Email marketing statistics: KPIs to steer your campaigns

In brief: Email marketing indicators are changing. Between the privacy protections that distort open rates and the CNIL’s consultation on tracking pixels, B2B marketers need to rethink their dashboards. An overview of the KPIs that really count, backed by 2026 figures.

Email marketing in figures: a channel that still dominates

Every day, more than 376 billion emails circulate worldwide according to the Radicati Group. In France, the Alliance Digitale counted 145 billion emails routed in 2023 in its E-routeurs study. Dizzying volumes, but ones that confirm a reality B2B marketers know well: email remains the default channel for professional communication.

And for good reason. When it comes to profitability, few channels can compete. Industry studies, notably the one from Litmus, put the return on investment of email marketing at around 36 dollars for every dollar invested. That is an ROI of 3,600%. Hard to find better in digital marketing, whether for acquisition or retention.

But these headline figures do not tell the whole story. Behind the global averages lie very different realities depending on sectors, targets and practices. A B2B prospecting email has nothing in common with an e-commerce newsletter. The indicators to monitor are not the same, and neither are the benchmarks. Above all, several recent developments make it necessary to rethink the way we read our statistics.

Open rate: an indicator under pressure

The open rate has long been the star indicator of emailing. The one you look at first after a send, the one you compare from one campaign to the next. Yet its reliability has never been so widely questioned.

On the French B2B market, data from EmailScope.fr, the permanent observatory of B2B email fed by nearly 100,000 analysed campaigns and 1.7 billion emails, puts the median open rate at 28% over the last 6 months. A realistic figure for B2B, well below the averages displayed by some international platforms that claim 35 to 43%. Where does this gap come from?

The answer comes down to three letters: MPP. Since September 2021, Apple Mail Privacy Protection has automatically pre-loaded email images via a proxy server, including the famous tracking pixel. As a result, the email is counted as “opened” even if the recipient never read it. With Apple Mail accounting for around 49% of email opens worldwide according to Litmus, the inflation is massive. Global open rates have mechanically climbed without real engagement moving an inch.

Add to this the robot clickers and false opens generated by the security filters of professional mailboxes. Some anti-spam systems open and click the links in emails to check that they contain nothing malicious. The raw open rate, without correction, is becoming less and less usable.

Should this indicator be ignored altogether? Not completely. It remains useful for comparing two versions of a subject line in an A/B test, or for measuring a trend on the same list over time. But it can no longer be used on its own as a measure of performance.

The CNIL consultation on tracking pixels: what is going to change

As if the technical biases were not enough, the regulatory framework is getting involved. In June 2025, the CNIL, the French data protection authority, launched a public consultation on a draft recommendation concerning tracking pixels in emails. The consultation closed in July 2025 and the final recommendation is expected in early 2026.

The principle is clear: the CNIL treats the tracking pixel in the same way as cookies. It would therefore fall under Article 82 of the French Data Protection Act (loi Informatique et Libertés), which transposes the ePrivacy Directive. In practice, this means explicit prior consent before any individual tracking by pixel.

And not just any consent. The draft provides for two distinct consents: a first one to authorise the sending of commercial emails, and a second, separate one to accept pixel tracking. No response would count as a refusal.

The industry’s reaction was strong. The Alliance Digitale challenged the draft, estimating the loss of revenue at 70% for emailing solution providers. Their main argument: with tracking consent rates estimated at between 1 and 5%, performance measurement would become almost impossible. Not to mention the technical impossibility of deactivating a pixel in an email that has already been sent, as the recommendation nevertheless requires for the right of withdrawal.

Not everything in this draft is bleak. The CNIL provides for an exception for aggregated and anonymised statistics. In other words, measuring that a campaign was opened by 20% of the list, without identifying by name who opened it, would remain permitted without consent. It is individual measurement, the kind that feeds scoring, automatic follow-ups to non-openers and behavioural profiling, that would be regulated.

For B2B marketers, this development confirms what the market already sensed: it is better to build performance indicators on deliberate actions by the recipient, the click first and foremost, rather than on an invisible pixel whose reliability and legality are crumbling simultaneously.

Click rate and click-to-open rate: the reliable metrics

If the open rate is wavering, the click rate remains solid. A click implies a voluntary action: the recipient opened the email, read the content and decided to click on a link. Neither Apple MPP nor the CNIL calls this indicator into question.

