Key findings in our 2022 Essential Email Insights report - Out Now!

We have just released our second annual Essential Email Insights report, packed full of insights into industry data that you would not usually be able to access. The information in this report can be used to improve the effective ongoing management of your business communications. This report collected data from the many millions of essential business emails that Cumulo9 delivered from 01 January – to 31 December 2021. We analysed key metrics, the impact of Covid, different types of email, industry benchmarks, key verticals, and more. Let's look at some of the key insights found in this year's report.

Essential Email open rates have dropped

The average open rate for the year ending December 2021 is 60%, down from 65% in our last report. While still well above open rates for campaign emails, it is important to keep an eye on your Essential Email open rates. If you see a decline in open rates, consider mixing up your email's design and structure. Try focusing on writing compelling subject lines and sending from an authentic business email address that the recipient will recognise. 

Lockdown saw increased open email rates and decreased click rates

In this report, we took a look at the impact the Covid19 lockdowns had on Essential Email results. In our last report, we looked at the effects of the 2020 lockdown periods, and this time around we have analysed the impact the 2021 lockdowns had.

The open rate for successful deliveries during this lockdown period was 2% higher than the same period in 2020. On the other hand, click rates were 2% lower when compared to the same period in 2020. While the open rate increased, it appears recipients were less engaged with the emails they received during this time.

Campaign Emails have significantly lower open rates than Essential Emails

The average open rate for Essential Email through 2021 was 60%. For campaign email, the average open rate was just under 38%. This is the same average open rate as the year before (2020) for campaign emails in Australasia. The open rates for essential emails are almost double that of campaign emails.

Predictions for the future of Essential Emails

At the end of each report, we like to make a few predictions about what we expect to see next year based on the analysis from this report. One key prediction we're making is that we expect engagement with emails outside of work hours to grow. As more people are working from home and have settled into flexible working timetables, we believe that traditional email open times will blur as weekend and evening email activity increases.

Download the full report now

This is just a small snapshot of what you will find in this year's report. We hope this has given you a taste of just how in-depth this analysis is and where it could be helpful for your business. We are publishing this report now because we have had the opportunity to analyse our Essential Email insights data over a unique 12-month period and are happy to make this freely available to all – visit our Resources Page to download the full report now.

We pride ourselves on offering you the very best Essential Email service available, and a crucial part of that is looking at the metrics. If you have any questions about this year's report or would like some help transforming your digital communications please don't hesitate to contact our team.