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Top 2015 Email Marketing Stats: What We’ve Learned

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As the year comes to a close for all marketing mavericks, we know that fresh ideas for 2016 should be guided by the lessons of 2015 — and there were many. We took a second look at everything we’ve learned this year to bring you the most stand-out statistics for success in 2016.

It’s worth it

“89% of marketers said email was their primary channel for lead generation

2015 silenced any skeptics who claimed email marketing was dead: statistics showed that email marketing can yield an ROI of 4,300%, with mid-sized businesses seeing the most return at an average of 246%. Small- to medium-sized businesses enjoyed a 183% return, while enterprise-level organizations averaged 117%.

That explains why US marketing execs insist email marketing drives more revenue than their social media channels and websites this year, or why 89% of marketers said it was their primary channel for lead generation. They’re right—a 2015 survey says that email alone equaled the revenue brought in by all varieties of digital advertising combined.

Timing is everything

58% of adults check their email in the morning

Despite the fact that the most of us check email at least three times a day, 2015 data shed light on the best times to reach different customer bases. 58% of adults check their email in the morning. In the hospitality industry, Mondays and Thursdays see the highest open rates of the week, with Tuesdays and Fridays falling into last place. In most industries, though, Tuesday between 8am and noon could be your best bet — but if you’re looking for responses, send emails in the evenings. And according to our Q3 device report, If most your recipients open emails on their smartphones, then Sunday takes the cake.

Mobile is the way to go

58% of shoppers would rather consult their mobile device than talk to an in-store employee.  -eMarketer and Consumer Electronics Association, 2015

At the beginning of the year, we said that 2015 would be the tipping point for mobile conversions—and we were right. In every state, mobile accounted for the most opens. Conversions via mobile rose across the board, with retail industries leading the way.

So it was surprising to see a gap still exists between how consumers interact with their email and how marketers deliver it. 17% of marketers said they had no strategy for mobile email, and 34% only had a basic mobile email optimization locked in. Now that mobile is dominant, having a strategy around optimization is key. Good thing subject lines with fewer than 40 characters surpassed open rate benchmarks—the iPhone will cut off a subject line over 32 characters.

Divide and conquer

Segmented emails based on relevancy and personalization saw 18 times more revenue

Email marketers have known for some time that segmented emails are much more effective than a blanket email, and data from 2015 officially locked in segmentation as a best practice. Segmented emails based on relevancy and personalization saw 18 times more revenue, three times the click-through rate, 39% more opens and 28% fewer unsubscribes than generalized ones. For stats on how different segmentation groups performed, check out MailChimp’s 2015 data here.

The new year is right around the corner, so keep an eye out for 2016 trends and prediction ebook , coming in early January. In the meantime, retailers who missed our webinar on top trends for 2016 can watch it here.

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