{"id":35612,"date":"2025-07-31T15:08:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T07:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsbites.hktdc.com\/?p=35612"},"modified":"2026-01-13T09:15:36","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T01:15:36","slug":"edm-benchmark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsbites.hktdc.com\/tips\/edm-benchmark\/","title":{"rendered":"Key Email Engagement Rate Benchmarks, and 5 Optimizations for Each"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Email remains one of the most reliable ways to reach your customers among various digital marketing channels.<\/strong> However, performance expectations have shifted over the past years, with privacy changes, new inbox behaviors, and smarter engagement strategies all influencing what \u201cgood\u201d looks like now.\u00a0<\/p>

This article takes you through the latest engagement benchmarks, and what market changes mean for your strategy. You\u2019ll see where your performance sits against your industry and learn practical steps that help you improve each core metric.<\/p>

Read More:<\/p>

How to Write and Send Follow Up Emails<\/a><\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

Omnichannel vs Multichannel: Making a Difference<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Where the Email Benchmark Data Comes From<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Before exploring the benchmarks, it helps to understand how this year\u2019s email engagement data was collected \u2013 and why it offers a reliable view of market performance.<\/p>

The benchmarks in this article come from the\u00a0DMA Email Benchmarking Report 2025<\/b><\/em>, produced in partnership with 7 major email service providers. The dataset covers more than\u00a0442 billion emails sent in 2024<\/b>, spanning B2B, B2C, and multiple industry sectors. Each provider contributed anonymized performance data, which the DMA aggregated to create overall industry averages.<\/p>

Because the report draws on a broad mix of brands, volumes, and marketing programs, the benchmarks give you a trustworthy picture of how the email channel is performing across the market. The DMA also removes extreme outliers to ensure the year-over-year (YoY) trends remain consistent and comparable.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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1. Open Rate<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Your open rate shows how effectively your emails capture attention in the inbox. While Mail Privacy Protection has changed the way opens are recorded, year-over-year shifts still reveal clear trends in customer interest. When open rates rise across an industry, it often reflects stronger content relevance, smarter timing, or improved segmentation.<\/p>

Open rate changes by industry<\/h3>

Sector<\/b><\/p><\/td>

2023<\/b><\/p><\/td>

2024<\/b><\/p><\/td>

Change<\/b><\/p><\/td><\/tr>

B2B<\/p><\/td>

33.6%<\/p><\/td>

37.4%<\/b><\/p><\/td>

\u25b2 +3.8 pts<\/p><\/td><\/tr>

B2C<\/p><\/td>

36.3%<\/p><\/td>

40.0%<\/b><\/p><\/td>

\u25b2 +3.7 pts<\/p><\/td><\/tr>

Utilities<\/p><\/td>

42.9%<\/p><\/td>

52.4%<\/b><\/p><\/td>

\u25b2 +9.5 pts<\/p><\/td><\/tr>

Retail<\/p><\/td>

33.7%<\/p><\/td>

38.2%<\/b><\/p><\/td>

\u25b2 +4.5 pts<\/p><\/td><\/tr>

Travel<\/p><\/td>

33.5%<\/p><\/td>

32.8%<\/b><\/p><\/td>

\u25bc \u20130.7 pts<\/p><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>

Most industries saw a clear rise in open rates this year. Utilities experienced the largest increase, which suggests these messages are reaching customers at moments when information is timely and valuable. B2B and B2C also show healthy growth, indicating stronger alignment between subject lines, timing, and customer expectations.<\/strong> Travel is the only sector with a slight decline, which could signal shifting customer priorities or seasonal variation.<\/p>

How to improve your open rate<\/h3>