RESEARCH REPORTThe path to email engagement in 2021
Uncovering how users interact with email to help
brands build meaningful connections.

We asked 2000 respondents around the world to tell us how they interact with their personal inboxes.
Take a look at the trends and discover key learnings to effectively optimize your email strategy in 2021.

Table of contents

Introduction..................................................................................................................... 3
1. Uncover the basics of personal email addresses.............................................................. 4
How many email addresses do people have?..................................................................................4
What are the top webmail clients used for personal email accounts?.......................................5
What email applications are people using to check emails?........................................................7
How much do people rely on Gmail Tabs?.......................................................................................9
Key learnings...........................................................................................................................................9
2. Uncover habits around checking email........................................................................... 10
How often do users check their personal inbox?......................................................................... 10
How often do users check email addresses dedicated to receiving promotional emails?.. 14
How often do users check Gmail’s Promotions tab?................................................................... 15
How often do people check the spam folder?.............................................................................. 16
What time of day do people usually check their emails?............................................................ 17
Key learnings........................................................................................................................................ 19
3. Uncover what gets emails opened and read................................................................... 20
How do people look at their inboxes?............................................................................................. 20
How many emails do users receive every day?............................................................................ 21
Why do people open emails?............................................................................................................ 22
Key learnings........................................................................................................................................ 24
4. Uncover subscribes and unsubscribes........................................................................... 25
How often do people want to hear from brands?......................................................................... 25
Why do people sign up to receive emails from a brand?............................................................ 27
How do people react to unsolicited emails?.................................................................................. 29
What are the top reasons for unsubscribing from a brand’s email program?........................ 31
Key learnings........................................................................................................................................ 32
5. Uncover email effieciency..............................................................................................33
How do people interact with common B2C emails?.................................................................... 33
When is SMS preferred over email?................................................................................................ 36
Key learnings........................................................................................................................................ 38
About this survey..........................................................................................................392

The path to email engagement in 2021 | Introduction

Introduction

In December 2020, we surveyed 2000 people around the world to understand how users interact with theirpersonal emails and what type of communications they prefer to receive from brands.
Their responses reveal a strong desire to connect with brands and the role email plays in building those powerful connections between brands and consumers, especially in the current climate. But the research also
exposes how cluttered personal inboxes are, underscoring the need for senders to really understand theseemail engagement habits and preferences in order to effectively utilize the power of email communications.
Over the past year, email has played a key role in helping brands stay in touch with customers throughout aperiod of unprecedented challenges and uncertainty. With an increase of emails in contacts’ inboxes, maintaining good email engagement levels requires careful monitoring and dedication.

“Now more than ever, senders need to be mindful ofpeople’s inboxes and to ensure they are sending emails theirsubscribers really want to receive. Understanding how users
interact with email, adapting their sending frequency, andensuring campaigns balance valuable offers with legitimate
customer benefits can help brands prevent email fatigue
and build stronger connections with their contacts.”
Kate Nowrouzi, VP of Deliverability at Pathwire.

Read the full report to discover what email engagement looks like in 2021 and how you can leverage thesefindings to optimize your email strategy.

3

The path to email engagement in 2021 | Uncover the basics of personal email addresses

PA R T 1

Uncover the basics
of personal email addresses
For B2C email senders, understanding how users interact with their personal inboxes is key to creating anddelivering effective emails. But before we even look into how people react to incoming messages, we need to
examine how customers build their own personal email accounts. How many email addresses do they have?
What devices do they normally use to check their emails
We asked respondents to tell us what their personal email experience looks like. Learn more about theirfavorite email clients and apps to improve their email experience.

How many email addresses do people have?
We asked respondents to share how many personal email addresses they have and if they have specific email
addresses for promotional messages.

Personal email addresses
72.5% of respondents claim to have more than one personal email address, and29.4% have three or more. Out of those with multiple personal email addresses, 31.7%
admit to having a dedicated address for promotional emails.

1

27.6%

2

43.1%

19.5%

3

4

4.9%

5 or more

5.0%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

Global - Respondents from United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Germany.

4

The path to email engagement in 2021 | Uncover the basics of personal email addresses

31.7% of respondents have a dedicated email address for promotional emails.

What are the top webmail clients used for personal email accounts?
We asked respondents to share which email client they use for their personal email addresses.

