13 Email Statistics for Marketers in 2026

Automated emails remain the most profitable part of email marketing: in Omnisend’s 2026 report, automations made up just 2% of sends but drove 30% of email revenue in 2025. At the same time, open rates have become unreliable, because Apple accounts for 76.56% of tracked email opens (Litmus, September 2026) and Apple Mail Privacy Protection affects an estimated 55-60% of all opens.

The 13 email statistics below cover where emails are opened, the deliverability rules set by Gmail and Outlook, benchmarks for campaigns and automations, and how marketers are using AI. Each figure is attributed to its original source, with links in the Sources section.

Updated October 2026.

Where are emails opened in 2026?

1. Apple accounts for 76.56% of tracked email opens

Litmus Email Client Market Share data for September 2026, based on more than 1.5 billion opens, shows Apple (Apple Mail and iPhone combined) at 76.56% of tracked opens, followed by Gmail at 16.10%, Outlook desktop at 3.48% and Yahoo Mail at 2.35%.

Source: Litmus Email Client Market Share.

2. Apple Mail Privacy Protection affects about 55-60% of email opens

Litmus estimates that Apple Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) affects roughly 55-60% of all email opens. MPP preloads images, including tracking pixels, so many recorded opens are automatic rather than real. That inflates Apple’s share and makes open rate a weak success metric; clicks, conversions and revenue per recipient are more reliable.

Email deliverability statistics and rules

3. Gmail bulk senders sending 5,000+ messages a day must use SPF, DKIM and DMARC

According to Google’s email sender guidelines, senders who send more than 5,000 messages a day to personal Gmail accounts must authenticate with SPF, DKIM and DMARC, and marketing messages must support one-click unsubscribe. All senders, regardless of volume, need at least SPF or DKIM. These requirements took effect on February 1, 2024.

4. Gmail requires spam complaint rates below 0.3%

Google’s sender guidelines require senders to keep the spam rate reported in Postmaster Tools below 0.3%, and recommend staying below 0.10%. Google tells senders to avoid ever reaching 0.30%, so list hygiene and easy unsubscribes protect deliverability.

Our guide to email deliverability explains how to set up authentication and monitor your sender reputation.

5. Outlook enforces authentication for domains sending more than 5,000 emails a day

Microsoft announced that from May 5, 2025, Outlook.com requires SPF, DKIM and DMARC for domains sending more than 5,000 emails a day. Non-compliant messages are routed to junk, and Microsoft has said they will ultimately be rejected with a “550; 5.7.515” error. Gmail and Outlook now apply the same baseline authentication rules to high-volume senders.

Email marketing benchmarks for 2026

6. Automated emails are 2% of sends but drive 30% of email revenue

Omnisend’s 2026 e-commerce email report (published January 30, 2026, using 2025 data) found that automated emails, such as welcome series, abandoned-cart and post-purchase messages, made up just 2% of email sends but generated 30% of email revenue. Per send, automations earned 16 times more than scheduled campaigns.

7. Automated emails earn $2.87 per email, compared with $0.18 for campaigns

According to the same Omnisend data, revenue per email was $2.87 for automations versus $0.18 for campaigns in 2025. Automations are triggered by a customer’s own behavior, so they arrive when the customer is already interested.

8. Campaign emails averaged a 30.7% open rate, and automations 38%

Omnisend reports that campaign open rates averaged 30.7% in 2025, while automated emails reached 38%. Because of Apple Mail Privacy Protection, these open rates are inflated and are best used to compare one email against another rather than as a true measure of readership.

9. Click-to-conversion rates rose 53% to 9%

Omnisend found the share of email clicks that turned into orders rose from 5.9% to 9% in 2025, a 53% year-over-year increase. Better landing pages, faster checkout and more relevant automated messages all contribute to conversion after the click.

10. Automated flows average a 5.58% click rate, versus 1.69% for campaigns

Klaviyo’s 2026 email benchmarks show automated flows averaging a 5.58% click rate across industries, compared with 1.69% for one-off campaigns. Klaviyo also reports that flows have roughly 13 times the placed-order rate of campaigns.

11. Flow revenue per recipient is nearly 18 times higher than campaigns

According to Klaviyo’s 2026 benchmarks, revenue per recipient for flows is nearly 18 times that of campaigns, and the top 10% of flows earn $7.79 per recipient. Two independent datasets, Omnisend’s and Klaviyo’s, point to the same conclusion: set up automations before sending more newsletters.

Email marketing and AI statistics

12. 80% of marketers use AI for content creation

HubSpot’s 2026 State of Marketing Report finds 80% of marketers use AI for content creation. For email teams, that typically means drafting copy, subject-line variants and personalized versions; AI makes it practical for small teams to write segmented versions of the same email.

13. 29% of email marketers expected AI to be the biggest change in email

In Litmus’ State of Email 2025 survey of nearly 500 marketers in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and Ireland, 29% said advanced AI-driven content generation and analytics would be the biggest change in email marketing in 2025. Developing content efficiently (17%) was the top personalization challenge.

What do these email statistics mean for marketers?

Email is still one of the highest-return channels, but the rules have changed. Authentication and low complaint rates are now mandatory at Gmail and Outlook, opens are a noisy metric, and the money is concentrated in automated flows. A good 2026 email program starts with authentication and a welcome series, then adds abandoned-cart and post-purchase flows before scaling campaigns.

Sending from a custom domain is required for proper authentication. Find an available one with the domain name generator or the namechk domain checker, and see our marketing statistics for how email fits alongside other channels.

How we compiled these statistics

We used Litmus’ email client data and survey, Google’s and Microsoft’s published sender requirements, Omnisend’s and Klaviyo’s benchmark reports based on their customers’ sends, and HubSpot’s 2026 State of Marketing Report. Vendor benchmarks reflect their own customer bases (mainly e-commerce), so results vary by industry. Older benchmark figures from 2023 and earlier were removed. All data is as of October 2026.

FAQs

Sources

1. Litmus: Email Client Market Share (September 2026)
2. Litmus: The State of Email 2025
3. Google Workspace Admin Help: Email sender guidelines
4. Microsoft Tech Community: Outlook’s new requirements for high-volume senders
5. Omnisend: Email marketing statistics (January 30, 2026)
6. Klaviyo: 2026 email marketing benchmarks by industry
7. HubSpot: The 2026 State of Marketing Report