According to the 2019 Inxmail Email Marketing Benchmark, more than a quarter of all emails sent (26.9 percent) were opened in 2018. In addition, various factors seem to have an influence on the success of newsletters.
Mailings in B2B (27 percent) and B2C (26.9 percent) were similarly successful. In comparison, marketers in the "Art & Culture" sector achieved the greatest success in opening rates (47.5 percent), followed by "Insurance" (38.6 percent) and companies in the "Vehicles & Parts" sector (36.5 percent).
The study's key figures also suggest that seasonal events influence recipient behavior: According to the study, recipients were particularly susceptible to e-mail advertising in the months before Easter and Christmas. During this period, the opening rate was about one percent above the annual average.
It also appears that weather and holiday periods seem to have an influence on newsletters: in 2018, the average opening rate in August was one percent below the annual average.
DSGVO leaves its mark on mailings
Within the scope of the evaluation of the mailing dispatch, an increased volume could be determined with the target group B2B between March and May. It can be deduced that many companies used the time before the DSGVO deadline to inform their customers and interested parties about changes and need for action or to carry out an opt-in campaign. The opening rate, on the other hand, did not increase significantly.
B2C and B2B prefer different email clients
The results of the study show the importance of mobile optimization in email marketing,, especially for B2C companies: in 2018, more than half of all e-mails (52.3 percent) were opened and read on a mobile device.
The proportion of mobile clients used in B2B is also considerable at around 32 percent. Nevertheless, B2B recipients mainly use the desktop client to open and read their emails (52.3 percent).
Transaction emails enjoy increased attention
The study clearly shows the above-average performance of transaction emails in comparison with regular newsletters: the opening rate of 47.2 percent is almost twice as high here (newsletter: 26.9 percent). The almost three times as high number of clicks was even more successful: On average, transaction emails achieved 9.4 percent (newsletter 3.3 percent).
Along the customer lifecycle, notifications of re-stocked products were the most successful with an opening rate of 71.5 percent and a click rate of 47 percent. Transaction emails containing vouchers, discounts or other incentives were also particularly popular. These achieved open rates of over 60 percent and more than 20 percent clicks. Furthermore, the key figures make it clear that shopping basket reminders are worthwhile (opening rate: 56.4 percent, click rate: 8.6 percent).
The 2019 Inxmail E-Mail Marketing Benchmark presents current key figures for newsletters and transactional emails. The study provides detailed evaluations of open, click and bounce rates, deals with differences in the B2C and B2B sectors and compares different sectors. In addition, the benchmark focuses on the performance of transaction emails and email clients. The study also provides tips and recommendations for optimization.
The database consists of around three billion anonymous emails from more than 150,000 mailings sent between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2018. The target markets for the analyzed mailings are Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The results are the median of the key figure examined.
Original article written in German and translated using deepl.
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