Email Blast Statistics & Benchmarks 2025: Comprehensive Industry Report
Email marketing is still one of the most reliable channels in 2025, and the numbers this year make that clearer than ever. What follows is a grounded look at how campaigns are performing, why the data matters, and where marketers should adjust their strategy.
Global Performance Metrics
Core email KPIs for 2025
Email performance varies widely depending on industry, data source, and the lingering impact of privacy changes. Still, a few patterns hold steady.
| Metric | Industry Average | Range | Top performers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open Rate | 21.3%–42.35% | 22.57%–59.70% | 45%–60% | Inflated heavily by Apple MPP |
| CTR | 1.22%–2.62% | 0.77%–4.36% | 4%–5% | Most reliable indicator of engagement |
| CTOR | 5.3%–6.81% | 2.93%–14.82% | 10%–14% | Best signal of content quality |
| Unsubscribe Rate | 0.1%–0.25% | 0.01%–0.5% | <0.1% | Healthy lists stay below 0.2% |
| Bounce Rate | 0.7%–2% | 0.33%–1.28% | <0.5% | Anything under 1% is ideal |
| ROI | $36–$42 per $1 | $32–$68 | $68 (US merchants) | 3,600%–4,000% return |
Why the numbers vary so much
Open rates remain the most unstable metric. Apple Mail Privacy Protection accounts for most of this—its automatic image preloading can register “opens” whether or not a recipient actually looked at the message. Because of this, many teams are leaning harder on CTR and conversion rates.
Triggered emails continue to outperform standard broadcasts. Across industries, conversion rates now land around 2.3%–2.9%, with automated flows often hitting 3%–5%.
Apple Mail Privacy Protection: The distortion you can’t ignore
MPP has reshaped email analytics more than any other change in the last five years. Since Apple preloads tracking pixels through proxy servers, some brands see 75% of their reported opens coming from artificial activity. And because Apple Mail now accounts for more than half of global market share, the inflation is widespread.
A few numbers that stand out:
- Open rates have roughly doubled since MPP rolled out.
- CTOR appears lower because the “open” count balloons artificially.
- Global open averages drifting toward ~35.9% aren’t proof of stronger engagement; they’re proof of noisier data.
For most teams, click-based metrics are the new baseline for evaluating real interest.
Regional Breakdowns
Global comparison at a glance
| Metric |
|---|
| Open Rate |
| CTR |
| CTOR |
| Unsubscribe Rate |
| Bounce Rate |
| ROI |
| Industry Average | Range | Top performers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21.3%–42.35% | 22.57%–59.70% | 45%–60% | Inflated heavily by Apple MPP |
| 1.22%–2.62% | 0.77%–4.36% | 4%–5% | Most reliable indicator of engagement |
| 5.3%–6.81% | 2.93%–14.82% | 10%–14% | Best signal of content quality |
| 0.1%–0.25% | 0.01%–0.5% | <0.1% | Healthy lists stay below 0.2% |
| 0.7%–2% | 0.33%–1.28% | <0.5% | Anything under 1% is ideal |
| $36–$42 per $1 | $32–$68 | $68 (US merchants) | 3,600%–4,000% return |
Europe benefits most from strict consent requirements, while APAC is seeing explosive growth—driven heavily by mobile-first behavior. North America remains strong, though U.S. inbox placement lags behind Canada. Latin America is trending upward, but local inbox providers still present significant deliverability challenges.
Industry-Specific Benchmarks
Some industries see extremely high engagement because their audiences expect and welcome regular communication. Others face more competition in the inbox.
| Metric |
|---|
| Open Rate |
| CTR |
| CTOR |
| Unsubscribe Rate |
| Bounce Rate |
| ROI |
| Industry Average | Range | Top performers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21.3%–42.35% | 22.57%–59.70% | 45%–60% | Inflated heavily by Apple MPP |
| 1.22%–2.62% | 0.77%–4.36% | 4%–5% | Most reliable indicator of engagement |
| 5.3%–6.81% | 2.93%–14.82% | 10%–14% | Best signal of content quality |
| 0.1%–0.25% | 0.01%–0.5% | <0.1% | Healthy lists stay below 0.2% |
| 0.7%–2% | 0.33%–1.28% | <0.5% | Anything under 1% is ideal |
| $36–$42 per $1 | $32–$68 | $68 (US merchants) | 3,600%–4,000% return |
Retail and travel remain the most crowded categories. Their lower rates aren’t necessarily signs of poor strategy—they’re reflections of highly promotional inbox patterns.
