In 1971, the world’s first email was sent by Ray Tomlinson from one Digital Equipment Corporation DEC-10 to another Digital Equipment Corporation DEC-10. Since then, the number of email users around the world has increased steadily, and within 50 years, more than half of the world’s population has a registered email account.
Global emailing statistics show that every day around 293.6 billion emails are exchanged via multiple emailing services like Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo Mail, Outlook, Apple Mail, etc. The email marketing statistics reveal that after social media platforms, emails are the most preferred distribution channel for conveying business information by brands, organizations, and professionals. The following email statistics will give you an insight into the profitability and sustainability of email marketing.
Email Usage Statistics 2021
In 2021, the number of email users reached 4 billion users around the world.
It has been almost 50 years since email was first introduced as a digital communication method over the web. With the advent of Web 2.0, many people worldwide predicted that emailing would become obsolete as people will prefer to use instant chat messaging options and video conferencing applications to communicate online.
But the opposite is seen to be true as many people around the world prefer to use emails for business communications. Within the last 5 years, the number of global email users has increased at an annual rate of 3%, and today, we have nearly 4 billion email users in the world.
By 2024, it is expected that the number of email users worldwide will increase to 4.48 billion users.
In 2019, the number of email users around the world had reached 3.9 billion users. Looking at the steady growth rate of email users around the globe, it has been projected that by 2024, we will have 4.48 billion email users in the world.
In 2018, it was seen that nearly 281 billion emails were sent and received on a daily basis around the world. By 2023, it is expected that this number will increase to 347 billion emails.
For a vast number of online services like online shopping, online banking, and for the creation of online accounts, a valid email ID is required. Companies communicate with their customers and subscribers via emails. Verification codes, promotional materials, newsletters, and any changes made to the company policy are communicated to the customers, subscribers, or account holders via emails. Hence, it is expected that by 2024, the number of email users around the world will increase as more people will create their email accounts to avail a vast array of online services.
85% of the email users check their emails on their smartphones.
Around 58% of the adults check their emails as soon as they wake up in the morning. It has been observed that smartphones remain to be the primary mode for accessing emails because 85% of the global email users check their emails on their smartphones.
In 2018, it was found that 46% of people first open their emails through their mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. In the same year, the number of desktop email opens had decreased by 18%, and only 39% of the email users were using their desktop computers to open their emails.
Mobile email applications like Google’s Gmail and Outlook sync easily with most Android phones and iPhones, making it increasingly easy for email users to check and respond to emails over their smartphones.
Apple iPhone has the largest email market share that accounts for 37% of all email opens.
Around 37% of all the emails received worldwide on mobile devices are accessed via iPhone. 25% of the emails are opened via Google’s Gmail application, and together, the iPhone and Gmail make up 62% of the email market share.
Apple Mail is the third most popular mobile application for accessing emails on mobile devices and makes up around 10% of the market share. It is closely followed by Outlook and Yahoo. 8% of all the emails received on mobile devices are opened through Outlook, and the remaining 6% are accessed via Yahoo mail.
In 2020, Gmail had over 1.8 billion active users around the world. And it was found to be the 3rd most popular mobile application in the USA.
Gmail is the most popular email service in India.
In India, 80% of internet users have a registered email account. Gmail remains to be the most popular email service in India, with 95% market penetration. The total number of Gmail users in India is estimated to be more than 365 million users. Also, it has been seen that most of these 356 million Gmail users have more than one Gmail account to avail the various services that come with a registered Gmail account such as Google Drive, Google Hangouts, and Google Photos.
General Email Marketing Statistics 2021
70% of the brands, companies, and professionals use emails to share company-related information and activities.
Email is the 2nd most popular mode of communication for sharing information about a business, brand, or industry. 70% of the brands or professionals around the world prefer to use emails to communicate with their followers, subscribers, consumers, or with their stakeholders.
Brands and industry share 81% of their business-related content via LinkedIn. 70% of the business-related content is shared via emails. 43% is shared over Twitter, and Facebook is used to share 40% of the business-related content.
On average, a single person receives around 121 emails per day.
According to statistics on email marketing, on average, a user receives around 121 emails per day. This number is projected to increase further in the coming years as brands and organizations continue to use emails as their primary mode for marketing, internal communication, and regular correspondence with customers. This means that, on average, an email user receives around 45,990 emails every year or 1 email every 12 minutes.
