Email marketing benchmarks: What good looks like in 2026

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1. A high open rate can look impressive on the surface, but it doesn’t always point to stronger email performance. Wedding brands had the highest open rate at 52.43%, yet their conversion rate was only 0.04%. Games had a lower open rate at 36.85%, but a much higher conversion rate of 0.19%. “That gap is why open rate should only be the starting point. Clicks and conversions give the stronger read on campaign performance.” Email click rate benchmarks by industry

   In Outbound email analytics

2. CTR has become a clearer engagement signal since Apple MPP changed the way open tracking works. Every click indicates that a subscriber clicked a link, button, product, or offer within the email. “CTR tells you how many delivered emails led to a click. Click-to-open rate, or CTOR, narrows the view to opened emails and shows how well the message encouraged action.” Industry CTR CTOR Internet 1.40% 6.98% Business & Industrial 1.47% 5.12% Finance 0.99% 4.89% Computers 0.97% 4.16% Consumer Electronics 0.99% 3.84% Arts & Entertainment 1.35% 3.95% Toys & Hobbies 1.13% 3.70% People & Society 1.12% 3.55% Science 1.04% 3.55% Smoking & Vaping 0.67% 3.45% Autos & Vehicles 0.99% 3.22% Food & Drink 0.96% 3.19% Sports 0.99% 3.22% Books & Literature 0.90% 3.21% Games 1.13% 3.05% Home & Garden 0.87% 2.85% Health 0.79% 2.77% Apparel 0.86% 2.76% Adult 0.87% 2.76% Travel 1.21% 2.70% Gifts & Special Events 0.78% 2.68% Pets & Animals 0.78% 2.60% Holidays & Seasonal 1.17% 2.46% Beauty & Fitness 0.72% 2.45% Jobs & Education 0.58% 1.47% Wedding 0.77% 1.47% Overall 0.88% 2.91%

   In Outbound email analytics

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