GlobalGmail has the largest market share for personal email addresses by far. 65.3% ofusers globally reported having a Gmail email account.

Gmail

65.3%

Outlook(Hotmail, MSN)

15.8%

Yahoo
(AOL, Verizon)

8.4%

Web.de

2.3%

GMX

2.3%

Orange

2.0%

SFR

0.6%

Comcast

0.3%

Other

3.2%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Global - Respondents from United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Germany.

5

The path to email engagement in 2021 | Uncover the basics of personal email addresses

GlobalGmail has the largest market share for personal email addresses by far. 65.3% ofusers globally reported having a Gmail email account.

USA

UK
Gmail

76.3%

Outlook(Hotmail,
MSN)
Yahoo
(AOL, Verizon)

Yahoo(AOL, Verizon)

6.5%

0.7%

Other

2.4%

58.9%

Outlook(Hotmail,
MSN)

15.8%

Comcast

Gmail

Other

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Germany

30.6%

7.4%

3.1%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

France

Gmail

52.9%

Gmail

55.7%

Web.de12.6%

Outlook(Hotmail,
MSN)

GMX

12.0%

Orange

9.1%

19.7%

Outlook(Hotmail,
MSN)

8.6%

Yahoo
(AOL, Verizon)

5.7%

Yahoo
(AOL, Verizon)

7.7%

SFR

3.4%

Other

6.3%

GMX

1.1%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Other

Spain

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Gmail

74.6%

Outlook(Hotmail,
MSN)

20.0%

Yahoo
(AOL, Verizon)

2.9%

Orange

1.4%

Other

1.1%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

6

5.2%

The path to email engagement in 2021 | Uncover the basics of personal email addresses

What email applications are people using to check emails?
We asked respondents to share which email apps and devices they used to check their personal emails.

Global
52.5% of respondents use the Gmail mobile app to check their emails. This was themost popular choice for respondents across all countries surveyed.

Gmail
mobile app

52.2%

Via browser
on mobile

37.7%

Via browser
on desktop

34.4%

Outlookmobile app

10.7%

Apple Mailon mobile

9.3%

Outlookdesktop app

7.6%

Yahoo
mobile app

5.0%Apple Mail
desktop app

4.0%

Other

2.7%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Global - Respondents from United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Germany.

7

The path to email engagement in 2021 | Uncover the basics of personal email addresses

By country
Gmail mobile app was also the first choice across all countries surveyed. The Gmail
mobile app is most popular in the United States and Spain – 62.8% of American
respondents and 59.4% of Spanish respondents use it to check their emails.

65.8%
45.4%

Gmail
mobile app

47.1%
59.4%
40.0%

40.2%
39.7%

Via browser
on mobile

36.9%
40.9%
28.9%

36.5%
39.1%

Via browser
on desktop

29.4%
27.4%
37.7%

5.8%
18.3%

Outlookmobile app

10.6%
12.9%
9.1%

7.5%
13.4%

Apple Mailon mobile

10.0%
6.9%
10.0%
3.8%
11.1%

Outlookdesktop app

9.1%
8.3%
8.0%

8.0%
4.3%

Yahoo
mobile app

4.0%
2.0%
4.3%

3.2%
5.1%

Apple Mail
desktop app

3.7%
2.3%
6.0%

1.3%
1.7%

Other

3.4%
1.7%
6.0%

0%

USA

8

10%

UK

20%

30%

France

40%

50%

Spain

60%

Germany

The path to email engagement in 2021 | Uncover the basics of personal email addresses

How much do people rely on Gmail Tabs?
Nearly two-thirds of respondents have a Gmail account for their personal email. We asked these respondents
whether they had the Gmail Tabs feature active.
Gmail Tabs adoption
With 65.3% of people reporting that they use Gmail for their personal email address, senders need to consider
the adoption of the Gmail Tabs feature. However, only 53.3% of people with Gmail accounts use the Gmail
Tabs feature to sort their incoming email...

53.3% of Gmail users have Gmail Tabs active on their accounts.

