What Is a Good Open Rate? Email Marketing Benchmarks for Online Stores
"What should our open rate be?" — the most common question we hear during audits. The short answer: it depends — and, honestly, it's no longer the number that matters most. In this guide: realistic benchmarks for campaigns and automations, an explanation of why open rates have been lying since 2021, and a diagnostic framework for which metric to fix first when the numbers disappoint.
Why the open rate lies (and what to trust)
In 2021, Apple switched on Mail Privacy Protection: emails on Apple devices get "opened" automatically, before the person ever sees them. The platform records an open — one that never really happened. The more of your audience is on iPhones, the more inflated the number; in reality, the true figure can be several or even a dozen percentage points lower than the report shows.
The practical takeaway isn't "ignore opens" — it's to use them for what they're good for:
- Opens = direction. Good for comparing your own campaigns against each other and watching the trend (everything is inflated by the same amount).
- Clicks (CTR) = the truth about your content. A click can't be faked.
- Revenue per email (RPE) = the truth about your business. Campaign revenue ÷ number of recipients — the single best number for comparing emails.
Benchmarks: campaigns and automations
The numbers below combine averages published by platforms (Omnisend, Klaviyo) with what we see across our clients. They're benchmarks, not laws: pricing, niche competition and list hygiene push them in both directions.
| Metric | Campaigns | Automations | Red zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opens | 25–40% | Welcome 50–60%, cart 40–50% | < 20% — check deliverability |
| CTR (clicks) | 1–3% | 3–8% | < 0.5% — content/CTA not working |
| Unsubscribes | < 0.3% / campaign | < 0.5% | > 0.5% consistently |
| Spam complaints | < 0.1% | > 0.3% — Gmail's threshold, critical level | |
| Email share of revenue | 20–30% of total store revenue | < 10% — channel underused | |
The one number that matters most is the last row. Opens and clicks are intermediate stops; the final question is always the same: what share of the store's revenue does email bring in? The healthy zone is 20–30%. You'll find this number in your Omnisend reports or in GA4 by channel — check it monthly.
Diagnostics: which metric to fix first
The metrics form a funnel — fix it from the top down, because you can't repair the lower stages while the top is leaking:
1. Low opens (campaigns < 20–25%)
First — deliverability: SPF/DKIM/DMARC, domain reputation, list hygiene. An email that lands in spam has no open rate at all. Only once you're sure your emails reach the inbox is it worth polishing subject lines and send times. The second common culprit is "dead" list ballast: a sunset policy lifts your open rate simply by cleaning up the denominator.
2. Good opens, low CTR (< 1%)
The email promised more than it delivered. Check: does the subject line match the content, is there one clear CTA (not five equal buttons), and is the offer even interesting to that segment. This is where the absence of segmentation usually shows — everyone is getting the same thing.
3. Good CTR, low revenue (RPE)
People click but don't buy — the problem is now on your site or in the offer: the link dumps them on the homepage instead of a specific product, the price doesn't match the expectation, checkout is clunky on mobile. Email has done its job — go fix the page you're sending people to.
Measurement hygiene: three rules
- Compare yourself to yourself. "Industry averages" blend different list sizes, niches and methodologies — your own last month is the best baseline.
- Judge monthly, not per email. Single-campaign metrics fluctuate naturally; the trend only becomes visible across 8–12 campaigns.
- Count automations and campaigns separately. Mixed together, the high metrics of automations (they fire at the hottest moment) will mask weakening campaigns — and vice versa.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good open rate for an online store?
For campaigns the benchmark is 25–40%; for automations it's considerably higher: welcome emails get opened at 50–60%, abandoned cart emails at 40–50%. But since 2021 (Apple Mail Privacy Protection) the open rate has been artificially inflated and is only good for watching trends — measure the real effectiveness of your emails with clicks and revenue per email (RPE).
Why is the open rate no longer reliable?
Since 2021, Apple Mail Privacy Protection automatically opens emails on Apple devices before the person ever sees them — platforms record an open that never really happened. The more of your audience uses an iPhone, the more inflated the number. So opens are fine for comparing your own campaigns against each other (direction), but not for judging absolute success — for that, use CTR and RPE.
How much revenue should the email channel generate?
In a healthy online store, email (automations + campaigns combined) generates 20–30% of total revenue. If your share is below 10%, the channel is heavily underused: usually automations are missing or campaigns lack consistency. This is the main KPI worth tracking monthly — it summarizes all the other metrics.
What unsubscribe rate is normal?
Up to 0.3% per campaign is normal and healthy (the list cleans itself naturally). Worry when the rate consistently exceeds 0.5% or suddenly spikes — that signals sending too often to the same segment without value, or a mismatch between what was promised at signup and the actual content. The real danger isn't unsubscribes but spam complaints: those must stay below 0.1%.
Not sure where your funnel is leaking?
In a free consultation we'll review your metrics and show you exactly which link — deliverability, content or offer — is costing you the most revenue right now.
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