Is email marketing dead? $68 ROI in 2024 says differently

Reading Time: 11 minutes

With TikTok, Instagram Reels, and AI chatbots taking over, some may say email is outdated. But for thousands of businesses, it’s still one of the most profitable marketing channels.

While social feeds get crowded and ad costs soar, email delivers — no algorithm changes, no pay-to-play. Just direct access to people who want to hear from you.

In this post, we’ll break down how email evolved from simple blasts to AI-powered automation, why it still earns $68 for every $1 spent, and the best practices to keep your email strategy effective in 2025 and beyond.

Email marketing from the beginning

Email marketing has come a long way since the first promotional email was sent in 1978. Back then, Digital Equipment Corp’s Gary Thuerk sent an email to 400 ARPANET users promoting their computers. While it resulted in $13 million in sales, it also earned Thuerk the title of “Father of Spam.”

Fast forward to today, where email marketing isn’t about spamming inboxes anymore. As the internet grew, so did email’s potential for business. The 1990s saw the rise of personalized mass emails, thanks to automated systems that could handle large subscriber lists.

By the 2000s, email marketing became more sophisticated with HTML designs, segmentation, and tracking capabilities.

Today’s email marketing looks nothing like those early attempts. Modern tools let you create targeted campaigns based on customer behavior, automate messages for different stages of the buying journey, and track results in real time.

You can even test different versions of your emails to see what works best for your audience.

Email marketing is not dead: Current state

Anyone claiming email marketing is dead hasn’t looked at the numbers lately. Every day, over 4.4 billion people check their email inboxes. This data shows that email is one of the most widely used communication channels worldwide.

For ecommerce businesses, this means having access to a massive audience that’s ready to engage with your brand.

Email stands out from other marketing channels because it puts you directly in front of people who’ve asked to hear from you. When someone subscribes to your email list, they’re actively choosing to engage with your brand. This creates a direct line of communication that other channels simply can’t match.

The question “Is email marketing dead?” fades quickly when looking at the numbers. According to an Omnisend report, email marketing performance continues to improve, with email campaign click-to-conversion rates growing by 27.6% in 2024.

What’s more impressive is that these improvements happened even as businesses sent more emails than ever before — nearly 24 billion promotional campaign emails in 2024.

What we found at Omnisend

In 2024, our data showed that automated emails were particularly effective for ecommerce businesses. For instance:

• One in three people who click on an automated message make a purchase
• Automated emails drove 37% of sales from just 2% of email volume
• Abandoned carts, welcome messages, and browse abandonment emails were responsible for 87% of all automated orders

These numbers show that email marketing isn’t just surviving — it’s becoming more sophisticated and effective. With automated emails generating 37% of all email orders from just 2% of sends, businesses are turning their email programs into powerful revenue engines.

Effectiveness of email marketing

Is email marketing dead? Well, the proof is in the numbers when talking about effective marketing channels for ecommerce. Let’s look at what makes email marketing so powerful, from its impressive ROI to why customers prefer it and how it drives sales for online stores.

Return on investment (ROI)

The debate around “Is email marketing dead?” quickly fades when examining the numbers. For example, our US-based customers make $68 for every dollar they spend on email and SMS marketing.

What drives these impressive returns? It comes down to several key factors:

• Email marketing costs less than most other channels. You’re not paying for ad space or competing in bidding wars. Once you have an email platform, your main cost will already be covered. Plus, you can reach thousands of subscribers without any additional cost per send.
• Email excels at customer acquisition and retention. A well-planned email strategy covers everything from welcoming new subscribers to winning back customers who haven’t purchased in a while.
• The power of automation plays a crucial role in these returns. With automated workflows handling routine communications, your team can focus on strategy and creativity. These automated sequences work around the clock, sending perfectly timed messages based on customer behavior and purchase history.

What’s even better is that these returns tend to improve over time.

As you build your email list, refine your segments, and optimize your automated workflows, you’ll typically see better engagement and higher conversion rates. This compounds your email marketing ROI even further, making it increasingly valuable for your business.

Most importantly, you can track every aspect of your campaigns, from opens and clicks to purchases. This approach offers clear insight into what’s working and what needs adjustment:

Consumer preferences

When it comes to how consumers want to hear from their favorite brands, the answer to “Is email marketing dead?” becomes clear — email consistently comes out on top. However, why do consumers prefer email over other marketing channels?

For starters, email gives consumers control. They choose when to open, read, and act on your messages. Unlike social media posts on Instagram or TikTok that disappear in crowded feeds or intrusive popup ads, emails wait patiently in their inbox until your audience is ready to engage.

