Observed Signal · Apr 21, 2026 · Survey · Source: https://marketingtechnews.net/feed/ · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Neutral
Mailgun Survey Finds Email ROI Hard to Measure
A Mailgun survey of ~1,200 email senders finds email remains central to organisations (78%), but many struggle to measure its ROI accurately. Less than half of respondents can measure the ROI of promotional or transactional emails; among those who do, 60–62% report tenfold returns while about 13% report the commonly cited $40-per-$1 returns. Companies vary widely in which cost components they include (only ~20% include labour) and rely on basic metrics like opens and clicks rather than revenue-per-campaign measures. The survey highlights attribution model variance (first-click, last-click, time-decay) and organisational barriers—budgets, cross-department data collation and leadership buy-in—that limit rigorous ROI measurement for email marketing.
Highlights persistent measurement and attribution gaps in email marketing that affect budgeting, cross-channel measurement and MarTech/ESP product requirements, but is not industry-shifting.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Mailgun surveyed approximately 1,200 email senders.
- 78% of respondents said email is central to their organisation.
- Less than half of respondents can measure the ROI of promotional or transactional emails.
- Among teams that measure ROI, 60–62% reported tenfold returns; ~13% reported ~$40 return per $1.
- Only about 12% of email-sending teams say they use email ROI as a performance metric; ~20% include labour costs in ROI calculations.
Connected Companies & Entities
1 Entity mappedRelated Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
Email Marketing ROI Drives 2026 Budget Shifts
New industry data showing up to $36 in revenue for every $1 spent on email marketing is prompting U.S. brands to reassess 2026 digital budgets. The article argues email is a highly economical channel because it relies on owned audience data, automation, segmentation and CRM integration, which can stabilize revenue amid volatile paid channels. V Digital Services reports increased client interest in automation audits and lifecycle optimization, and Joe Pelosi (Senior Marketing Data Analyst at VDS) is quoted on the renewed focus on measurable ROI. The piece also notes regulatory pressure on third-party data is accelerating interest in consent-based owned channels and that finance and marketing leaders are aligning around ROI benchmarks in budget planning.
Opens and Clicks Are Poor Email KPIs
The article argues that common email engagement metrics—open rate and click-through rate (CTR)—are unreliable proxies for business outcomes. Based on the author’s multi-year A/B test data, open rate correctly predicted the highest-converting or highest-revenue-per-email (RPE) subject line only 20% of the time, was incorrect 10% of the time, and was inconclusive in 70% of tests; overall it misled or provided no useful insight in 80% of tests. CTR performed worse: the highest-CTR variant matched the highest conversion or RPE only 7% of the time, pointed to the wrong winner 36% of the time, and was statistically inconclusive in 57% of tests. The author recommends using outcome-focused metrics—conversion rate and revenue per email (RPE)—and provides formulas for each, stating these directly tie email performance to business goals.
Black Friday 2026: Retailers Need Email Infrastructure Compliance
As Black Friday 2026 approaches, retailers must ensure their email infrastructure can handle high-volume surges and comply with stricter sender protocols from Gmail, Yahoo, and Microsoft. Key compliance measures include maintaining a spam complaint rate below 0.1%, implementing one-click unsubscribe, and using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication. Infrastructure readiness involves dedicated send capacity, dedicated IP addresses, load-tested send windows, real-time trigger monitoring, and fallback plans. The stakes are high: in 2025, Shopify merchants generated $14.6 billion in sales over BFCM weekend, and Adobe reported Cyber Week online sales of $44.2 billion. Email remains a crucial channel, with 77% of consumers preferring it for promotions. Sinch's Mailgun, which handled 30% more emails during Black Friday 2025 and delivered over 20 billion emails, provides a checklist to help retailers maximize revenue and avoid deliverability failures that can lead to missed sales and customer dissatisfaction.
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