Email has been booming this year -- especially when used in combination with other channels, according to The State of Messaging, a study by Customer.io and Parcel.io.
Overall, there was a 26% increase in email volume, at least on the Customer.io platform. But that was outpaced by a 44% hike in brands using two or more channels, as in these combinations:
Overall, 63% of brands saw better performance with multi-channel usage than single-channel. Among those who use email, SMS and push converted at a 913% higher rate than email alone. The sweet spot was three channels, the study notes.
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The biggest hike in email use was in the SaaS vertical, which sent 2.7X more emails than other industries. Media and entertainment also showed a large surge.
On a tactical level, Monday was the most popular day for sending emails, followed by Wednesdays and Thursdays. Both B2C and B2B emails were more frequently sent during office hours — with nearly half received between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.
As for frequency, 54% of brands sent emails at least once a week.
Roughly 268 million emails were sent on Black Friday and 215 million on Cyber Monday. The combined total of 483 million emails was 60% higher YoY.
For safety’s sake, 77% of brands ran link or image validations.
SMS saw a 47% volume hike YoY, with fintech brands sending 44% more than firms in other industries.
Meanwhile, push had a 49% volume boost, with healthcare usage growing by 41%.
But the growth in these channels was dwarfed by the 793% jump in in-app sends. SaaS and edtech senders led the way.
The study is based on analysis of usage and performance data over 24 months, and by a survey of 360 marketers.