Generation X makes up 92% of all the email users in the world.
People who are born between the early 1960s to late 1970s use email the most. They account for 92% of all the email users in the world. Millennials, or those born between 1980 and 2000, are the second-largest group of email users in the world, making up around 89% of all the email users. Generation Z is the third largest group of email users in the world, and 85% of the people born between 1997 to 2012 (Gen Z) use email to stay up to date with the latest promotions, news and for receiving updates on services that they have signed up for.
Overall, it can be seen that emails remain to be a popular channel for personal and professional communication across all age groups, and since most online services want you to sign up or register by entering a valid email account, most millennials and generation Z have active email accounts to avail these services.
58% of the adults check their emails as soon as they wake up in the morning.
Most working adults consider it important to check their emails as soon as they wake up in the morning. It has been observed that 58% of adults first prefer to check their emails in the morning as they expect work-related emails and important news updates in their inbox. Compared to that, only 14% of adult email users check their social media first and then open their emails. The research has also concluded that those adults who have a habit of first checking their emails are more task-oriented and goal-oriented as compared to the ones who check and reply to their social media messages first. This is because they start their day with a specific goal in mind and aim to finish their work first instead of wasting their time on social media.
Email has more global active users as compared to all the social media combined.
In 2021, the number of email users around the world had reached 4.03 billion people, and by 2024, that number is projected to reach 4.48 billion users. Currently, Facebook has 2.2 billion monthly active users, and Instagram has a little over 1 billion users. If you combine the number of users of these two popular social media apps, their number comes to around 3.2 billion users, which is not even close to the number of email users around the world.
Emails have an 85% penetration rate.
Emails have a penetration rate of 85%. This means that of all the emails sent in the world, 85% of them are being opened and viewed by the receivers. Email marketing statistics show that the average email open rate-2020 for marketing emails is 23%, and it leads to a 3.71% click-through rate (CTR).
Compared to that, social media applications like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have an engagement rate of only 0.6%. It means that if brands want to increase their audience engagement and click-through rate, they should invest more time, effort, and capital on email marketing instead of diverting all their attention to social media marketing because emails have the highest penetration rate amongst all the digital marketing tools being used.
Moreover, it has been seen that in the USA, 90.3% of all the emails sent by brands and organizations are successfully delivered to the target audience. Compared to this, only 69% of Americans have a Facebook account, and even out of that 69%, a large number of people do not follow the Facebook pages of brands and organizations.
Email Marketing delivers a strong return on investment (ROI).
It has been seen that compared to all the other digital and traditional marketing strategies, email marketing can deliver the highest return on investment if the email marketing campaign is well-planned and well-executed. For every $1 you spend on marketing emails, you can expect a return of $42. This is because email marketing has a high penetration and click-through rate, so if a company spends $100 on 100 marketing emails, they can expect their ROI to be $4,200 or $4,100 as net profit. So, even if your cost per email is high, you can expect a 4200% ROI.
21% of the marketing emails are opened within the first 1 hour of the delivery.
Of all the marketing emails that are sent to personal or professional email IDs, 21% are opened within an hour of delivery. It means that email marketing works best for time-limited offers and promotions because if the offer is valid for a specific number of days, within an hour, you can expect 21% audience engagement and click-through rate.
Demographic Email Marketing Data
Marketing emails are targeted to the customers, subscribers, or account holders who have agreed to receive emails from the brand or organization. The marketing emails are sent to inform the users of the latest products and services, changes in company policies, new offers, events, promotions, or simply to give the account holders a summary of their usage and plans. For example, the emails that you receive from airlines will inform you about the miles that you have and the rewards that you are eligible for.
In India, 70% of the Internet users are male, and Indians between the ages of 20 and 39 use the internet the most.
In India, 70% of internet users are male. This is because in India, the literacy rate for men is higher as compared to women and more men are in the workforce as compared to women. Indians who use the internet the most are between the ages of 20 and 39. This means that in India, most internet users are male between the ages of 20 and 39. It has been reported that 80% of the internet users in India have a registered email account, meaning most of the 20 to 39-year-old males in India have an active email account and receive marketing emails on their email IDs.
