25 Email Marketing Stats That Will Surprise You [2022 Edition]

Marketing emails are annoying. They’re worthless, and most of them go straight into your spam or trash folders. Right?

Wrong!

Email marketing is one of the best ways, if not THE best way, to connect with past, present and future customers. No other method of marketing is as effective as email and we’ve got 25 email marketing stats to prove it.

Top 25 Mind-Blowing Email Marketing Stats 

1. The ROI of Email Marketing is 41 to 1

That’s right. For every dollar you invest in email marketing, you can expect an average return of $41. That means that email is, without a doubt, the best way to spend your marketing dollars.

2. 9 out of 10 Marketers Use Emails

Waaaaay back in 1993, Irish rock band The Cranberries released their very first studio album, aptly entitled, “Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?” The same applies to email marketing. Literally 90% of companies make email marketing part of their grand plan for success — so yeah, you probably should too. After all, they wouldn’t bother if it didn’t work, right?

3. 78% of Millennials Prefer Email Marketing

Well, strictly speaking, millennials prefer email marketing over any other marketing channel. And why not? You don’t have to speak to an email on the phone, and you don’t have to open an envelope to read an email. So convenient; so much less paper in the landfill. Go ahead and acquiesce to 78% of millennials: make your marketing efforts email-centric. 

4. 46% of People Open Emails on Mobile Devices

If 46% of marketing email recipients use mobile devices to open emails, what’s the logical next step for marketers? Why, mobile-friendly SEO-optimized emails, of course. Mobile emails aren’t just a “nice thing to have” — they’re essential. Before you hit the send button, run a few tests to make sure your graphics and text look good on tiny screens.

5. 78% of Marketers Say Email is More Effective than Ever

Interestingly, 78% of marketers say they got better email marketing campaign results in 2020 than they did in 2019. Either they got a lot better at writing emails, or consumers became more receptive to marketing emails in general. Either way, that’s a good thing. If you’ve tried email marketing before without success, maybe now’s the time to give it another shot?

6. Personalized Emails Get Read 50% More Often

Wanna get someone’s attention? Call them by name. You can use the same trick — ahem, tactic — in marketing email strategy. With the right data in hand (gathered via a web form or your checkout, for instance), you can address subscribers by name in the body of your email and also in its header. Why not personalize your next nurturing or abandoned cart email series?

7. 8 out of 10 SMBs Rely on Marketing Emails

A full 81% of respondents to a 2018 survey said that they got most of their leads via email marketing. That’s…that’s a lot. Perhaps unsurprisingly, 80% of SMBs use marketing emails to boost customer retention too. So, what are the other 2 out of 10 small businesses doing? We have no idea: maybe they’re going door to door? Whatever — they should probably switch to an email marketing strategy.

8. More Than 4 Billion People Use Email Every Day

Four billion people? Actually, 4.037 billion people. That number is more than half the world’s entire population. If half the people on Earth are reachable via email, you have a very large consumer marketplace at your disposal. Email marketing — particularly targeted email marketing — can help you make the most of it. 

9. More than 8 in 10 Recipients Read Welcome Emails

“Hi there — thanks so much for signing up!” People love reading stuff like that. That’s totally feel-good talk — and who doesn’t need more of that? Literally 82% of consumers open welcome emails, versus a somewhat more dismal 21% of recipients for all other types of marketing email. The bottom line? Make a welcome email part of your strategy.

10. Segmented Campaigns Boost Revenue up to 760%

Email marketers who want to make more money (who doesn’t?) find segmented campaigns particularly effective. Why? Because clever micro-targeting can raise revenue up to 760%. No, we haven’t forgotten a decimal point. Separate your email list by demographic, purchase history and other variables and send each segment a specially honed email to beef up your bank balance.

11. 49% of Consumers Enjoy Weekly Marketing Emails

Think nobody likes you? Think again. According to Statista, nearly half of consumers like to hear from their favorite brands weekly. They especially like it when their big faves send them tidbits — coupons, promotional offers and so forth. So, don’t be shy about staying in touch — but do include a special in your footer. 

12. Videos Lead to a 300% Click-Through Rate Improvement

Words and graphics are great an’ all, but videos are hundreds of times better. According to psychologists, videos grab — and hold — peoples’ attention. Don’t believe us? In a recent survey conducted by Martech Advisor, recipients were 300% more likely to click on links in marketing emails with embedded video included. That’s an amazing conversion rate increase. 

