Top 14 Useful Email Marketing Statistics

In the age of digital marketing, small businesses have nearly unlimited communication tools available for reaching customers. However, most of these businesses don’t have unlimited budgets or time to invest in marketing efforts. Therefore, it’s important to spend resources where they’ll have the most impact.

For some, the best option may be a tried-and-true one: email marketing. Email is one of the oldest ways to communicate in the digital age. Many companies forego this “ancient” method in favor of newer options such as social media influencers, text message marketing, and chat-bots. But those who neglect email marketing are missing out in a major way.

According to the Data & Marketing Association (DMA) 2018 Marketer Email Tracker report, companies earned about $32 for every $1 spent on marketing emails—an ROI of over 3,200%! The DMA’s most recent Consumer Email Tracker report also indicates that 59% of people prefer receiving emails from businesses over other communication channels.

Need more proof of how effective email newsletters can be for your business? Here are 15 email marketing statistics that show why this communication method is still an unbeatable way to market your content.

1. About half the world uses email.

No matter where you go, people use email. The Radicati Group’s 2019 Email Statistics Report found that more than 3.9 billion people worldwide used email in 2019. It isn’t going anywhere, and they expect that number to grow by at least 400 million in the next four years.

2. Email marketing is on the rise.

The same Radicati Group report also concluded that more than 293 billion business and consumer emails were sent and received per day in 2019. That number is projected to reach more than 347 billion by the end of 2023.

3. Email is for all ages.

Email isn’t just for young people anymore. More than 90% of people in the U.S. ages 25 to 64 use email. Even those older than 65 have an email user rate over 85%. It’s the surest way to reach consumers young and old.

4. Emails actually reach customers.

Studies by Forrester Research have found that 90% of emails reach the inbox of their intended recipient. By comparison, Facebook posts only appear in 2% of your follower’s news feeds.

5. Welcome emails work.

If you only send one email, make it one welcoming new customers and sign-ups. Welcome emails have an open rate of more than 82%, and nearly 27% of recipients will click through to your website. This makes them an important weapon in securing conversions.

6. Facebook can't compete with email.

While Facebook is important, emails consistently get more engagement. Forrester Research notes that people are twice as likely to sign up for your email list as they are to interact with your Facebook page.

7. Email secures more conversions than social media and direct marketing.

If you want to convert traffic to sales, email is the way to go. A retail study by Epicenter research determined that email traffic had a conversion rate of 2.3%—higher than direct marketing (2.0%), social media (1.0%), and displays (0.7%). The only traffic sources that rated higher than email were search engines and customer referrals.

8. Integrating social media and email marketing is a recipe for success.

Despite email’s superiority to social media in a vacuum, integrating the two of them can be an even more successful combination. Adding a social sharing button to an email can increase the click-through rate by more than 150%.

9. Most people check emails on their mobile devices.

It’s estimated that 81% of email users regularly check their email on their smartphones—even more than those who check it on their desktop or laptop computers (74%). Studies and surveys have also found that as many as 53% of emails are opened on mobile devices. When considering why to use email marketing, the access it provides to the mobile market is high on the list.

10. Responsive emails are more effective.

Mobile email marketing is only useful, though, if emails are formatted and optimized for these devices. If an email displays poorly, more than 70% of users will delete it within three seconds—and up to 15% of users will even unsubscribe from future emails. That’s up to 85% of potential customers lost due to bad formatting!

11. Users prefer personalized emails.

When it comes to designing an email marketing campaign, personalization is a great place to start. An email with a personalized subject line is up to 50% more likely to be opened than one with a generic subject. These types of promotional emails can also lead to six times more transactions.

12. Targeted emails make more money.

Personalized email marketing goes beyond a customer’s name. A segmented or targeted campaign where groups are sent tailored messages based on demographics, purchase history and other custom factors bring in 760% more revenue than a one-size-fits-all campaign.

13. Persistence is key in email marketing.

Sending multiple emails to customers who have abandoned their shopping carts mid-purchase or deactivated has a much higher success rate than a single message alone. Omnisend research indicates that a series of three emails leads to 63% more orders for abandoned carts and 75% customer reactivation orders compared to a single email.

<div class="tip">Need some inspiration for creating this type of campaign? Check out these effective real-life examples of cart abandonment emails.</div>

14. Multimedia emails increase engagement.

Videos and interactive content also helps with conversions. Adding a video to a marketing email can increase click-to-open rates by up to 300% while interactive content (quizzes, sliders, infographics, GIFs, etc.) boosts click rates by 73%. Creating user engagement with optimized content helps your emails stand out from traditional newsletters.

Help Your Business Grow With Email Marketing

Even with so many possible methods of connecting to customers, email is still an essential marketing channel for businesses. By using email marketing, you can do more than promote your latest products, services and sales: email lets you customize your message to both reach potential new customers and strengthen existing relationships while keeping your audience informed.

When you’re putting together your brand’s marketing campaign, keep these email marketing statistics in mind and make it a focus in your campaign. For customers and businesses around the world, email is still king.

This article was written by Compose.ly writer Michael Stridsberg.