Desktop and Mobile Optimisation
More than 68% of marketing emails are opened on mobile devices.
More than 68% of the marketing emails that are delivered are opened on smartphones. That’s why it is very important to optimize the design and look of all the marketing emails for mobile devices. Mobile-friendly emails should be able to load quickly, be straight to the point, should be in the right dimension so that the image or text does not get cut out, and the clickable links within the email should support all mobile devices.
Marketing experts recommend that to optimise your marketing emails for mobile devices, you must ensure that your subject length is not more than 25 to 30 characters. However, on the desktop, viewers can see the entire subject line if it is under 60 characters.
In 2021, Gmail was found to be the most popular email provider for desktops and mobiles.
According to the recent email marketing stats, Gmail is the most popular email service provider in the world and has around 1.5 billion active users. Gmail accounts easily sync with mobile devices and are compatible with both iPhones and Android phones. But if the emails are not optimised for mobile devices, users will still have difficulty viewing the images and attachments in the marketing emails.
For this reason, marketing experts advise that your emails should be designed in such a way that even if the image doesn’t show, your message makes sense, and the users can still access the click-through buttons and links. Heavy images should not be used, and image-free emails should be preferred. The design should be clean and simple, and the dimension of the call-to-action (CTA) buttons should be 44 x 44 pixels.
Shorter copies have higher click-through rates.
According to recent email marketing effectiveness statistics, it was seen that shorter email drip campaigns have a 98.39% open rate and a 37.26% click-through rate. Since the majority of email users open their emails on their mobile devices, the chances are that they are reading their emails on the go. Most of the working adults and senior students read their emails while commuting to work or college. This will leave them with very limited time to go through the entire length of your marketing email.
Emails that have shorter copies, fewer words, and get straight to the point have a higher email marketing conversion rate or CTR as compared to long emails. This is why most marketers prefer to insert CTAs within the first 100 to 150 words of the written content.
Email Frequency and Timing
The best time to send marketing emails is in the early morning.
Email marketing facts reveal that the best time to send marketing emails is in the morning at around 3 or 4 am. It will ensure that your marketing emails get checked the first thing in the morning as the users will open their inbox to check for work-related emails. If you send it too early in the night, there is a chance that your email will get buried at the bottom of the received emails and will not be checked until the weekend.
You get higher click-through rates when 5 newsletters are sent per week.
According to the analytical research done by the team of Get Response, it was found that when more than 5 emails are sent in a week, the open rate and CTR drops for marketing emails. Marketers suggest that instead of focusing on frequency, you should make your email marketing persistent. Sending more than one email a day could result in lower open rates, and a high unsubscribe volume. You will irritate your clients and consumers by sending marketing emails more frequently than necessary.
Email Engagement Statistics
Email engagement is highest during official business hours.
It has been observed that the open rate, click-through rate, and overall email engagement is highest during the business hours of 9 to 5 because this is usually the time that most working professionals are logged in to their personal and professional email IDs. So, while opening and responding to their work-related emails, they will also open the marketing emails sent to them by brands and organizations to check if anything is worth signing up for (like memberships, free access, and webinars) or taking note of (offers and promotions).
Email engagement is the lowest on Saturday and Sunday and highest on Friday.
Email marketing statistics reveal that the audience engagement is highest on Friday afternoon and lowest on the weekends. This is because over the weekends, most people are more active on social media applications to relax and entertain themselves and are logged out from their personal and work email accounts. Most people do not check their emails on weekends and leave it for Monday to respond to the emails that have piled up over the weekend.
However, email engagement on Friday afternoon is the highest because, by this time, most people are winding down for the weekend and have time on their hands to complete all their additional work for the week. Also, quite a few people will browse their inbox to check if there are any good offers or discounts on shopping, weekend getaways, or dining discounts that they can avail over the weekend.
Email Marketing Statistics: By Industry
The email marketing industry statistics vary greatly across the industries. According to the data compiled by Mailchimp, the email response rates by industry are as mentioned below:
From the industry-standard email open rates in the table above, it can be seen that the art industry has the highest industry average email open rate, which stands at 26.27%, whereas the beauty and personal care industry has the lowest industry average email open rate at 16.65%. This means that people are most interested in receiving emails from brands, organisations, and professionals who belong to the arts industry and have the latest news, events, and updates to share with their consumer base.