Key learnings
These takeaways will help you create better emails to improve the user experience across different providers and devices:• It’s not unlikely for people to have more than one personal email address. In fact, 72.4% have two or
more, and 31.7% of respondents admit to having a dedicated email address for promotional messages.
• Gmail is the most popular webmail provider overall (65.3%), and this is consistent across all the countries surveyed. Out of those with Gmail accounts, only about half (53.3%) use the Gmail Tabs feature.
• In the United States, Yahoo is the second option for personal emails, while in Europe, Outlook is a more
popular choice.
• Mobile is still the most popular way to check personal emails. Most people use email apps or thebrowser on their mobile devices to check their messages. But with more people staying at home thisyear because of COVID, it’s not surprising to see many respondents saying they check their personal
email on desktop too, especially through the browser.

Learn more about sending emails for different email clients and devices:
Guide: How to create responsive email templates
The science and art of Gmail deliverability
Inbox Preview: Send perfectly displayed emails for better results

9

The path to email engagement in 2021 | Uncover habits around checking email

PA R T 2

Uncover habitsaround checking email
Creating the perfect email means nothing if it’s not getting opened. For a long time, email senders have tried
to decipher the perfect time to send an email. We asked respondents to share their habits around checking
email, including how often they interact with their personal inbox and spam folders and at what times throughout the day they normally check their emails.
Learn more about when and how often people check their email to optimize your sending.

How often do users check their personal inbox?
We asked respondents to share how often they interacted with their personal inboxes throughout the day.

GlobalOverall, 84.3% of respondents check their email at least once a day. In fact, 63.3%
check their personal inboxes more than once, with 25.4% interacting with theirpersonal email five times a day or more.

More than 5 times a day

25.4%

2-5 times a day

37.9%

21.0%

Once a day

8.1%

A couples of times a week

4.8%

Once a week

2.9

Once a month
0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

Global - Respondents from United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Germany.

10

The path to email engagement in 2021 | Uncover habits around checking email

63.3%

25.4%

of respondents check their emailsof respondents check their emails

at least twice a day

more than five times a day.

By country
The number of times people check their personal email throughout the day varies
very little across different countries. In European countries, it is slightly morecommon to check emails only once a day, especially in Germany.

26.8%
25.7%

More than 5 times a day

25.1%
26.0%
22.3%

41.0%
39.7%

2-5 times a day

35.1%
39.4%
31.7%

17.7%
19.1%

Once a day

19.1%
23.4%
28.0%

7.3%
10.6%

A couple times a week

8.3%
5.4%
9.1%

5.7%
3.1%

Once a week

7.7%
2.0%
4.9%
1.5%
1.7%

Once a month

4.6%
3.7%
4.0%

0%

USA

11

10%

UK

20%

30%

France

40%

50%

Spain

Germany

The path to email engagement in 2021 | Uncover habits around checking email

By age group
People in their 50s and 60s check their email more often than those under 40.

37.5%
12.4%
3.1%

Once a month

1.4%
1.4%
1.6%
0.0%

6.3%
9.0%
7.2%

Once a week

3.6%
3.3%
3.3%
1.0%

12.5%
11.0%
11.2%

A couple times a week

16.9%
6.3%
4.3%
6.2%

12.5%
29.0%
24.3%

Once a day

19.7%
18.1%
15.2%
21.6%

25.0%
29.0%
34.2%

2-5 times a day

39.3%
38.4%
47.3%
44.3%

6.3%
9.7%
20.0%

More than 5 times a day

29.0%
32.6%
28.3%
26.8%

0%

17 or younger

12

18-19

10%

20-09

20%

30%

30-39

40%

50%

40-49

50-59

60 or older

The path to email engagement in 2021 | Uncover habits around checking email

By marital status
Married people interact with their personal inboxes more than single users.

4.2%

Once a month
2.1%

6.4%

Once a week
3.5%

9.2%

A couple times a week
7.0%

22.8%

Once a day
19.2%

34.4%

2-5 times a day
41.5%

23.0%

More than 5 times a day
26.8%

0%

10%

20%

Single/never married

30%

40%

50%

Married/domestic partnership

By gender
Differences in email habits between male, female, and non-binary users are almost
non-existent, both in how often they check emails and at what times they interact
with their inboxes..

Differences in email habits based on gender are almost non-existent.

13

The path to email engagement in 2021 | Uncover habits around checking email

How often do users check email addresses dedicated to receiving
promotional emails?
Nearly a third of all respondents have a dedicated email address for promotional emails. We asked them toshare how often they interact with this inbox

Frequency
31.7% of respondents have a specific email address dedicated to receiving

1+61+2486F

promotional emails, but they still check it frequently. 85.1% of users interact with thisinbox once a week and up to 60.9% check these emails daily.
6.1%
Rarely8.2%
Once a month

24.2%
Once a week

0.6%
Never

60.9%
Daily

Global - Respondents from United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Germany.

