Email marketing has seen increased adoption and improved performance metrics across most industries, according to a study from email marketing platform, Selzy, which analyzed over 40 billion emails sent between 2020 and 2024.
The study provides industry-specific benchmarks crucial for marketers, and reveals email’s enduring importance as a marketing tool, noting a 15% rise in usage to 78% in the past year.
Deliverability and Performance Metrics
One of the standout findings is the improvement in email deliverability rates, which climbed from 94.26% in 2020 to 96.43% in 2024. Tourism & Travel and Nonprofit sectors lead with rates above 98%. The study underscores the importance of maintaining high deliverability to ensure marketing messages reach their intended audiences.
Despite a slight decline in total open rates (-8.6%) since 2020, there was a significant increase (17.8%) between 2021 and 2023. This highlights a rebound in engagement as strategies adapted post-pandemic. Notably, the Media & Publishing sector saw a 60.8% increase in open rates following a drop in 2021.
Industry-Specific Insights
The e-commerce sector demonstrated the most notable improvement in deliverability rates, with a 10.28% increase, and a 0.7% reduction in bounce rates. This suggests that the sector is refining its email practices, likely contributing to higher consumer engagement and potentially better sales outcomes.
Conversely, industries such as Marketing, E-commerce, and Media & Publishing reported the highest bounce rates. These figures highlight ongoing challenges in maintaining email list quality and ensuring the relevance of content.
Unsubscribe and Spam Rates
A significant decrease in unsubscribe rates was observed in the Education and Marketing sectors, dropping by 35% and 35.7% respectively in 2023. This trend indicates improved targeting and content relevance, which are key to retaining subscriber interest.
Spam rates also saw a notable reduction, dropping by 44.4% in 2023 compared to 2020. This improvement reflects better email practices and stricter adherence to spam regulations across industries.
Methodology and Broader Context
Selzy’s study utilized extensive data from 2020 to 2024, incorporating industry averages from sources like Statista, Litmus, Accenture, and Grand View Research. This comprehensive approach ensures the reliability and applicability of the findings.
The study’s insights are particularly relevant against the backdrop of growing digital marketing budgets and the increasing importance of personalized customer engagement. With digital communication becoming ever more critical, understanding these benchmarks helps businesses refine their email marketing strategies for better performance and ROI.
Accessing the Full Study
For those interested in the detailed results and recommendations, Selzy has made the complete research available online. The full study includes further insights into how email marketing strategies can be optimized based on industry-specific data and broader digital marketing trends.
The full research results can be accessed here: Selzy Email Marketing Benchmarks.