Campaign Monitor Benchmarks Report Shows Email Growth Tripled in 2020
2020 Email Volume Grew 7% From 2019 Compared to 2.5% the Year Before, and Consumers Responded with a 13% Increase in Open Rates
Campaign Monitor, a CM Group brand and provider of powerful yet intuitive email marketing software, today announced the release of its annual Benchmarks Report to provide marketers with average performance metrics. The 2021 Email Benchmarks Report analyzed over 100 billion emails sent globally by CM Group clients, finding that total email volume growth was 7% in 2020 over 2019, an increase nearly three times the amount from the previous year’s growth rate. This equates to more than 1 billion more emails sent year over year by CM Group clients per month, with the highest increases happening in March and July when clients sent 1.5 billion more emails.
Importantly, the added email volume translated directly to higher interactions with audiences. Open rates grew 13% from 2019 to 2020. Even with the added volume in people’s inboxes, they were more likely to engage than ever before, with the peak open rates happening in April and May.
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“As marketers, we all know that we need to shift as the industry shifts. Our audience doesn’t just prefer personalization and strong online experiences, they expect it,” said Carly Hegstad, Senior Digital Strategist at Lawrence & Schiller. “It’s our responsibility to ensure that all of our digital interactions meet these expectations, and that includes our email marketing strategies.”
“Email marketing played a huge role in helping our clients rebound from the early stages of COVID-19. During this time, we updated our content strategy from promotional-based messages to more general updates, including how COVID-19 was affecting the vacation rental area and safety measures put in place, and most of our clients saw an extraordinary level of engagement and lift in open rates,” said Eric Taylor, Email Marketing Evangelist at Blue Tent. “Because of the effectiveness of email marketing, most of our clients also experienced record-breaking summers in revenue and occupancy too.”
“Email was a lifeline for many organizations in 2020, and our Benchmarks Report shows that clearly,” said Lane Harbin, Director of Marketing at Campaign Monitor. “Not only was email a trustworthy and reliable communication channel for businesses to connect with customers throughout the pandemic, but there was also increased importance for sales, engagement and content marketing.”
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Here are several other important takeaways from the report:
- Friday had the highest open rates: In a shift from past years where early week-day performed the best, Friday was the highest performer in 2020.
- Mobile share decreased: With less time in lines and commuting, mobile’s share of opened emails went down for the first time in years, from 63% to 54%.
- Click-to-open rates decreased: Many more emails were sent to simply provide information, rather than to drive an action, resulting in a slight click-to-open rate decrease from 2019.
- Several industries saw click-through rates above 4%: Four industries — government, education, nonprofits and agriculture — all saw increases to its click-through rates in 2020, all reaching above 4%.
- Unsubscribe rates were historically low: Specifically for entertainment, media and importantly retail, Campaign Monitor saw unsubscribe rates near 0% throughout the year.
“With major moves to ecommerce, online learning and remote work, we expect many of these email trends to shape the future of the channel. Personalized content and well considered communications deliver strong performance on email today more than ever. We encourage all organizations to continue to test and analyze behaviors to remain agile as 2021 unfolds,” said Harbin.
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