31.7%
of respondents have a dedicated email address for promotional emails.

14

The path to email engagement in 2021 | Uncover habits around checking email

How often do users check Gmail’s Promotions tab?
Gmail is the top provider worldwide, and around half of Gmail users have the tab feature active on theiraccount. We asked these respondents how often they check the Promotions tab.

Frequency
53.3% of people with Gmail accounts use the Gmail Tabs feature. Out of those, 79.7%

3+51+29107F

check the Promotions tab at least once a week, and 51% do this daily.

7.5%
Rarely10.2%
Once a month

28.7%
Once a week

2.7%
Never

51.0%
Daily

Global - Respondents from United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Germany.

53.3%
of Gmail users have Gmail Tabs active on their accounts

15

The path to email engagement in 2021 | Uncover habits around checking email

How often do people check the spam folder?
No matter how hard we try, some emails might end up in spam. That’s why we ask people to share how often
they check this folder.

Frequency
Overall, people check their spam folder more than you might expect. 67.5% of users

37+30+11184F

check it at least once a week, and up to 37.3% interact with spam email once a day.

3.8%
Never

17.5%
Rarely11.4%
Once a month

37.3%
Once a day

30.2%
Once a week

Global - Respondents from United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Germany.

37.3%
of respondents check their spam folder once a day.

16

The path to email engagement in 2021 | Uncover habits around checking email

What time of day do people usually check their emails?
We asked respondents to tell us at what points throughout their day they usually interact with theirpersonal email.

GlobalThere’s no one right time to send B2C emails. Although the morning is the mostpopular time to check email, most people interact with their personal inboxes
throughout the day. These habits vary very little across different demographics.

When I wake up

27.2%

In the morning

42.5%

Around lunchtime

31.1%

In the afternoon

32.3%

34.3%

In the evening

19.4%

Before I go to bed

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

Global - Respondents from United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Germany.

Most people interact with their personal inboxes throughout the day.

17

The path to email engagement in 2021 | Uncover habits around checking email

By country
By country, the morning and the evening are the most common times for users to check their personal
emails. If you’re sending to Spain, though, you might want to avoid the evening, as only 12.3% of
respondents admitted to interacting with their inboxes at that time.

33.3%
30.9%

When I wake up

30.6%
18.3%
18.6%

44.8%
41.4%

In the morning

41.7%
44.9%
37.7%

35.7%
34.3%

Around lunchtime

23.4%
22.6%
36.3%

32.8%
27.4%

In the afternoon

35.7%
31.4%
33.7%

36.0%
35.4%

In the evening

44.0%
12.3%
42.3%

24.8%
15.1%

Before I go to bed

16.6%
22.3%
14.0%

0%

USA

18

10%

UK

20%

30%

France

40%

50%

Spain

Germany

The path to email engagement in 2021 | Uncover habits around checking email

Key learnings
These are the main insights to remember when thinking about your email sending frequency and sendingtime:• People check their emails multiple times a day: 63% of people check their personal email more thanonce a day, and up to 25% interact with it more than five times a day. Of those who have a dedicatedemail address for promotional emails, 60.9% check it once a day.
• While we never want our messages to land in the spam folder, it’s interesting to see that users checkit more often than we might think: 67.5% check their spam emails at least once a week, and 37.3% doit once a day. Checking the Promotions tab on Gmail is even more common – 79.7% of people using
Gmail tabs feature check the Promotions tab at least once a week, and 51% do this daily.
• The morning is the most popular time for users to check their personal emails, but there really isn’t one
right time to send B2C emails as most users interact with their inboxes throughout the day. In Spain,
however, there is a notable drop in the evening compared to other markets.
• There are no significant differences in the way male, female, and non-binary users interact with theirinboxes, so gender is not a factor worth considering when trying to find the best time to send emails.

Learn more about finding the right time to send your emails:
The best time to send emails: Cracking the code
Send Time Optimization: Automatically send emails at the right time

19

The path to email engagement in 2021 | Uncover what gets emails opened and read

PA R T 3

Uncover what gets emails
opened and read
Email is one of the most popular ways to build relationships with customers. But for email to be effective, itneeds to be opened and read. We asked respondents to share how they look at their inboxes, how clutteredthese really are, and what drives them to open an email.
Discover how people interact with their personal email and what matters when it comes to getting yourmessages opened and read.

