Email Open Rate

KPI Name

Email Open Rate

Alternative Names

Email Read Rate

KPI Description

Measures the percentage of recipients who open an email from a campaign.

Category

Marketing

KPI Type

Quantitative, Lagging

Target Audience

Email Marketers, Digital Marketers, Business Owners

Formula

Email Open Rate = (Emails Opened ÷ Emails Sent) × 100

Calculation Example

If 2,000 emails were sent and 400 were opened, Open Rate = (400 ÷ 2,000) × 100 = 20%

Data Source

Email marketing platforms (Mailchimp, HubSpot, ActiveCampaign)

Tracking Frequency

Weekly, Monthly

Optimal Value

Higher open rates indicate successful email subject lines and audience interest.

Minimum Acceptable Value

A low open rate suggests weak subject lines or poor email list quality.

Benchmark

Industry benchmarks: B2B ~20-30%, E-commerce ~15-25%, SaaS ~25-40%

Recommended Chart Type

Bar chart (to compare campaign performance), Line chart (to track trends)

How It Appears in Reports

Displayed in email marketing analytics to evaluate campaign effectiveness.

Why Is This KPI Important?

Indicates how many recipients find the email valuable enough to open.

Typical Problems and Limitations

Does not measure actual engagement or conversions from the email.

Actions for Poor Results

Test different subject lines, improve email segmentation, personalize email content.

Related KPIs

Email Click-Through Rate (CTR), Conversion Rate, Lead-to-Customer Ratio

Real-Life Examples

An e-commerce store increased email open rates by 35% by using personalized subject lines.

Most Common Mistakes

Focusing only on open rate without optimizing email content for conversions.