Email Marketing Benchmarks 2017: Metrics Steady as Data Creates Better Context and Relevance - eMarketer
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Email Marketing Benchmarks 2017: Metrics Steady as Data Creates Better Context and Relevance

eMarketer Report

By: eMarketer

Published: August 23, 2017

Jump to: Executive Summary | Table of Contents | List of Charts

Executive Summary

Email remains an extremely reliable and popular way for brands to communicate with their audience, with an enviable return on investment. Though there are few signs of adoption waning, many marketers are working to head off future problems of relevancy by embracing sophisticated data practices and emerging technologies.

  • While there is concern that newer messaging platforms will cannibalize the email audience, in general younger cohorts remain loyal to email. Still, as email volume increasingly grows each year, it’s likely that users are becoming more particular about their desire for more tailored messages.
  • Email performance benchmarks are steady: Opens are up across all email service providers, but click rates vary depending on the provider. Still, despite some questionable click performance, email transaction rates and revenues are growing.
  • Sophisticated marketers maintain that while email key performance indicators are important, they aren’t the full picture. As a result, marketers are instead putting more effort into understanding the holistic customer experience and how email contributes to it.
  • Through big data and real-time optimization tactics, marketers are working to ensure emails’ relevance to the end user. Triggered messages, segmentation and personalization remain central to this approach.
  • Marketers are starting to adopt emerging practices such as interactive email and predictive content, but they remain rare.

"The share of total revenues attributed to email marketing is growing, according to marketing executives surveyed by OneSpot and The Relevancy Group. In Q2 2017, revenues attributed to email made up 21% of the total, up from 17% year over year."

Table of Contents

Email Is Still King

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Email Marketing Performance Benchmarks

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Keeping People Engaged Through Optimized, Relevant Emails

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22 charts are included in the full report:

Email Marketing Benchmarks 2017: Metrics Steady as Data Creates Better Context and Relevance

Share of Total Revenues Attributed to Email Marketing According to US Marketing Executives, Q2 2016 & Q2 2017 (% of total)

Email Is Still King

US Marketers Who Use Email Marketing, by Industry, May 2017 (% of respondents)

Leading Marketing Goals for 2017 According to Email Marketers in North America (% of respondents)

Total Emails Sent and Received Daily Worldwide, 2017-2021 (billions and % change)

Marketing Tactics that Provide Strong* ROI According to In-House Marketers Worldwide, 2008, 2016 & 2017 (% of respondents)

The Email Audience

US Email Users and Penetration, 2017-2021 (millions and % of population)

Daily Time Spent Checking Work vs. Personal Email According to US Business Professionals, Aug 2016 (hours)

US Digital Buyers' Preferred Channel for Receiving Brand Communications, by Generation, July 2016 (% of respondents)

Factors that US Internet Users Consider Important When Deciding Whether to Purchase from a Brand's Marketing Email, March 2017 (% of respondents)

Email Marketing Performance Benchmarks

Email Marketing Performance Benchmarks in North America: Nonbounce, Open Rate and CTR, Q1 2015-Q1 2017 (among campaigns analyzed by Epsilon)

Email Marketing Benchmarks in North America, Q1 2016 & Q1 2017 (among campaigns analyzed by Cheetah Digital)

US Email Marketing Benchmarks: Click-to-Open and Open Rate, Q1 2015-Q1 2017 (among campaigns analyzed by Yes Lifecycle Marketing)

An Industry Breakdown

Email Marketing Performance Benchmarks in North America, by Industry, Q1 2017 (among campaigns analyzed by Epsilon)

US Email Marketing Benchmarks: Click-to-Open, Open and Unique Click Rate, by Industry, Q1 2017 (among campaigns analyzed by Yes Lifecycle Marketing)

Email Marketing Benchmarks Worldwide, by Industry, Feb 1, 2017 (among emails sent via MailChimp)

Keeping People Engaged Through Optimized, Relevant Emails

Ways in Which Email Marketers Worldwide Test and Optimize Their Email Communications, Feb 2017 (% of respondents)

List Health Practices to Maintain an Engaged Audience

Methods Used by US Email Marketers to Build Email Subscriber Lists, July 2016 (% of respondents)

US Email Marketing Benchmarks: Open Rate, Clickthrough Rate, Conversion Rate, Acquisition Cost and ROI, by List Type, May 2017

Using Data to Get Context Right

Data Sources Used by Client-Side Marketers Worldwide* to Understand the Customer Journey, Nov 2016 (% of respondents)

Extent to Which Aspects of Their Sales/Marketing/Services Applications Are Integrated with Email Systems According to Marketing Decision-Makers in North America, March 2017 (% of respondents)

US Personalized vs. Traditional Email Marketing Performance Metrics, April 2017 (among campaigns analyzed by The Relevancy Group and OneSpot)

Emerging Technologies Enable Relevancy and Engagement

Personalization Tactics that Effectively Drive Relevancy According to US Marketing Executives, April 2017 (% of respondents)