How do people look at their inboxes?
We asked respondents how they typically look at their inbox to help determine what message would be more
likely to get their attention.

Inbox scanning methods
More than half of respondents (53.4%) claim they look at their inbox from
top to bottom (newest to oldest). These habits vary very little acrossdifferent demographics.

I scan the inbox from bottom
to top (oldest to newest)

22.9%

I scan the inbox from top
to bottom (newest to oldest)

53.4%

I scan for sender names I know
and read those first

14.9%

I scan the subject lines
for topics that interest me

8.8%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Global - Respondents from United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Germany.

20

The path to email engagement in 2021 | Uncover what gets emails opened and read

53.4% of respondents scan their inbox from top to bottom.

How many emails do users receive every day?
We asked respondents how many emails they usually received in their main personal email throughout the day.

By country
Inboxes in the United States are more cluttered, with 19% of Americans receiving 50+ emails a day.
In European countries, people are more likely to receive up to 20 emails a day.

19.8%
33.1%

0-10

33.1%
39.4%
37.4%

36.0%
41.7%

10-20

34.3%
33.4%
38.6%

25.2%
17.4%

20-50

20.3%
23.1%
17.1%

11.7%
4.9%

50-100

8.6%
2.3%
5.7%

7.3%
2.9%

100+

3.7%
1.7%
1.1%

0%

USA

21

10%

UK

20%

30%

France

40%

50%

Spain

Germany

The path to email engagement in 2021 | Uncover what gets emails opened and read

19.0% of American respondents receive over 50 emails a day

Why do people open emails?
With so many emails, we wanted to know what drives users to open messages. We asked respondents toshare what they care about the most when deciding whether or not to open an email.
Main reasons
Inboxes in the United States are more cluttered, with 19% of Americans receiving 50+ emails a day. Recognizing the sender is the most important factor in determining whether or not a recipient opens an email. 88.7%
of respondents say this is “somewhat important” or “very important” for them. Having time to read the email
was the second most important factor.

22

88.7%

86.4%

of respondents say recognizing the sender isof respondents say having time to read an

an important factor in determining whether

email is an important factor in determining

to open an email.

whether to open it.

The path to email engagement in 2021 | Uncover what gets emails opened and read

Types of content
When it comes to the email content, a subject line that suggests the message ispersonalized to the recipient’s interests matters more than discount codes or sales.

9.2%

The subject line promises a
discount

9.8%
42.7%
38.4%

11.7%

The email includes
a time-sensitive offer

11.3%
44.2%
32.9%

8.8%

The content seems
personalized to my interests

7.9%
39.7%
43.6%

0%

I don't care

10%

20%

Not important

30%

40%

50%

Somewhat Important

Very Important

Global - Respondents from United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Germany.

Generational differences
People over the age of 60 are not as motivated by discounts and time-sensitive offers as thosein younger generations.

23

37.1%

38.2%

of respondents over 60 say thatof respondents over 60 say thatspecial offers are not important intime‑sensitive offers are not important indetermining whether to open an email.

determining whether to open an email.

The path to email engagement in 2021 | Uncover what gets emails opened and read

Key learnings
These takeaways will help you understand how users interact with their inboxes so you can increase yourchances of getting your emails opened:• Most people (53.4%) scan their inboxes from top to bottom when checking email, looking at newer
emails first. This method was the most popular one across all the countries surveyed.
• However, the number of emails received daily varied significantly across regions. Inboxes in the UnitedStates are more cluttered than they are in Europe. Nearly 20% of Americans receive 50+ emails a day,while in European countries, people are more likely to receive up to 20 emails a day.
• The most important factor in determining whether an email gets opened or not is recognizing thesender. 88.7% of respondents said this was “somewhat important” or “very important”. People alsoprefer personalized content over special deals or offers.

Learn more about finding the right time to send your emails:
What is BIMI? More than a funny nameWhat is a good open rate and how to improve it
Dynamic content blocks to level up your email personalization

24

The path to email engagement in 2021 | Uncover subscribes and unsubscribes

PA R T 4

Uncover subscribes and unsubscribes

Building and maintaining an engaged list of contacts is hard, and sometimes senders are tempted to rent orpurchase email databases to do so. However, these types of practices put your deliverability at risk and are
not effective in generating engagement and driving conversions. We asked respondents to share what motivates them to join and, conversely, opt out from an email list to help you grow yours organically.
Find out what drives people to subscribe and unsubscribe so you can build and maintain an engaged
email list.

