested, making it one of the highest-performing digital marketing channels.
• Nearly 50% of consumers made a purchase directly from an email in the past year.
• Automated emails drive 37% of all email-generated sales, despite making up only 2% of email volume.
• Automation drives 320% more revenue than manual campaigns.
• Segmented campaigns can lead to up to 760% increase in email revenue.
• For email campaigns, the average conversion rate across all industries is 0.08%, with top 10% performers reaching 0.44% (5x higher).

Mobile dominates email opens

• 55% of email opens occur on mobile devices, reinforcing the importance of mobile-first email design.
• Mobile email usage accounts for over 50% of all email opens in 2025.
• 58% of email users check their inbox while watching TV.
• Desktop users show 2x higher engagement rates despite mobile dominance, requiring dual-platform optimization.
• Emails with images get about 4.84% CTR, compared to just 1.6% for text-only messages.
• 42.3 percent of email users delete emails on their devices when they aren't optimized for mobile. (Built In)

AI and automation transform email marketing

• 63% of marketers now use AI tools for email campaigns, with 87% of AI adopters specifically applying it to email marketing.
• 49% of email marketers use AI to create content, with 51% believing AI email marketing is more effective than traditional methods.
• Time savings reach 90% with AI content generation — marketers using AI save up to 30% of total time.
• Nine out of 10 marketers want AI to take on email marketing operations by 2026.
• Marketers using AI for email personalization reported a 41% increase in revenue and higher click-through rates.

Personalization and segmentation drive results

• Personalized subject lines can increase open rates by 20-26%.
• Personalized emails have higher open rates of 44.30% compared to generic emails.
• Segmented emails drive 30% more opens and 50% more click-throughs than unsegmented ones.
• 63% of people open brand emails when looking for discounts.
• Welcome emails continue to outperform all other campaigns with an 83.63% average open rate.
• Triggered emails average a 5.02% click-through rate, outperforming newsletters at 3.84%.

Current engagement benchmarks and trends

• Global average email open rate reaches 42.35% in 2025 — though Apple's Mail Privacy Protection inflates these numbers.
• The average click-to-open rate rose to 6.81% in 2025, up from 5.63% in 2024 — a 21% year-over-year increase.
• A good email open rate in 2025 is above 30%, with 45-50% being strong, and over 50% being exceptional.
• Religion sector leads all industries with 59.70% open rates, followed by faith-based organizations.
• 47 percent of email recipients will open your email based solely on the subject line. (Invesp)
• 96% of recipients have unsubscribed because emails were sent too frequently.

Privacy and authentication requirements

• 64% of Apple Mail users are on Mail Privacy Protection, which pre-loads images and inflates open rate metrics.
• Authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) now directly supports deliverability, with Gmail and Yahoo requiring these since February 2024.
• 80% of users say they would mark an email as spam if it appears suspicious at first glance.
• Over 25% of inboxes actively use AI to summarize, categorize, or prioritize email.
• The average inbox placement rate (IPR) for email marketing programs around the world is 84.8 percent. This means one in every six legitimate, permission-based messages fails to reach the inbox. (Validity)

B2B email marketing performance

• For B2B marketers specifically, 42% identify email as their top-performing channel.
• B2B marketers: 79% pick email for content distribution.
• Small businesses use email for 81% of customer acquisition and 80% for retention.
• North America leads with a 45.30% open rate and a 4.77% CTR, showing that localized content performs best in mature email markets.
• 87 percent of B2B marketers say email is one of their top free organic distribution channels. (Content Marketing Institute)
• 31 percent of B2B marketers say email newsletters are the best way to nurture leads. (Content Marketing Institute)

Consumer behavior and preferences

• 79% of Millennials and 57% of Gen Z prefer to be contacted by brands via email.
• 51% of consumers believe email is the most convenient way for businesses to communicate with them.
• 59 percent of consumers say marketing emails influence their purchase decisions. (Porch Group Media)
• 80 percent of business professionals believe that email marketing increases customer retention. (Wordstream)
• 80% of marketers say email is more important than social media for customer retention.

Timing and frequency insights

• 8 PM was the highest-performing send time for opens in recent data, suggesting many users engage with email outside traditional working hours.
• Tuesday sends saw higher CTR (2.73%) and Thursday had higher open rates (18.6%).
• 33.3 percent of marketers said they sent weekly emails, and 26.7 percent sent monthly emails. (Seventh Sense)
• The average person will receive 121 emails per day. (The Small Business Blog)

The data is clear: email marketing remains one of the most effective digital channels in 2026, especially when powered by AI, personalization, and proper authentication.

Ready to leverage these insights? Check out our anatomy of an effective marketing email, or download our free Email Marketing 101 Guide to start your own successful email marketing campaigns.