19 Fascinating Email Facts

Open rates, spam, and the best day to send a message

Business woman are sending email marketing by digital smart phone

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Email has become the default mode of communication for business and personal use alike. The following facts and statistics reveal the details of how people use email.

Fascinating Email Facts and Statistics

Statistics, extrapolations, and counts by the Radicati Group found the following:

  • More than half of the world population used email in 2019.
  • The number of worldwide email users is expected to grow to more than 4.3 billion by the end of 2023.
  • The total number of business and consumer emails sent and received per day exceeded 293 billion in 2019 and is forecast to grow to more than 347 billion by the end of 2023.

According to Statista, the most popular email client is Apple iPhone, followed closely by Gmail.

Most popular email clients as of March 2019

DMR has curated these other tidbits about email:​

  • The first email system was developed in 1971.
  • Each day, the average office worker receives 121 emails (as of 2015).
  • The click-through rate for email sent in North America is 3.1% (as of 2017).
  • The average click-through rate on desktop computers is 13.3% and, on mobile devices, it's 12.7% (as of 2017).
  • The average amount of overall emails opened on desktop computers is 16%, on mobile devices is 55.6%, and on webmail is 28% (as of 2017).
  • The open rate increases by 17% when the subject line is personalized (as of 2018).
  • Forty-two percent of Americans admit to checking email in the bathroom, and 50% do so while in bed (as of 2015).
  • The average open rate for retail emails is 20.96%, and for political emails is 22.23% (as of 2015).
  • The top spam content category in 2017 was healthcare, followed by malware.
  • The top reason U.S. internet users unsubscribe from email lists is, "I get too many emails in general" (as of 2017).

99Firms has its own curated list that includes the following facts, current as of 2019:

  • Despite the rise of social messaging apps, 78% of teenagers use email.
  • A majority (62.86%) of business professionals prefer email to communicate for business purposes.
  • Ninety percent of workers check their personal email at least every few hours.
  • Email click rates increase by up to 300% if a video is included.
  • The best times to send email are between 10:00 a.m. and 11 a.m.
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