How often do people want to hear from brands?
We asked respondents how often and through what channels they want to hear from the brands they love tohelp you build an effective email strategy..

Frequency
78.5% of respondents want to hear from the brands they love at least once a week, and22+30+27912F

51.9% of them actually prefer receiving brand communications more than once a week.

12.3%
Monthly

9.3%
Twice a month

26.6%
Once a week

21.6%
Daily

30.3%
A couple times a week

Global - Respondents from United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Germany.

25

The path to email engagement in 2021 | Uncover subscribes and unsubscribes

78.5%

51.9%

of respondents want to hear from brandsof respondents want to hear from brands

at least once a week.

more than once a week.

Preferred channels to hear from brands
People typically prefer going straight to a brand’s site, connecting through social, or
receiving an email to hear from the brands they love.

Going directly to the website

57.9%

Through social media

50.8%

Via email, by subscribing
to their newsletters

42.0%

25.3%

Through internet ads

20.0%

Via text message/SMS
Via in-person activities likein-store advertising or events

15.6%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Global - Respondents from United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Germany.

26

The path to email engagement in 2021 | Uncover subscribes and unsubscribes

Why do people sign up to receive emails from a brand?
We asked respondents what motivated them to sign up to receive email communications from a brand andwhat they liked the most about these messages.

Driving subscriptions
The majority of people sign up for emails in order to get special offers. 56.4% of
respondents say they subscribe to regularly receive special offers, and 52.5% sign up
to newsletters to receive a one-off discount.

To regularly receive
special offers

56.4%

To get a one-off discount

52.5%

To hear about the latest updates(launches, news, and products)

38.8%

To get personalizedrecommandations

20.1%

To receive new articles, blog
posts, and educational content

16.9%

2.1%

Other

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Global - Respondents from United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Germany.

27

56.4%

52.5%

of respondents sign up for emails to receive

sign up to for emails to receive a

special offers.

one-off discount.

The path to email engagement in 2021 | Uncover subscribes and unsubscribes

By country
In France, getting a one-off discount is the most popular choice – 52.9% of respondents say they sign up for
emails for this reason. For 48.3% of Spanish respondents, hearing about a brand’s latest updates is also amain driver when it comes to subscribing to a newsletter.

60.8%
58.3%

To regularly receive
special offers

48.6%
52.6%
58.3%

53.2%
54.0%

To get a one-off discount

52.9%
50.6%
51.4%

40.0%
38.8%

To hear about the latest updates(launches, news, and products)

31.1%
48.3%
35.1%

23.7%
18.6%

To get personalizedrecommandations

14.0%
19.1%
22.6%

20.5%
16.0%

To receive new articles, blog
posts, and educational content

11.7%
14.3%
19.4%

1.5%
1.1%

Other

2.9%
2.6%
2.0%

0%

USA

28

10%

UK

20%

30%

France

40%

50%

Spain

60%

Germany

The path to email engagement in 2021 | Uncover subscribes and unsubscribes

Favorite email content
Valuable email content like deals, personalized recommendations, or useful information matters more topeople than the design of the email itself or the tone of voice used in the copy.

What do people value the most in brand emails?
1. Deals and special offers
2. Personalized recommendations
3. Useful content (posts, videos, infographics)
4. The tone of the email/brand personality
5. Design of email
Global - Respondents from United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Germany.

How do people react to unsolicited emails?
We asked respondents what they do when they get an unsolicited promotional email from a brand.

Global
57.1% of people unsubscribe or mark a message as spam when they receive an

41+32+252F

unsolicited promotional email from a company, while 40.5% just ignore it.

2.4%
I file a complaint with the dataprotection agency
25.2%
I mark it as spam

31.9
I unsubscribe

40.5%
I ignore it

Global - Respondents from United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Germany.

29

The path to email engagement in 2021 | Uncover subscribes and unsubscribes

57.1%
of respondents unsubscribe or mark unsolicited emails as spam.

By country
The French are 27.5% more likely to just ignore an email they didn’t sign up for than others,
while Americans are 33% more likely to mark as spam.