Benchmarks vary depending on the source. On the French B2B market, EmailScope.fr shows a median click rate of 2.2%. International studies range between 2% (MailerLite, 2025 median) and 3.25% (GetResponse, 2023). These differences are explained by differences in scope: B2B versus B2C, list sizes, business sectors.

The click-to-open rate, or CTOR, usefully completes the picture. It measures the proportion of clickers among openers and therefore assesses the quality of the content, independently of the subject line’s performance. MailerLite puts it at 6.81% in 2025. It is the indicator that answers the question “does my content interest those who read it?”.

In practice, cross-referencing these two metrics gives a much finer reading than an isolated open rate. A good open rate combined with a low CTOR points to a problem of content or of fit between the subject line’s promise and the body of the message. A respectable click rate despite a modest open rate suggests, on the contrary, that your targeting is good, even if your subject line could be improved.

Deliverability, bounces and complaints: the health indicators

Engagement metrics are worthless if your emails do not reach the inbox. Deliverability is the foundation on which all the other indicators rest.

The hard bounce rate sits at around 0.21% on average according to MailerLite. Above 2%, the alarm bells ring: your database contains too many invalid addresses and your sender reputation is deteriorating. Regularly cleaning your contact list is not a luxury, it is a necessity for improving your deliverability.

The unsubscribe rate holds at around 0.22% on average. But beware, this figure has jumped since 2024. The reason: the new rules imposed by Gmail and Yahoo in February 2024. These two providers now require a one-click unsubscribe link in the header of every email, full SPF, DKIM and DMARC authentication, and a spam complaint rate below 0.3%. Since November 2025, failure to meet these requirements results in explicit rejection of emails, no longer just classification as spam.

These technical constraints are not bad news. They push the whole market towards better practices. Senders who maintain their database, authenticate their domain correctly and offer relevant content have nothing to fear. The others see their performance drop mechanically.

Adapting your dashboard in 2026

Between Apple MPP inflating opens, the CNIL potentially regulating the tracking pixel and Gmail tightening its requirements, the landscape of emailing statistics has changed profoundly. The dashboard of three years ago is no longer fit for purpose.

A few concrete adjustments for your emailing statistics:

Put the click rate at the centre of your analysis. It is the only engagement indicator that remains reliable whatever the technical and regulatory developments. The click-to-open rate (CTOR) complements it to assess the relevance of your content.

Keep the open rate as a trend indicator, not as an absolute measure. Compare your campaigns with one another on the same list, not with external benchmarks that mix B2B, B2C and MPP false positives.

Monitor your health indicators: bounce rate, complaint rate and unsubscribe rate. They are what condition your deliverability in the medium term, and therefore your ability to reach the inbox.

Anticipate the CNIL recommendation. Even if it is not yet final, the direction is set. Build your scoring and follow-up workflows on the click rather than the open, starting now. The day pixel consent becomes mandatory, you will be ready.

FAQ

What is the open rate used for in emailing?

The open rate measures the proportion of recipients who opened your email. It allows you to assess the effectiveness of your subject line and your sender name. However, since 2021 and the arrival of Apple Mail Privacy Protection, this indicator has been artificially inflated and must be interpreted with caution.

What is a good click rate in B2B?

In B2B on the French market, the median click rate sits at around 2.2% according to data from EmailScope.fr. This figure varies by sector and targeting quality. A rate above 3% is considered very strong in B2B prospecting.

What does the CNIL say about the tracking pixel?

In June 2025, the CNIL launched a consultation on tracking pixels in emails. Its draft recommendation treats the pixel like cookies and would require explicit prior consent for individual tracking. Aggregated and anonymised statistics would remain permitted without consent. The final recommendation is expected in early 2026.

What is the difference between click rate and click-to-open rate?

The click rate (CTR) relates the number of clickers to the total number of emails sent. The click-to-open rate (CTOR) relates clickers to openers only. The CTOR assesses the quality of the content independently of the subject line’s performance, which makes it a valuable complementary indicator.

How do the new Gmail and Yahoo rules affect my campaigns?

Since February 2024, Gmail and Yahoo have required SPF, DKIM and DMARC authentication, a one-click unsubscribe link and a complaint rate below 0.3%. Since November 2025, non-compliant emails have been explicitly rejected. These rules strengthen the deliverability of senders who follow best practices.

Why does my open rate seem high?

An abnormally high open rate is often explained by Apple Mail Privacy Protection, which pre-loads email images and triggers tracking pixels without the recipient actually opening the message. Professional anti-spam filters also generate false opens by scanning incoming emails.