Q4 Email Performance, By Time of Day

March 9, 2017

This article is included in these additional categories:

B2B | Digital | Email | Media & Entertainment | Mobile Phone | Tablet | Travel & Hospitality

The best time of day to send email during Q4 – at least when comparing transactions to volume – was between 4PM and 8PM, according to a new study [download page] from Experian Marketing Services. More specifically, mailings in this time frame resulted in 21.1% of transactions relative to 14.8% of volume.

The results are interesting in light of the previous year’s data, in which the 12AM-4AM time frame resulted in a disproportionately high share of transactions compared to send volume. This time around, that period was the least effective, with only 8.2% of transactions emerging from 16.9% of volume. It’s interesting to note that this early day-part seems to have become much more popular from one year to the next, as in 2015 just 6.6% of emails were sent then.

In both years, though, the largest share of transactions overall occurred during the 8AM-12PM period.

When the Q4 2016 data was broken down by days of the week, Monday mailings produced the greatest return on volume with a higher percentage of transactions (19.8%) than mailing volume (17%). Sunday mailings also fared well with a higher transaction (11.8%) than volume share (10.5%).

In other highlights:

  • The vast majority of email opens and clicks still occur on desktops in the B2B industry, as opposed to other industries, where mobile phones and tablets are generally used more often; and
  • Email volume climbed 14% year-over-year, with publishers (32.6%) and travel brands (29.6%) showing the greatest increases, and business products and services companies having the most modest increase in volume of just 2.7%.

About the Data: Experian Marketing Services’ quarterly benchmarks are based on the analysis of major email marketing trends and key performance indicators across six major verticals: business products and services, consumer products and services, media and entertainment, multi-channel retailers, publishers and travel. Data analyzed in these benchmark reports are from client brands within the United States and Canada that have opted to participate in the study. All metrics, including the historical benchmarks, reflect average performance at 7 days after the emails were sent.

Chart-Library-Ad-1

Explore More Articles.

Which Skills Are Important in RevOps?

Which Skills Are Important in RevOps?

9 in 10 RevOps professionals view data analysis skills as being important, a high percentage also don’t believe they need this skill for their job.

Marketing Charts Logo

Stay on the cutting edge of marketing.

Sign up for our free newsletter.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This