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Email Benchmark 2021: despite challenges, email marketing is still growing

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Reading time 5 minutes
By Chantal Tol

The results of the Email Benchmark 2021 have been published. The past year was a little (lol) different than usual. We all had to adjust significantly in a short period of time. But the question is: Did COVID-19 have an effect on email marketing? What were the most striking developments of the past year? In this blog, we share the most important results from the National Email Benchmark 2021.

The impact of COVID-19 on email marketing.

When asked if COVID-19 has had an effect on the email marketing budget, more than half happily answer "no. 

Influence corona on email marketing budget

33% of companies report that they actually increased their budget. 52% confirm that their budget remained the same. Almost half of the companies also sent more mailings in the past year. From this we can conclude that email marketing continues to grow in importance. 

Email marketing is growing

However, Corona has had an impact on the way companies deploy e-mail marketing. Today, 86% of companies have an email marketing strategy. They measure email success by click rate (82%) and by open rate (78%).

We welcome the growing trend seen in personalization and segmentation. Companies are deploying email marketing more and more effectively. We advise and encourage our clients to use this in their strategy. This is so important for the success of email campaigns. Average click-through rates are increasing as a result. No less than 85% of the companies surveyed indicate that they use segmentation

Personalization and segmentation - email benchmark 2021

So what kind of content is being sent? Mainly (66%) content is sent using A/B testing. This is how you deploy content that works best for your target audience. In addition, a small group (15%) uses predictive content. This is personalized content based on history, similar customers and trends. Only 9% use interactive content. 

Email marketing is again the most important channel

This year, email marketing again tops the list as the most important channel, at a whopping 81%. Website is in second place with 70% and SEO with 38%. Last year, social media was in third place. From this we can conclude that there is a growing focus on organic traffic.

Main channels in 2021

What is the main challenge in 2021?

Marketing automation is again the most important challenge for companies in 2021. Personalization and segmentation have risen to a nice second and third place. If these three challenges are properly addressed, together they form a nice basis for a good e-mail marketing strategy. 

3 main challenges in 2021

The open rate increased

Every year we see Open Rates rising. They rose again this year. The average open rate this year was 34.15%. This is 5% higher than last year! This means that marketers are getting smarter about getting their target audience to open their emails. They are sending emails with relevant and interesting content, keeping customers informed about developments and sharing important information. This is simply the reason that emails are being opened faster. 

Open rate per quarter - email benchmark 2021

Also, the open rate has also increased on mobile. Therefore, it is important that your email campaigns are also optimized for mobile devices. 

Open rate per quarter per device

Open rate B2B VS. B2C

The open rate varies by sector: B2B vs. B2c. 

The average Open Rate for companies in the B2B sector this year was 34.27%. This is a small decrease compared to last year, when the OR was 37.18. The decline for B2C is larger. B2Cscored an OR of 32.49% in 2020, down from 40.13% in 2019.

In the chart below, you can see that emails from B2B are more likely to be opened on a desktop. B2C has a higher mobile open rate. 

Open rate by sector b2b and b2c by quarter

Average Click Through Rate is down

Like previous years, we saw a slight decrease in CTRs last year. The average this year was 4.41%. In the first half of the year, Click Through Rates were higher than in the second half. 

Click Through rate by quarter

It is also noticeable that CTRs are higher in B2B than in B2C. Both on mobile and desktop. 

CTR by sector per device

Click To Open Rate 

The CTO allows you to measure the effectiveness of your content. To calculate the CTO, we divide the number of unique clicks by the number of confirmed uniquely opened emails. Last year it set a record of 13.27%. This year, it dropped slightly to an average of 12.11%.

CTO by sector by device

Again, B2B scores higher than B2C. 

CTO by sector and device

The most popular shipping days 

There is no one-size-fits-all formula for the best time to ship. As working, due to working from home, has become more flexible, the best day varies greatly from one individual to another. Behavior on mobile and desktop has also changed. Email is opened much more often on mobile. We'll do a primer to help you, but to find out what the best day is for your target audience, it's best to test. 

Most popular shipping day - email benchmark 2021

Thursday, as in previous years, is a popular day. However, this does not mean that this is also the day that produces the most success. It does not necessarily mean that you will also have the highest open rate, CTR or CTO on this day.

The most popular shipping days also vary by industry. For example, weekdays are popular for B2B and weekends are not popular at all. While in B2C some emails are still sent on weekends.