Consumers also appreciate email’s practicality. Their inbox serves as a searchable archive of order confirmations, shipping updates, and special offers. Whether they need to check an order status or look for that discount code, it’s all there in their inbox — organized and easy to find.

Privacy plays a role, too. With growing concerns about data collection and targeted ads following them around the internet, many consumers see email as a more private, direct way to stay connected with their favorite brands. They’ve explicitly chosen to receive your messages, creating a relationship built on trust and mutual interest.

Conversion rates

When measuring the success of any marketing channel, conversion rates stand as one of the most crucial metrics to track.

While all digital marketing channels can drive sales, email marketing stands out for its exceptional ROI and predictable conversion patterns. For ecommerce businesses watching their marketing budgets, email’s ability to deliver consistent results at a lower cost makes it particularly valuable.

Looking at specific industries shows just how well email converts, according to the previously mentioned Omnisend report. The highest-performing sectors include:

• Games, arts and entertainment, and health and wellness (0.18%)
• Food and drinks (0.16%)
• Antiques and collectibles (0.15%)

These numbers might seem small at first glance, but consider this: these conversions come from sending emails to people who’ve already shown interest in your brand. This makes it far more cost-effective than casting a wide net with paid advertising.

However, the real conversion power lies in automated emails. Cart abandonment emails, for instance, convert about half of the people who click them. Think about that. One in every two people who engage with these emails end up making a purchase.

Welcome emails show similarly impressive results, turning browsers into buyers at remarkable rates.

Various types of automated messages serve different purposes in the conversion journey. For instance:

• Browse abandonment emails remind shoppers about products they viewed but didn’t purchase
• Back-in-stock notifications capitalize on existing interest by alerting customers when their favorite items are available or back in stock
• Post-purchase emails encourage repeat buying by suggesting complementary products

The key to these high conversion rates? Timing and relevance. Unlike “batch-and-blast” campaigns, automated emails reach customers exactly when they’re most likely to buy, with content that matches their current shopping interests.

The future of email marketing

Is email marketing dead? Far from it. Instead, email marketing continues to evolve and adapt. As technology advances and customer expectations shift, email is becoming more sophisticated, more personalized, and more integrated with other marketing channels than ever before.

Integration with other channels

Email marketing doesn’t exist in a bubble anymore. Rather than asking, “Is email dead?”, smart ecommerce businesses are asking how to make email work harder by combining it with social media, SMS, and web push notifications to create better customer experiences.

The report by Omnisend shows that brands using this multi-channel approach are seeing impressive results. Without SMS alone, they would have missed out on $24 million in potential sales in 2024.

Here’s what makes this integration so powerful — each channel complements the others. While email provides detailed information and visual content, social media builds community and brand awareness.

SMS marketing delivers time-sensitive updates that get read within minutes, and push notifications keep customers engaged even when they’re not checking their inboxes. The key is using each channel for what it does best to attain maximum results. 

For example, you might promote user-generated content from your social media in your email campaigns. You might then follow up with an SMS reminder about a featured product. Also, you can use push notifications to alert customers when stock is running low so they don’t miss out.

When used together, these channels create multiple touchpoints that guide customers toward purchase decisions.

Evolving technologies

Email marketing tools keep getting better, resulting in this strategy becoming more sophisticated. 

What used to take hours of manual work now happens in minutes, thanks to smart technology. However, the real change isn’t just about saving time. It’s about making emails work harder for your business.

Take writing emails, for example. Remember spending ages staring at a blank screen, trying to come up with the perfect subject line? Now, generative AI tools like Omnisend’s AI email generator can help you break through that creative block and create the perfect draft.

With this tool, you can quickly generate ideas, test different approaches, and find what clicks with your customers.

Modern email marketing platforms have evolved to make these sophisticated strategies accessible to businesses of all sizes. AI-powered tools help craft compelling subject lines that capture attention, while smart automation helps create campaigns that stay true to your brand voice. 

The technology even extends to product descriptions, helping you highlight the unique features of an item or product. There’s also customer segmentation that automatically groups shoppers based on their browsing and buying patterns. These technological advances handle the technical details, allowing business owners like you to focus more on strategy and creativity.

The way we measure success has changed as well. Instead of just counting opens and clicks, we can now see exactly how emails turn into sales. Want to know which products your morning emails sell best or which customers always buy through your cart reminder emails? That’s all trackable now.