Whereas, emails from beauty and personal care products and services are often ignored via emails, and perhaps this is why social media marketing (influencer marketing over Instagram and YouTube) is considered to be a more penetrative option for such brands and professionals.
Nearly 70% of companies and organizations use email to share work-related information with their co-workers.
70% of the companies, organizations and professionals use email to share information related to their company or industry via emails. LinkedIn is the most popular platform for sharing industry updates and work-related information, but emails are the second most popular channel for internal communication and peer-to-peer correspondence.
B2B Email Marketing Statistics
The following email stats will help marketers set B2B email benchmarks for the coming years.
87% of the B2B marketing takes place through marketing emails.
According to the email marketing research done by Content Marketing Institute, 87% of B2B marketing takes place through emails. Social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp business remain to be the most popular channels for B2B marketing as 89% of marketers prefer to connect directly with their clients over social media platforms.
40% of the B2B marketers think that newsletters sent via email are the most important marketing tactic.
Nearly 40% of the marketers believe that the newsletters that they send via email help them to achieve their marketing goals because it helps them assess audience engagement, create brand awareness, and direct traffic to their landing pages.
59% of the B2B marketers use emails to generate leads.
59% of the marketers use emails to generate leads. When email users sign up and agree to receive marketing emails from the brand or organization in their inbox, marketers see them as potential clients or leads and customize their marketing messages to persuade them to make a purchase. These persuasive emails are sent to their inbox to update them about the latest offers, news, promotions, new range of products and services, and membership opportunities.
64% of the B2B marketers use email automation services.
Email automation services and techniques to send automated emails to the users in their emailing list. Nearly 64% of the B2B marketers prefer to use such services to maintain constant communication with their clients and business partners. Automated emails help marketers save time, generate leads, and earn a higher revenue because the content from the email does not have to be created from scratch every time.
B2C Email Marketing Statistics
Email remains to be the second most popular channel for B2C marketing.
The statistics of a survey done by the Content Marketing Institute revealed that 79% of the marketers prefer to use email for B2C marketing, whereas 93% of the marketers prefer to market brands products and services to consumers on social media platforms.
Even in 2021, 52% of the B2C company websites and emails are not compatible with mobile devices.
Unfortunately, even in 2021, 52% of the B2C company websites and emails are not mobile-friendly, and customers find it difficult to view the entire email on their mobile devices. Sometimes the images appear as broken links or are too heavy and take a long time to load. Other times, because of the incorrect screen adjustment settings, the emails appear in half, and the rest of the content is missing. This is probably the reason why the open rate for marketing emails is less as compared to the number of likes and followers on a brand’s social media page.
Visual Content in Email Campaigns
Interesting facts about emails reveal that emails with graphically appealing and visual content have higher open rates and click-through rates as compared to emails with simple textual content. Marketers include videos, infographics, images, GIFs, emojis, sliders, and collapsible menus to make their emails stand out and increase the chances of conversion rates.
Emojis
Subject lines with emojis increase open rates by 56%.
A survey was conducted by Experian, which found that emails that have emojis in their subject lines have a 56% open rate as compared to emails that had just plain text in their subject lines. Emojis make emails stand out and instantly grab a user’s attention.
Videos
Having videos in the email can increase the click-through rate by 300%.
According to the email marketing statistics compiled by KUB Growth Digital, it has been observed that having videos in the emails can increase the click-through rate by 300%. This is most probably because graphical content is more appealing than textual content and many users around the world prefer to watch a short video to grasp the message rather than read through the entire text of the email.
Pictures
Emails with pictures and images have an 8% higher open rate as compared to emails without graphical content.
Statistical analysis reveals that those emails that have pictures or images in them have an 8% higher open rate as compared to the emails that don’t have any images in them. Over the web, high-quality images help to grab users’ attention and make the content more visually appealing. This is why users are more likely to open an email with images as compared to a long and dull textual email.
Mobile Email Marketing Statistics
More than 40% of the email users first open their emails on their mobile devices.
