Email Remains a High-Value Marketing Channel as AI, Personalization and Automation Reshape Campaigns

Email may be one of digital marketing’s oldest tools, but recent data shows it remains one of the most dependable. With an estimated 4.48 billion email users worldwide and continued growth expected, businesses are still investing heavily in email campaigns to reach customers directly, support sales and strengthen long-term relationships.

The channel’s staying power is especially clear among businesses and marketers. About 81% of companies use email as part of their marketing strategy, while 64% of small businesses rely on it to communicate with customers, promote products and build loyalty. For many marketers, email remains a central part of the mix, with nearly 90% planning to either maintain or increase their spending on campaigns.

Performance metrics continue to support that investment. The average email marketing campaign has an open rate of 36.5%, while the average click-through rate is 1.4%. Some sectors perform significantly better than others, with faith-based organizations, child care services, nonprofits, education and other community-focused categories seeing some of the strongest engagement.

Personalization is one of the biggest drivers of improved performance. Emails tailored to individual recipients can increase open rates by 26%, and personalized email content has been linked to transaction rates six times higher than generic messaging. Consumers also appear increasingly receptive to personalization, with many willing to share data in exchange for more relevant brand experiences.

Email also remains influential in consumer buying behavior. More than half of consumers say marketing emails affect their purchase decisions, and half report buying from a marketing email at least once a month. Email is also reported to outperform social media as a purchase driver, with consumers three times more likely to buy from email marketing than from social promotions.

Automated campaigns are becoming especially valuable for e-commerce and consumer brands. Abandoned cart emails have an average open rate of 50.5%, outperforming standard email campaigns. Automated flows such as cart reminders and post-purchase messages can generate far more revenue per recipient than broad, one-size-fits-all sends because they are tied to specific customer actions.

The return on investment remains one of email marketing’s strongest selling points. On average, email marketing generates about $36 for every $1 spent. Global email marketing revenue was estimated at $12.33 billion in 2024, with industries such as marketing, public relations, advertising, retail, e-commerce and consumer goods seeing some of the highest returns.

Mobile usage continues to shape campaign design. About 41% of email views come from mobile devices, slightly ahead of desktop. Older data also shows a strong preference for mobile email access, particularly among younger consumers, reinforcing the need for responsive design, concise copy and mobile-friendly calls to action.

Artificial intelligence is also becoming a larger part of email strategy. Nearly half of surveyed email marketers say they use AI when creating campaigns, and many use it for content generation, personalization, retargeting and subject line optimization. Looking ahead, 45% of email marketers expect AI to play a central role across email marketing.

Security is another growing concern. With phishing attacks continuing to affect consumers and businesses, email authentication tools such as SPF, DKIM and DMARC have become more important for protecting brand reputation and reducing the risk of spoofed or fraudulent messages.

Overall, the data points to an email marketing environment that is more targeted, automated and technology-driven than in the past. Businesses that combine strong content, personalization, mobile optimization, automation and security are better positioned to turn email from a routine communications tool into a measurable revenue channel.

Source: Forbes