13. Over 293 Billion Emails Get Sent Every Day

To be precise, 293.6 billion emails. Every single day. That’s an average of 72 emails for every email user on the planet. Granted, many of them are spam — but that’s still a massive amount of digital banter.  Email has well-and-truly taken over as the go-to-marketing communication method, and we can’t see that changing any time soon. 

14. 35% of Companies Send Multiple Marketing Emails Per Week

Some companies don’t obey the one-email-per-week rule. Oh no — they send customers between three and five emails a week instead (thanks, Hubspot). How come? Because they’ve found — usually via split testing and detailed analysis — that the multi-email approach works better for them. If you choose this path, keep your emails light and interesting.

15. 60% of Marketing Email Recipients Are Influenced By Email

That’s right: nearly 60% of marketing email recipients say that they’re influenced by the emails they receive. In other words, if they like what they see, they might buy the product on offer. Ker-ching, baby — that’s more money for you. 

16. Emails That Include Hobby Content Have a 27.35% Open Rate

We mean really, really love them. Emails that include hobby content have an open rate of 27.35%. According to Campaign Monitor, regular marketing email open rate hovers between 15 and 25%. People relish doing what they love: find out what that is and you have them hooked. A targeted survey can help you gather that type of information. 

17. Businesses in the US Spent More Than $350 Million on Email Marketing In 2019

American businesses spend hundreds of millions of dollars on email marketing every year because it works. They hire freelance writers and digital marketing companies over DIY marketing options because professionals significantly boost ROI. Many pundits — including QDM mavens — believe that email marketing is one of the best investments you can make in your business. 

18. 16% of Emails Get Classified as Spam

That’s right — some of the precious emails you write never even make it into recipients’ inboxes. On the one hand, that’s a totally depressing statistic. On the other, there are things you can do to optimize your chances of missing the spam can. For a start, follow the law — no shimmying past the CAN-SPAM act, for instance. Write non-spammy subject lines and include valuable content, and always proofread before you hit send.

19. 31% of B2B Marketers Use Newsletters to Drive Business

Email newsletters aren’t a bad idea. In fact, nearly a third of B2B marketers prefer them to any other type of email marketing. They keep customers informed about changes to the ecommerce business, product updates and other important…stuff. Newsletters are a little bit more “legit” than promotional emails, so you have an excuse to send them to your peers as well as your customers. 

20. 80% of Retailers Say Email is Their Greatest Driver of Customer Retention

Believe it or not, people take marketing emails seriously — more seriously, even, than social media.  80% of retailers say email is their greatest driver of customer retention vs. social media, which was the second biggest driver identified by just 44%.

They read these puppies, think about the content, wonder if they have enough dough for what they want to buy, and then they buy the thing. Only industry thought leaders (like QDM, wink wink) and peer recommendations top email as trustworthy sources of information. 

21. B2B Emails Have a Higher Click-through Rate Than B2C Emails

How much higher? Why, 47% higher. “That’s amazing!” we hear you say. We agree with you, buddy. B2B emails aren’t vastly different from B2C emails — but they’re already aimed at a niche market. Niche marketing, like email segmentation, generally brings in a little more revenue. 

22. Marketing Emails Work Best on Tuesdays

Forget about manic Mondays: people are just too busy to read marketing emails right at the beginning of the week. Consumers tend to be less frantic and less grumpy — and therefore more receptive to advertising — on Tuesdays. When on Tuesdays? Apparently, 10 a.m. is the golden hour. If you can’t manage mornings, go for after supper (say, 8 p.m.) instead to catch people checking phones before bedtime.

23. Email Purchases are 138% More Valuable Than Regular Purchases

If you create a really stellar email campaign, chances are good that people will click on your link and buy something. When they do, they spend — on average — about 138% more than folks who find your website the old-fashioned way. To get them to part with their cash, include incentives like special offers.

24. About 49% Of Marketers Use Email Automation

Why send emails manually when you can send them out automatically instead? Just think of all the things you could be doing while you’re sending emails out: planning your next product launch; checking social media; chatting on the phone with an industry peer; scheming a global takeover, etc. Email marketing automation software is one of the first steps in digital transformation for a reason — it just makes life easier. 

25. People Check Email More Than 10 Times a Day

More than half of the respondents to a recent survey said that they checked their email accounts more than 10 times a day. That’s a lot of opportunity for your brand right there — send something compelling and you’ll get results. 

Email Marketing Statistics Recapped

Clever marketing emails aren’t lame — they’re super effective. Wanna create your own ultra-awesome email marketing strategy? Read the emails you receive and write down what you like about them. Then, build your own campaign and watch your bottom line increase. Go get ‘em, tiger!