And here’s something your customers will love: increased privacy. New tools let you send personalized messages without being careless about it. Your customers get relevant messages about things they care about while their personal information stays safe and secure.

Best practices for email marketing in 2025

Getting email marketing right means staying updated with what works now, not what worked five years ago. Let’s look at the key practices that successful ecommerce businesses implement to keep their email marketing campaigns fresh and effective:

Personalization and segmentation

Gone are the days of sending the same email to your entire list. When people say “email is dead,” they’re often thinking of outdated mass email tactics. Today’s customers expect messages that feel like they were written just for them.

That said, good personalization goes beyond just adding a subscriber’s first name to the subject line. Smart segmentation is where it starts. Looking at our data across industries, businesses that group their customers based on shopping behavior see much better results.

A clothing store might separate customers who only buy during sales from those who purchase new arrivals at full price. A beauty brand might group customers by their preferred product categories — skincare enthusiasts versus makeup buyers.

However, personalization isn’t just about who gets what email. The timing matters, too. Someone who browses your site daily needs different messaging than someone who hasn’t visited in months. A first-time customer requires different attention than someone who’s bought from you 10 times.

Here’s what works:

• Build segments based on purchase history — how much they spend, what they buy, and when they buy it
• Create groups based on engagement — who opens every email versus who hasn’t clicked in months
• Adjust message frequency based on customer behavior — more emails to engaged customers, fewer to inactive ones
• Use browsing data to suggest products consumers are most likely to buy

Mobile optimization

The effectiveness of email marketing is especially evident in mobile usage. Those wondering, “Is email marketing dead?” need to look at how people check their inboxes today. Data shows that 61% of all emails are opened on mobile devices, making smartphone optimization essential.

Think about how you read emails on your phone. You’re probably scrolling quickly, maybe while waiting in line or during a coffee break. That means your emails need to grab attention and be easy to read at a glance. You must: 

• Use shorter paragraphs — no one wants to read a wall of text on their phone
• Make buttons big enough to tap with a thumb
• Keep subject lines at a length that won’t get cut off on mobile screens
• Choose images that look clear on small screens

Load time matters, too. Heavy images or complex layouts might look great on a desktop but can make your mobile emails sluggish. Keep your designs clean and your file sizes small.

Also, remember that many mobile shoppers switch between their phones and computers. They might open your email on their phone during lunch and then complete the purchase on their laptop later. Your emails need to look good and work well across all devices.

Compliance with data privacy laws

Email marketing laws might not be the most exciting topic, but ignoring them is a fast way to damage your business. As privacy concerns grow and regulations get stricter, staying compliant is essential. 

The basics haven’t changed: you need permission to email people. However, modern privacy laws like GDPR and CCPA go beyond just getting consent. They give customers more control over their data and require businesses to be more transparent about how they use it.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Always use clear signup forms that spell out exactly what people are agreeing to
• Keep records of how and when people joined your list
• Make it easy for subscribers to opt out — no hiding the unsubscribe button
• Honor unsubscribe requests promptly — legally, you have 10 days
• Include your physical business address in marketing emails

Remember that compliance isn’t just about avoiding fines. It’s about building long-term trust with your subscribers and customers. When people know you respect their privacy and handle their data carefully, they’re more likely to engage with your emails and stay subscribed.

Take time to review your email practices regularly. Start by ensuring your forms and processes are GDPR-compliant.

Also, effective email compliance starts with smart data collection. Focus on gathering only essential customer information, and ensure your signup forms clearly communicate how this data will be used. 

Your preference center should also make it easy for subscribers to update their information or unsubscribe if they choose. 

Utilizing AI and automation

Automation takes the manual work out of email marketing while making your messages more effective at driving sales. A well-designed automated system acts like your hardest-working team member, reaching out to customers at exactly the right moments.

Here are the types of automated emails that consistently perform well:

• Welcome emails that introduce new subscribers to your brand
• Browse abandonment messages that remind shoppers about products they viewed and forgot about
• Cart recovery emails that bring customers back to complete their purchase
• Post-purchase feedback requests that help build trust
• Back-in-stock alerts that capture missed sales from interested shoppers

Your automated campaigns work tirelessly. Someone abandons their cart at 3 AM? They’ll get a perfectly timed reminder. A customer’s favorite item comes back in stock during the weekend? They’re notified right away.

Modern tools make automation even smarter. You can craft better subject lines, write compelling copy, and design emails that convert. Plus, smart timing features help you reach subscribers when they’re most likely to engage with your messages.