Email Marketing Statistics: Where to Find Them and How to Use Them
How to find reliable email marketing statistics and use them honestly — the sources to trust, the averages to be wary of, and why your own data matters most.
You'll see eye-catching email marketing statistics everywhere — but most quoted figures are averages that may not represent your situation at all. This guide explains where reliable data comes from and how to use statistics honestly.
Treat every average with caution
Any single number you see about open rates, click rates or ROI is an average drawn from a particular sample — often US-centric, skewed to large senders, and collected at a particular point in time. It tells you little about whether your emails are working for your own audience.
Sources that are more credible
Some of the more useful, regularly-updated sources of email benchmark data are the published reports from large email platforms and independent deliverability specialists. Even these publish averages; what makes them useful is that they describe a large, real sample of senders.
How to judge a statistic
- Is the source named, and is it an organization that can actually see sending data?
- Is the date of collection stated? Old figures age fast.
- Is the sample described (geography, business size, industry)?
- Is it an average with a range, or a single tempting number?
- Does the source stand to benefit from the number looking impressive?
Important
Be especially wary of figures shared without a source, or from pages selling a product that benefits from inflating the importance of email. Promotional 'statistics' are common and should be treated as marketing, not research.
Why your own data beats any average
Your own delivered, open, click, conversion and unsubscribe rates — tracked consistently over time — are the only benchmark that truly reflects your list, your industry and your audience. Thirty days of your own data are worth more than a headline average.
Using statistics responsibly in your content
If you share statistics in your own emails or website, always name the source and the date, present ranges rather than single inflated claims, and avoid implying a result is guaranteed. Accurate, sourced figures build trust; exaggerated ones destroy it.
Where to start if you want real numbers
A simple approach
- Set up tracking in your platform and collect 90 days of your own data.
- Group results by email type (newsletter, promo, automation).
- Compare your own results month over month.
- Use credible published averages only as a rough sanity check, if at all.
Learn to measure what matters with our metrics guide.
Frequently asked questions
Why shouldn't I trust online email statistics?
Most are averages from a specific sample that may not match your industry, size or geography — and some are posted by sites that benefit from making email look impressive.
What stats should I rely on instead?
Your own tracked rates over time, compared against themselves, are the most relevant benchmark for your business.
Can I quote email statistics on my site?
Yes, if you name the source and date and present them honestly. Avoid invented or unverifiable numbers.