It has been observed that almost 40% of the email users prefer to first open their emails on their smartphones and tablets instead of accessing them via desktop or laptops. The large majority of email users who access their emails via mobile devices are those who are 18 years old or younger than that. Youngsters use their mobile devices for accessing most of the applications and software. They are the most active age group on the internet and social media, so it does not come as a surprise that most 18-year old open their emails on their mobile devices when they receive notifications.
81% of the emails that are first opened on a mobile device are accessed via smartphones.
Of all the emails that are first opened on a mobile device and then later on a desktop or laptop, 81% of those emails are opened from a smartphone. The data for the percentage of emails that are first opened on smartwatches remains unavailable, so it can be rightly said that when it comes to mobile email marketing statistics, most emails are first opened on smartphones, and therefore, it is very important for marketing emails to be mobile-friendly.
23% of email users who open their marketing emails first on a mobile device also open it later from a desktop.
According to the mobile email marketing statistics gathered by Optin Monster, it was seen that 23% of the email users who first check their emails through their mobile devices also open the same email later on their desktop. This is probably because most email users who first check their emails on their cellphones or tablets check it in a rush while they are commuting to work or responding to work-related emails, and therefore, they feel the need to see the email again in order to understand the message completely.
Click-through rate increases by 65% if the email is opened again on their desktop.
Once the email is opened and read again from a desktop computer, the average email conversion rate increases by 65%. This is because, most often, the emails are not designed to be compatible with mobile devices, and many people cannot see the entire message or the call-to-action buttons and links. But when they open the same email on their desktops, they find the email to be important and useful for their needs, and that’s why they click on the buttons and links to view more, read more and see more. The CTA’s direct them to the relevant landing pages where they might be asked to make purchase decisions or sign up for some sort of service.
42.3% of the email users will delete an email if it is not mobile-friendly.
Nearly half of the email marketing emails will be deleted without reading if they are not optimized for mobile devices. 42.3% of the email users who check their emails on mobile devices delete the emails if those emails are not mobile friendly and cannot be viewed properly on smartphones or tablets.
Emails that are opened on mobile devices generate $ 1 billion in sales.
The conversion rate for emails that are received and viewed from mobile devices is 4.29%. This means that of all the sales that are generated through email marketing, $1 billion comes from emails that are viewed on mobile devices as the conversion rate for mobile email marketing is quite high.
Personalized Email Marketing Statistics
Emails that have personalized subject lines have 50% higher open rates.
Email personalization stats indicate that when the subject lines of emails are personalized, the open rate increases by 50%. For example, emails that have personalized greetings in the subject lines like “Greetings Michael!†are more likely to be opened by users because it makes the correspondence more personal and attention-grabbing. But since sending out more than 500 emails with personalized subject lines that mention the first name of every single person on your mailing list can be hectic and time-consuming, marketers advise personalizing the subject lines with the company’s name, the industry, or a topic of interest.
Email automation services are being used to send 51% of personalized emails.
Email automation services are helping marketers send out automated emails to all the recipients in their email lists. It has been found that 51% of the personalized messages that users receive are sent through email automation services as customizing every single email according to a user’s preferences, name, and interest is very difficult and time-consuming if done manually. But with email automation services, marketers can save time and increase open rates by personalizing subject lines and salutations.
Email Marketing ROI and Lifetime Value
30% of the marketers believe that email marketing has the highest ROI.
Email marketing success rates can be measured by the fact that email marketing delivers the highest return on investment when compared to all the other digital marketing strategies. It has been observed that for every $ 1 that is spent on email marketing, $ 44 is gained as a return on investment, and therefore, the ROI for email marketing stands at 4400%.
18% of the companies that use email marketing gain $70 for every $1 spent on email marketing.
According to the email campaign statistics, email marketing can be so profitable that 18% of the companies who invest in email marketing are witnessed to have received $70 as ROI for every $1 that they spent on email marketing, which means that for this 18% of companies, the ROI is 7000%. They earn $69 as their net profit.
Email is 40 times more for sales as compared to Facebook and Twitter.
When it comes to reaching potential customers and retaining them for future sales, email marketing is 40 times more effective as compared to Facebook and Twitter. This is because emails are more targeted and personalized as compared to Facebook posts and tweets.
