Welcome emails reach an average open rate of 68.8 percent. The overall average across industries stands at 21.3 percent. Benchmarks by sector reveal further differences in both opens and clicks.
Key Takeaways
- Retail benchmarks open rate 17.4%, CTR 2.6%
- B2B benchmarks: open 15.1%, CTR 2.8%, unsub 0.2%
- Ecommerce benchmarks: open 18.2%, CTR 2.3%, ROI $36/$1
- Average click-through rate (CTR) for emails was 2.62% in 2023
- Abandoned cart emails achieved 50.51% CTR in ecommerce
- Personalized emails see 29% higher CTR
- The average email open rate across all industries in 2023 was 21.33%
- B2C email open rates averaged 24.44% in Q4 2023
- Welcome emails have an average open rate of 68.8%
- Email marketing delivers $42 ROI for every $1 spent
- 89% of marketers report positive ROI from email
- Email generates $36 for every $1 in B2C
- Average list size for marketers is 326,000 subscribers
- 59% of consumers prefer email communication from brands
- Email lists grow 22% YoY for top performers
Welcome and segmented, mobile optimized emails drive the strongest engagement, with global opens near 21% and ROI at $36 per $1.
Related reading
01 · Category
Benchmarks28 stats
01
Retail benchmarks open rate 17.4%, CTR 2.6%
02
B2B benchmarks: open 15.1%, CTR 2.8%, unsub 0.2%
03
Ecommerce benchmarks: open 18.2%, CTR 2.3%, ROI $36/$1
04
Non-profit: open 26.5%, CTR 2.9%, revenue 12%
05
Healthcare benchmarks open 21.8%, CTR 1.9%
06
Education sector open 28.5%, CTR 3.1%
07
Travel benchmarks open 22.7%, CTR 3.2%, unsub 0.3%
08
Software benchmarks open 27.3%, CTR 3.5%
09
Food/bev open 19.4%, CTR 2.1%
10
Automotive open 16.8%, CTR 1.7%
11
Publishing open 24.2%, CTR 3.0%
12
Global avg open 21.3%, CTR 2.6%, bounce 1.1%
13
Top 25% open 28.5%, CTR 3.9%
14
Q4 benchmarks open +5%, CTR +10%
15
Mobile benchmarks open 25.1%, CTR 2.8%
16
Desktop open 18.9%, CTR 2.3%
17
Tuesday send benchmarks highest engagement
18
9-11 AM benchmarks peak opens/CTR
19
US benchmarks open 22.4%, CTR 2.7%
20
EU open 20.1%, CTR 2.4%
21
Fitness benchmarks open 25.6%, CTR 2.8%
22
Newsletters benchmark open 21.5%, CTR 2.4%
23
Promo benchmark open 15.9%, CTR 1.3%
24
Welcome benchmark open 68.8%, CTR 15.2%
25
Cart recovery benchmark open 45.9%, CTR 50.5%
26
Re-engagement benchmark open 33.2%, CTR 4.1%, unsub 17%
27
Educational benchmark open 24.1%, CTR 3.7%
28
Automotive benchmarks show open rates of 16.8% with CTR at 1.7% for 2023 campaigns
Interpretation
Benchmarks Interpretation
While the average email languishes with a 21.3% open rate, a masterful marketer armed with a welcome email sent on a Tuesday morning can turn the inbox into a veritable goldmine.
02 · Category
Conversion Metrics29 stats
01
Average click-through rate (CTR) for emails was 2.62% in 2023
02
Abandoned cart emails achieved 50.51% CTR in ecommerce
03
Personalized emails see 29% higher CTR
04
B2B CTR averaged 2.78% in 2023
05
Mobile clicks account for 57% of total CTR
06
Welcome series CTR at 15.2%
07
Retail CTR was 1.89% average
08
CTAs with urgency boost CTR by 14%
09
Single CTA emails have 21% higher CTR
10
Promotional emails CTR 1.3%
11
Images vs text: images get 12% higher CTR
12
Re-engagement CTR 4.1%
13
Ecommerce CTR 2.34%
14
Segmented lists CTR +14.4%
15
Best day CTR: Thursday 3.1%
16
Newsletter CTR 2.4%
17
Educational content CTR 3.7%
18
Non-profit CTR 2.9%
19
Travel CTR 3.2%
20
Button CTAs CTR +28%
21
Top quartile CTR 5.2%
22
Q2 CTR peaked at 2.8%
23
SaaS CTR 3.5%
24
Animated GIFs CTR +42%
25
US CTR 2.7%
26
Automated CTR 9x higher
27
Fitness CTR 2.8%
28
Product recs CTR 4.6%
29
Global CTR 2.1% in 2022
Interpretation
Conversion Metrics Interpretation
When you consider that a well-timed Thursday email with a single, urgent button can make people click at roughly the same rate they'd agree to pet a stranger's adorable dog (about 3.1%), it's clear that the science of email marketing is really just the art of politely interrupting the right person at the right moment.
