Seasonal events, weather and vacations affect newsletter success
According to the 2019 Inxmail Email Marketing Benchmark, more than a quarter of all emails sent in 2018 were opened. In addition, various factors appear to influence the success of newsletters.
According to the study, more than a quarter of all emails sent in 2018 (26.9%) were opened. Mailings in B2B (27%) and B2C (26.9%) were similarly successful. In comparison, marketers in the "Arts & Culture" sector achieved the highest open rate (47.5%), followed by "Insurance" (38.6%) and companies in the "Vehicles & Parts" sector (36.5%).
The study's key figures also suggest that seasonal events influence recipient behavior: According to the study, recipients were particularly receptive to email advertising in the months leading up to Easter and Christmas. During this period, the open rate was around one percent higher than the annual average.
In addition, the weather and vacation periods also appear to have an influence on the success of newsletters: in 2018, the average open rate in August was one percent below the annual average.
GDPR leaves its mark on shipments
The evaluation of the mailings revealed an increased volume in the B2B target group between March and May. This suggests that many companies used the time before the GDPR deadline to inform their customers and interested parties about changes and the need for action or to carry out an opt-in campaign. In contrast, no significant increase in the opening rate was recorded.
B2C and B2B prefer different email clients
The results of the study show how important mobile optimization is in email marketing, especially for companies in B2C: in 2018, more than half of all emails (52.3%) were opened and read on a mobile device.
The proportion of mobile clients used in B2B is also considerable at around 32%. Nevertheless, B2B recipients mainly use the desktop client to open and read their emails (52.3%).
Transactional emails enjoy increased attention
The study clearly shows the above-average performance of transactional emails compared to regular newsletters: the open rate here is almost twice as high at 47.2 percent (newsletter: 26.9 percent). Even more successful were the click rates, which were almost three times as high: On average, transactional emails achieved 9.4 percent here (newsletter: 3.3 percent).
Along the customer lifecycle, reminders about products becoming available again were the most successful, with an open rate of 71.5% and a click rate of 47%. Transactional 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. The key figures also show that shopping basket reminders are worthwhile (open rate: 56.4 percent, click rate: 8.6 percent).
The Inxmail email marketing benchmark 2019 presents current key figures for newsletters and transactional emails. The study provides detailed evaluations of open, click and bounce rates, looks at differences in the B2C and B2B sectors and compares different industries. The benchmark also looks at the performance of transactional emails and email clients. The study also provides tips and recommendations for optimization.
The data is based on around three billion anonymized emails from more than 150,000 mailings sent in the period from 1 January to 31 December 2018. The target markets of the mailings analysed include Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The results are the median of the key figures analyzed.