Users feel connected and receive the information in great detail, which is not possible with the character limit on Twitter and limited file size on Facebook. Brands have to pay a high price for sending direct messages to Facebook users. But with emails, it can be done at half the cost with the assurance that 21% of the emails will be read within one hour of delivery.
Shoppers spend 138% more when they are persuaded via email marketing.
Those shoppers who receive promotional emails and are directed to the relevant landing pages for the purchase of products and services end up spending 138% more as compared to the customers who did not receive marketing emails and were directed to the landing pages from other sources. This is because, in email marketing, brands get a chance to connect with their target audience, convince them about the benefits of the products or services, and most probably mention discount offers and coupons that motivate the consumers to make a favorable purchase decision.
The Benefits of Email Marketing
The following email marketing statistics explain why the email marketing rate around the world is increasing steadily over the years.
Email marketing is more affordable and penetrative as compared to other marketing tools and channels.
Unlike social media marketing and Google Adwords, email marketing does not ask you to pay for impressions or clicks. You only pay a standard monthly fee, depending on how big your email list is and how frequently the emails are to be sent. And unlike social media marketing, email marketing is targeted, personalized, and leads to higher click-through conversions and lead generation. This is because email marketing is more penetrative as compared to social media marketing. When users receive a personalized email in their inbox, they are more likely to click on it as compared to clicking on Facebook or Google ads while scrolling through their newsfeed or searching for information.
9 out of 10 marketers use email marketing to market their content organically.
Email marketing can be used to advertise and market content organically. 9 out of 10 marketers prefer to generate organic traffic through marketing emails as they know that the traffic that is generated organically has a higher sales potential as compared to the one that is created inorganically. Content that is distributed organically and traffic that is generated organically have a higher customer retention value as compared to the content that is created inorganically.
Email marketing can lead to an 80% customer retention rate from small to medium businesses.
Email marketing can be a cost-effective, time-saving, and high return on investment marketing strategy for small to medium-sized businesses. Small to medium-sized businesses have a limited marketing budget, so email marketing can help them expand their customer base, retain 80% of their existing customers, and gain between a 4000% and 7000% return on investment, thanks to the high open rate and click-through conversion rate of marketing emails.
Influence of The Anti-Spam Guideline – GDPR
In November 2020, it was reported that 47.3% of the emails are spam mails.
Of all the emails that are sent on a daily basis, 47.3% of them are spam emails that are sent with malicious intent. It was observed that 23.52% of the spam emails are sent from Russia, which has become the biggest originator of spam mails in the world. Germany stands in second place, as more than 11% of the spam emails are sent from Germany. The top 10 countries that are known to be the masterminds behind spam mails are:
1. Russia
2. Germany
3. USA
4. France
5. China
6. Netherlands
7. Brazil
8. Spain
9. Japan
10. Poland
Most email users avoid opening emails from unknown email addresses to protect themselves from online scams.
Over the years, many people have become victims of phishing emails, identity theft, and financial fraud because of spam emails that were sent to target them. To avoid becoming a victim of online scams, most email users now avoid opening emails from unknown email IDs, avoid suspicious websites, refuse to accept cookies, and disclose less personal information online. Even though it can be a hassle, but for online banking, people prefer to change their passwords regularly so that their accounts cannot be hacked.
The global email spam rate has been on a decrease.
Thanks to the influence of the anti-spam guideline, over the years, the global email spam rate has been on a decrease. In 2012, the global email spam rate was 69%. But by 2018, this number had decreased to 55 percent, and within these 3 years, the global email spam rate has further reduced to 47.3%. This shows that anti-spam guidelines and countermeasures taken against spam emails are working, and the rate of spam emails is decreasing at a steady rate around the world.
Conclusion
The world’s first email was sent in 1971. Since then, the usage of email around the world has seen a steady increase, and today, around 4 billion people in the world have registered email accounts. The email marketing statistics reveal that every day 293.6 billion emails are exchanged across the globe, and by 2022, this number will increase to 347.3 billion emails per day.
The emailing statistics from India reveal that Gmail is the most popular email service in India, and it has a 95% market penetration rate. The global email statistics refute the early predictions which had inferred the demise of emails in early 2000. Experts believe that by 2024, the number of email users around the world will increase to 4.48 billion users, and email marketing will remain to be a popular marketing strategy for brands, organizations, and professionals.
