Report: Email campaign opening rates are highest on…

Staying true to the adage, “timing is everything,” retailers must be mindful that the best days for email-driven engagement don’t necessarily translate into same-day conversions, according to a new report from Yes Lifecycle Marketing.



The “Q2 2016 Benchmark Report: Day of the Week Email Performance” report revealed that Thursdays were most popular for campaign deployment in Q2. Not only were 20% of all emails sent that day, but open rates were 14% higher on Thursdays than the Q2 average. Similarly, the day’s unique click rates were 41% higher, and click-to-open (CTO) rates were 24% above average.



Conversely, Thursdays also featured the lowest conversion rates, with volume falling 23% below the Q2 average, the report said. While emails deployed on Saturdays and Sundays only accounted for only 11% and 10%, respectively, of Q2 email volume, these communications produced conversion rates 60% and 40% higher than average, the report said.



These results suggest that marketers should capitalize on weekend campaigns to convert the most consumers. "Based on this data, marketers may see the best results by sending an initial email on Thursday, and a follow-up over the weekend,” said Michael Fisher, president of Yes Lifecycle Marketing. “However, the best days to send emails depend on a number of different details, including a brand's industry, marketing goals, and seasonal events, among other factors.”



Rather than focus on a single metric, such as open rate or CTO, “marketers should consider their brand's business objectives, marketing key performance indicators [KPIs], customer purchase cycles, and subscriber behavior to determine the most appropriate context and timing to reach their customers,” he added.



While Thursday has become the top engagement day for the past three quarters, Wednesdays accounted for the highest average order value (AOV) at $118.62 for retail brands, the report said.



The full report can be found here.