Most popular shipping days by sector

These days deliver high Open Rate and Click Rate

The highest open rates are fairly spread out over the week. Again, this will be due to the flexible workdays since working from home. Unlike the most popular sending day (Thursday), Tuesday yields the most open rates. Thursday even finishes third here. 

Average open rate per day

As for the CTR ...

Tuesday also produces the highest CTR, but the difference is really small compared to the other days.

Best day for highest CTR

And the CTO...

The highest CTO on average is on Sundays at 13.11%. Monday is the lowest at 11.49%. The week has just started then so people are probably busy with meetings and schedules etc. Therefore on that day you make the worst contact.

What is the best shipping time?

Not only is the sending day important to the performance of your e-mail, the time of day can also make a difference. Of course, again, you can't name one exact time of day. We recommend continuous active testing at every hour of the day. This will increase your chances of hitting the mark and finding your perfect sending time. Based on the results of the study, there is a guideline though. They took the averages by time of day and grouped these numbers by industry and sector.

What are popular broadcast times?

The graph shows how many emails are sent per hour. A lot of emails are sent between 7:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. and between 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. 

Shipping volume per hour

Best shipping time for B2B: The most popular time to ship is 10:00 am. The next peaks are at 12:00 noon and 4:00 pm. 

Best shipping time for B2C: For B2C, the peak starts as early as 6:00 am. It continues until 14:00. From 15:00 to 19:00 there is a second peak. So many emails are sent in the morning and at the end of the day. 11:00 am is the most preferred time. 

Open Rate and Shipping Time

Now we know what days and times we prefer to send emails, but now the question is: when do recipients most often open their emails? Last year, 3 p.m. had the highest open rate. Last year it was a lot later, namely: 10:00 p.m. 

Average open rate per hour

What does this look like by sector?

But what are the differences by sector? The highest Open Rate for B2B is very early in the morning, as early as 05:00. This is earlier than in B2C. Perhaps within B2B since corona people focus on their emails earlier. Indeed, last year the peak was around 22:00. B2C has a reasonable open rate spread throughout the day, with peaks at 16:00 and 22:00. 

Open rate per hour by sector

Click Through Rate and Shipping Time

At what time of day are you most likely to get people to click through on your emails? The study found that two times of day score well: 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m.

This is a big difference compared to last year, when 3 p.m. scored very high. On average for all markets, you score a low CTR between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. 

Average CTR per hour

What does this look like by sector?

Many differences can be seen by sector. B2B has a strong tendency toward the end of the day, such as at 10 p.m.. B2C, on the other hand, performs better in the first half of the day. The preference here is for 06:00 and 08:00. 

Click through rate per hour by sector

The best CTO by shipping time

The best click to open rate for all sectors is 3:00 am. This is followed by 6:00 am and 8:00 am. Why 3:00 a.m. is a popular time, we don't really have a clear explanation. Perhaps many people wake up around that time and may have trouble falling back asleep, or they have trouble going offline. 

What does this look like by sector?

For B2C, 3:00 am is also the most popular. Along with 06:00 and 08:00. So the early morning is especially popular. For B2B, the evening is more popular at 10:oo pm. 

Transactional emails

Transactional emails are emails sent in response to a particular action a user takes. For example, interaction with your website, such as a registration. These emails are very important within an email marketing strategy. 

Here are the key numbers related to transactional emails:

Figures transactional emails - email benchmark 2021

Conclusion: despite everything, email marketing has grown again

Corona turned everyone's world upside down. Despite that, email marketing has continued to grow steadily over the past year. In fact, it is now a core part of strategy for marketing teams. 

What trend do we expect in the coming year?

One of the fastest growing trends is data and personalization. As such, we expect it to continue to grow this year. In fact, email marketing is being used more and more. With more competition, it is now even more important to stand out and attract attention. Personalization, segmentation and targeted marketing are therefore no longer a luxury, but a necessity. Push the right buttons and entice your target audience to engage and stay loyal!

What are the main results?

To measure email marketing success in this benchmark, OR, CTR and CTO were used. These were zoomed in on by sector. The main results are: the average OR of 34.15%. This is a nice increase compared to last year (30.29%). The average CTR of 4.41% is only a small increase compared to last year (4.38%). The CTO is the only figure down 12.11% compared to the benchmark last year 13.27%. 

Want to learn more about email marketing or need help with your email marketing strategy?

If so, please contact with us!

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Chantal Tol
Chantal Tol

About this schurq

Online Marketing Consultant

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