36%
41.1%

I ignore it

49.7%
39.1%
39.7%

31.0%
31.7%

I unsubscribe

31.4%
34.0%
32.0%

30.5%
25.4%

I mark it as spam

16.9%
23.4%
26%

2.5%
1.7%

I file a complaint with the dataprotection agency

2.0%
3.4%
2.3%

0%

USA

30

10%

UK

20%

30%

France

40%

50%

Spain

Germany

The path to email engagement in 2021 | Uncover subscribes and unsubscribes

What are the top reasons for unsubscribing from a brand’s email program?
We asked respondents to rank how important different factors are in determining whether to unsubscribefrom an email program they previously signed up for.
Main reasons
For 54.9% of respondents, an unrecognizable sender name is a very important factor in their decision
to unsubscribe from a brand’s email list, while 53.8% also rank irrelevant content as a very important reason
to opt out.

54.9%
of respondents say an unrecognizable sender name is a very important factor in their decision to
unsubscribe from a brand’s email list.

53.8%
of respondents say irrelevant content is a very important factor in their decision to unsubscribe froma brand’s email list.

31

The path to email engagement in 2021 | Uncover subscribes and unsubscribes

Key learnings
These are the main insights to keep in mind when creating a strategy to build and maintain an engaged
email list:• 78.5% of people want to hear from the brands they love at least once a week, while 25.4% prefer to hearfrom them twice a week or more. Their favorite ways to stay in touch with brands are by going straightto their site, connecting through social, or receiving an email from them.
• Even though discount codes matter less to whether or not an email gets opened, the majority of people
are still signing up for emails in order to get special offers. Over 50% of respondents say they subscribe
to an email list to get regular or one-off discounts.
• 57.1% of respondents will either unsubscribe or mark as spam unsolicited promotional emails theyreceive. However, two fifths of people (40.5%) will just ignore it. Americans are more likely to mark thesemessages as spam, while French people are more likely to ignore them.
• A sender name they don’t recognize and irrelevant content are the two most important factors in people’s decision to unsubscribe from an email list.

Learn more about finding the right time to send your emails:
How to build an email list the right way
Ideas to increase your email list
Unsubscribe link: Why you need it in your marketing emails

32

The path to email engagement in 2021 | Uncover email effieciency

PA R T 5

Uncover email effieciency

Email is the best performing marketing channel, with an ROI of $35 for every $1 spent in 2020 according to the
DMA. But not all campaigns generate the same interest or are as effective in driving conversions and improving the customer experience. We asked respondents to think about some common B2C campaigns and tell
us how they had interacted with them in the past. We also asked them to consider situations when they would
prefer an SMS message over an email.
Discover how people claim they interact with common B2C email campaigns and when they prefer SMS
over email to increase the performance of your brand communications.

How do people interact with common B2C emails?
We asked respondents what they do when they receive discount emails, birthday messages, personalized
emails, or abandoned cart reminders.
Common B2C emails
Discount emails are less likely to be ignored. Up to 50.2% of respondents say they would click-through to learn
more about the offer or use the promo code, while only 21.1% of respondents would do the same thing withabandoned cart emails..

50.2%
of respondents say they would click-through to learn more about the offer or use the promo code
on a discount email..

33

The path to email engagement in 2021 | Uncover email effieciency

Discount emails
This is what respondents say they did when they received discount emails
from brands.

I read it and clicked a link to see
more or use the promo code

50.2%

I read it and saved it for later

38.8%

I opened it but didn't read it or
click anything

8.1%

I didn't open it - I ignored it ordeleted it

3.0%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

Global - Respondents from United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Germany.

Birthday emails
This is what respondents say they did when they received birthday emails
from brands.

I read it and clicked a link to see
more or use the promo code

44.1%

I read it and saved it for later

43.0%

I opened it but didn't read it or
click anything

9.4%

I didn't open it - I ignored it ordeleted it

3.6%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

Global - Respondents from United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Germany.

34

The path to email engagement in 2021 | Uncover email effieciency

Personalized emails
This is what respondents say they did when they received personalized emails
from brands.

I read it and clicked a link to see
more or use the promo code

32.5%

I read it and saved it for later

42.9%

I opened it but didn't read it or
click anything

16.7%

I didn't open it - I ignored it ordeleted it

7.9%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

Global - Respondents from United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Germany.