Device and Demographic Behavior
Mobile is no longer just dominant—it’s the baseline
| Mobile metric | Statistic | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile opens | 55%–64% | Design must assume small screens first |
| Peak times | 6–8am | Early morning optimization |
| Average mobile view | 10 seconds | Value must be immediate |
| Delete rate for non-optimized emails | 75% | Responsive design matters |
| Click lift when optimized | 15% | Direct tie to revenue |
Apple Mail still leads global market share, and iPhone users alone generate over a quarter of all mobile opens.
Generational patterns that matter
- Gen Z checks email daily (81%), prefers mobile, and expects relevance immediately.
- Millennials check 3–5 times per day and respond strongly to personalization.
- Gen X balances mobile and desktop.
- Baby Boomers still lean toward desktop consumption.
It’s also worth noting that younger generations haven’t moved away from email—57% of Gen Z and 79% of Millennials say it’s their preferred brand communication channel.
Automation and Campaign Types
Automation continues to outperform manual campaigns across every metric.
Automated vs. manual performance
| Metric | Automated | Manual | Improvement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open rate | 42.1%–48.57% | 25.2%–26.6% | +52%–67% |
| Click rate | 5.4% | 1.22%–1.5% | +332% |
| Conversions | 33% of clickers | 5% of clickers | +2,361% |
| Revenue share | 37% of sales | 63% of volume | 4× higher revenue |
| Share of send volume | 2% | 98% | — |
Three campaign types lead nearly all automated revenue:
- Welcome series
- Abandoned cart
- Browse abandonment
Welcome emails still see the highest engagement overall, and abandoned-cart messages perform best when delivered inside the first hour.
Send Timing and Optimization Trends
Best days and times in 2025
| Day | Performance | Best use case | Ideal send time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Strong opens | Newsletters | 6–9am or 4–6pm |
| Tuesday | Highest engagement | B2B | 9am–12pm |
| Wednesday | Reliable | General sends | 10am–2pm |
| Thursday | Second-highest | Promotions | 9–11am |
| Friday | Strong evening activity | Sales | 5–7pm |
| Weekends | Lower competition | B2C | 7–9am |
For international audiences, time-zone-based automation remains essential, and more senders are adopting machine-learning tools that identify individual peak engagement windows.
Email Deliverability Benchmarks
Deliverability affects ROI directly. Even a small drop in inbox placement can wipe out a month’s revenue gains.
By provider
| Provider | Inbox placement | Spam | Missing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gmail | 87.2%–95% | 6.8% | 6% |
| Yahoo | 86% | 4.8% | 9.2% |
| Apple Mail | 76.3% | 14.3% | 9.4% |
| Microsoft Outlook | 75.6% | 14.6% | 9.8% |
Microsoft remains the toughest ecosystem for sender reputation, filtering aggressively based on engagement patterns.
Complaint-rate thresholds
| Spam rate | Meaning |
|---|---|
| <0.1% | Target |
| >0.1% | Risky |
| ≥0.3% | Very likely to trigger filtering |
Maintaining a clean list is non-negotiable. Many teams now rely on dedicated list-cleaning tools, and this is where services like VerifiedEmail make a measurable difference—scrubbing malformed, duplicate, disposable, or inactive addresses before they ever affect sender reputation.
Key Takeaways for 2025
A few patterns shape the year more than anything else:
- Apple MPP continues to inflate open rates; use CTR and conversion as your truth metrics.
- Automated flows remain the revenue backbone despite representing only a tiny share of total sends.
- Mobile-first design isn’t optional—more than half of global email activity relies on it.
- Regional performance varies widely; Australia/Oceania leads engagement, and APAC continues to grow fastest.
- Deliverability issues can erase ROI quickly, which is why many teams now integrate real-time verification tools. Solutions like VerifiedEmail help prevent bounces by validating email addresses against multiple checkpoints, from DNS and SMTP verification to domain health and mailbox existence.
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