03 · Category
Engagement Metrics30 stats
01
The average email open rate across all industries in 2023 was 21.33%
02
B2C email open rates averaged 24.44% in Q4 2023
03
Welcome emails have an average open rate of 68.8%
04
Email open rates for non-profits reached 26.47% in 2023
05
Mobile-optimized emails saw open rates 15% higher than desktop-only
06
Abandoned cart emails averaged 45.9% open rates in 2023
07
B2B email open rates stood at 15.14% on average in 2023
08
Personalized subject lines boost open rates by 22.2% on average
09
Emails sent on Tuesdays have 4% higher open rates than other days
10
Short subject lines (under 50 chars) achieve 12% higher open rates
11
Holiday emails in retail saw open rates up to 30.5% in 2023
12
Re-engagement emails averaged 33.2% open rates
13
Ecommerce emails had 18.21% average open rates in 2023
14
Emails with emojis in subjects increased opens by 45%
15
Best send time (9 AM) yields 20.8% open rates
16
Newsletters averaged 21.5% open rates across industries
17
Educational emails opened at 24.1% rate
18
Promotional emails had 15.9% average opens
19
Travel industry emails opened at 22.7%
20
Time-sensitive subject lines boost opens by 8.9%
21
List segmented emails saw 14.31% higher opens
22
Average unique open rate is 34.2% for top performers
23
Q1 2023 open rates dipped to 20.1% industry-wide
24
SaaS emails averaged 27.3% opens
25
Preview text optimized emails +15.7% opens
26
US open rates averaged 22.4%
27
Automated emails opened 8x more than manual
28
Fitness industry emails at 25.6% opens
29
Numbered list subjects +20% opens
30
Global average open rate 18.5% in 2022
Interpretation
Engagement Metrics Interpretation
With inboxes as fickle as cat video preferences, these stats clearly show that success in email marketing is a craft of meticulous timing, personalization, and relevance, where a welcome feels like a handshake, a cart reminder a gentle nudge, and anything generic is often just digital wallpaper.
More related reading
04 · Category
ROI Metrics28 stats
01
Email marketing delivers $42ROI for every $1 spent
02
89% of marketers report positive ROI from email
03
Email generates $36for every $1 in B2C
04
41% of revenue from email for ecommerce
05
Average ROI 3800% over 5 years
06
Segmented campaigns ROI +760%
07
Automated emails ROI 320%
08
Personalized ROI 6x higher
09
Cart recovery ROI $3.45per $1
10
Email revenue $0.40per recipient annually
11
80% B2B leads from email nurturing
12
$2.6B Black Friday revenue from email
13
Email 40x customer acquisition cost return
14
Top 10% ROI 29x average
15
Mobile-optimized ROI +15%
16
Welcome series ROI 10x
17
Re-engagement ROI 30%
18
Newsletters contribute 20% revenue
19
Travel email ROI $38/$1
20
Automation ROI 80% higher
21
Clean lists ROI +95%
22
2023 avg ROI 4200%
23
SaaS email ROI 760%
24
Dynamic content ROI +18%
25
US email revenue $10B yearly
26
Nurture ROI 50%
27
Fitness ROI $30/$1
28
Holiday campaigns ROI 25x
Interpretation
ROI Metrics Interpretation
The numbers don't just speak, they brag, unanimously crowning email marketing as the undisputed heavyweight champion of profitable communication, where even a modest effort reliably prints money across every industry.
05 · Category
Subscriber Metrics27 stats
01
Average list size for marketers is 326,000 subscribers
02
59% of consumers prefer email communication from brands
03
Email lists grow 22% YoY for top performers
04
4.24B global email users in 2023
05
99% use email daily
06
Avg unsubscribe rate 0.5% per campaign
07
Complaint rates average 0.16%
08
81% check email hourly
09
60% open on mobile first
10
Gen Z subscribes 2x more than Boomers
11
Avg acquisition cost $1.38per subscriber
12
Retention rate 91% with email
13
Popups acquire 6% visitors
14
Double opt-in lists 87% deliverable
15
Avg churn rate 22.5% annually
16
73% prefer opt-in for personalized offers
17
B2B lists average 10,000 subs
18
92% check promo emails
19
Millennials check 6.5x daily
20
Hygiene reduces bounce 9x
21
320B emails sent daily
22
SaaS avg 50,000 subs
23
Preference centers cut unsub 38%
24
US 4B emails/day
25
Win-back retains 13%
26
Fitness lists grow 15% faster
27
Avg engagement threshold 25%
Interpretation
Subscriber Metrics Interpretation
Despite the sea of 320 billion daily emails where inboxes groan under promotional weight, the astute marketer navigates by a simple truth: respect the human behind the screen with permission and preference, and you'll find a customer who willingly opens, clicks, and stays.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Elena Vasquez. (2026, February 13). E Mail Marketing Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/e-mail-marketing-statistics
MLA
Elena Vasquez. "E Mail Marketing Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/e-mail-marketing-statistics.
Chicago
Elena Vasquez. 2026. "E Mail Marketing Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/e-mail-marketing-statistics.
Sources & references
30 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level