Abandoned cart emails
This is what respondents say they did when they received abandoned cart emails
from brands.

I read it and clicked a link to see
more or use the promo code

21.1%

I read it and saved it for later

29.1%

I opened it but didn't read it or
click anything

22.0%

I didn't open it - I ignored it ordeleted it

27.8%

0%

10%

20%

30%

Global - Respondents from United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Germany.

35

The path to email engagement in 2021 | Uncover email effieciency

When is SMS preferred over email?
We asked respondents when they would prefer to receive a text message instead of an email for different
types of notifications from brands.

Global
48.2% of people would prefer to receive shipment notifications by text instead ofemail and 36.9% would prefer them over appointment reminder emails. However,email is still the preferred channel for all these brand notifications.

Shipping and delivery
notifications

48.2%

Appointment reminders

36.9%

27.0%

Promotions and special deals
2FA, authentification or
password resets

18.3%

8.9%

New articles or blog posts

0.4%

Other

25.6%

None of the above, I prefer email

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

Global - Respondents from United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Germany.

Email is still preferred over SMS for all types of brand communications.

36

The path to email engagement in 2021 | Uncover email effieciency

By country
SMS is the preferred choice for shipping and delivery notifications in the United States and the United
Kingdom – 53.8% of American respondents and 51.7% of British respondents say they prefer to receive atext message over an email for this type of alerts. In France, Germany, and Spain, email is preferred over
SMS for all brand communications.

53.8%
51.7%

Shipping and delivery
notifications

46.9%
39.1%
45.1%

45.7%
36.6%

Appointment reminders

39.7%
23.1%
33.1%

32.5%
28.0%

Promotions and special deals

26.9%
24.3%
19.4%

20.7%
20%

2FA, authentification or
password resets

19.7%
14.3%
14.9%

10.2%
9.7%

New articles or blog posts

6.3%
6.9%
10.6%

0.5%

Other

0.9%

0.3%

23.7%
21.7%

None of the above, I prefer email

14.9%
37.4%
31.4%

0%

USA

37

10%

UK

20%

30%

France

40%

50%

Spain

60%

Germany

The path to email engagement in 2021 | Uncover email effieciency

Key learnings
These takeaways will help you understand how users interact with different types of emails and improve yourcustomer experience:• Among several types of emails, those with discounts were the least likely to be ignored or deleted without getting opened. Abandoned cart emails seem to drive the least engagement, but 21.1% of respondents still claimed they would click through to see more or use the promo code.
• While SMS is gaining ground, email still reigns supreme. Shipping and delivery notifications (48.2%) andappointment reminders (36.9%) are the most popular messages people would prefer to receive via SMS,
but 25.6% of respondents still prefer emails over SMS in all these cases.

Learn more about improving email efficacy:
10 email campaigns every company should start with
3 ways transactional SMS will take your email even further
Guide: Email marketing for ecommerce

38

The path to email engagement in 2021 | About this survey

About this survey

In December 2020, Pathwire surveyed 2000 people around the world to understand how users interact
with their personal email inbox. The survey included 30% of respondents from the United States
and 70% of respondents evenly distributed across four European countries: United Kingdom, France,
Spain, and Germany.

Demographic breakdown
Below is the breakdown of respondents based on their gender, age, marital status, and employment status.

1+40+581F
Gender0.9%
Non-binary

58.4%
Female0.7%
Prefer not to answer

40.1%
Male

Global - Respondents from United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Germany.

39

The path to email engagement in 2021 | About this survey

1+7+28321895F
Age

4.9%
60 or older

9.2%
50-59 years

18.3%
40-49 years

31.9%
30-39 years

0.8%
17 or younger

7.3%
18-19 years

27.8
20-29 years

Global - Respondents from United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Germany.

1+38+5362F
Marital status

1.7%
Widowed

6.1%
Divorced

53.0%
Married/domestic partnership

1.1%
Prefer not to answer

38.2%
Single/never married

Global - Respondents from United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Germany.

40

The path to email engagement in 2021 | About this survey

5+9+35112785F
Employment status

5.2%
Not employed, not looking
for work
7.9%
Not emplyed, looking for work

7.1%
Self-employed

12.2%
Employed part-time

5.1%
Retired

9.3%
Student

2.6
Other

50.6
Employment full-time

Global - Respondents from United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Germany.

41

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