I have yet to see a business without an email—and numbers show that this would still be the case for quite some time. Businesses use emails to communicate internally or with existing and potential customers. Although instant messaging is prevailing and social networks are at an all-time high, emailing will remain one of the top communication tools for businesses in 2024. Here are the business email statistics you need to know:
General Business Email Statistics
Business email has always been one of the most popular ways for businesses to communicate with their team and customers. To further understand its place in the industry, we’ve summarized general business email usage statistics that you should know to understand its value:
1. On average, people exchange 126 business emails per day
Source: Radicati Group
According to the Email Statistics Report of Radicati Group, people send and receive an average of 126 business emails a day. The same report even indicates that customers are most likely interested in interacting with a brand from the email notifications they receive from brands instead of using email as an interpersonal communication tool, showing value in emails outside of the usual open and reply rates.
2. The most popular email client for business is Microsoft Outlook
Source: 6sense
Garnering up to 94.24% of the market’s workshare, Microsoft Outlook ranks number one in terms of email client statistics (review does not include Gmail). Over 3 million companies have started using Microsoft Outlook as an email management tool in 2023. This is followed by Gmail, which is used by 2.7 million companies.
Find out which email app is best for your business here in our updated list of the best business email apps to use.
3. 124.5 billion work emails are sent and received every day
Source: Radicati Group
Since 2015, there has been a 3% year-on-year growth in the total number of work emails sent and received per day. Right before 2020, this blew up to nearly 125 billion work emails a day. These numbers are proof that professional communication lives and breathes in business email. Because there is such a massive number of emails, it makes sense that businesses explore different professional email software and tools to help them manage these more effectively.
4. 62.86% of business professionals prefer to communicate by email
Source: Drag App
Email statistics show that 62.86% of business professionals prefer to use email for business communications over any other tool. This can be because using and creating a professional email address increases credibility and memorability among clients.
5. Only 56% of companies have an easy-to-access email address
Source: Netomi
Despite being as popular as it is, business email is still not being used by businesses to its full potential, considering that only 56% of companies have an easy-to-access email address. It makes sense that company employees use email to communicate with fellow employees. However, the full extent of business email includes communicating with potential or existing customers and partners. The first step for that is making sure your email is accessible.
Average Business Email Engagement Stats
There’s no question that a massive number of business emails are being sent and received per day. This next group of email communication statistics shows the next level, exploring how people engage with these business emails on a daily basis.
6. The average open rate for emails is 21.3%
Source: SuperOffice
SuperOffice released its own data for email open rates, showing that 21.3% of emails that are sent out get opened—that’s less than a quarter of the overall number of emails sent. This indicates a need for more comprehensive or more compelling email subject lines.
Comprehensive subject lines help people get the gist of the email without having to open it. Meanwhile, compelling email subject lines improve the chance of having the receiver open the email.
7. Email requests take an average of 36 hours to receive a response
Source: Netomi
A good number of customers (31%) expect businesses to respond to their email requests for customer support within an hour. However, the average response time for these businesses to get back to their customers is 36 hours. Businesses that want to live up to their customers’ expectations have either a 24/7 support team or a chatbot that can respond to concerns immediately.
8. People check their work emails 172 minutes a day
Source: Statista
Since emails are now more accessible than ever, nearly all email users check their email accounts every day. On average, work emails are checked 172 minutes a day (2021), which is 52.21% higher than the previous year. Mobile phones are the suspected culprit of this huge jump in email engagement since it only takes a few seconds to check your account, work or personal, from a phone. To ensure a better email experience, prioritize mobile optimization.
9. Only 20% of companies respond within 24 hours
Source: Netomi
When it comes to customer emails, only 20% of companies send out response emails to their customers within 24 hours. There are a number of ways to improve these numbers for your own business, such as exploring email add-ons and extensions that can help your business manage and interact with emails more effectively.
10. Professionals check their emails an average of 15 times a day
Source: Harvard Business Review
Harvard Business Review shows professionals check their emails at least once every 37 minutes. This is usually done in anticipation of a response to earlier messages. Considering the amount of time spent on emails during work hours, having a reliable email service provider is essential to maintaining productivity.
Statistics on the Value of Email for Businesses
While going through these business email statistics, one question is inevitably asked: why are emails so important specifically for businesses? The following email in the workplace statistics explores how businesses value emails and what they’re used for.
11. Email is the third-most influential source of information for business-to-business (B2B) audiences
Source: Digital Strike
Just behind colleague recommendations and industry thought leaders, email is known as the third most influential source of information among B2B audiences. Not only does this show the level of trust that people exhibit for emails, but it also shows the unique capabilities of email over other digital channels of communication in delivering substantial and even personalized content.
12. Email is the most preferred method of communication for businesses & customers
Source: Exclaimer
Even though instant messaging, texting, and other communication channels arise, email is still the most preferred communication tool for businesses and customers. With real-time messaging, mass email sending, cost-effectiveness, and security, it’s no surprise that email is as popular as it is.
Statistics on Business Email Trends
With a better understanding of how relevant email has been for business communication, the next group of business email statistics will now focus on the future of business email. This will cover data-driven predictions, marketers’ insights, and Google search trends to paint a better picture of where business emails are expected to head in the next few years.
13. The number of email users worldwide is projected to reach over 4.7 billion
Source: Radicati Group
The number of global email users was expected to grow to around 4.3 billion in 2022. Since this was achieved, the new figures predict that in 2025, the number of global email users will reach around 4.6 billion and, in 2026, reach an all-time high of 4.73 billion. This shows, now more than ever, the need to set up your business email if you haven’t already.
14. 50.7% of marketers think artificial Intelligence (AI) will make email marketing more effective
Source: Selzy
Although not entirely about business email, more than half of surveyed marketers believe that artificial intelligence is one of the ways to make email marketing more effective. From using AI content writers, AI-powered email add-ons, and other AI marketing tools, the trend shows that businesses of all sizes are exploring the use of artificial intelligence to maximize their productivity.
Are you interested in this statistic? Learn more email marketing statistics in our comprehensive list.
15. ‘Gmail for business’ is gaining more interest online than ‘Outlook for business’
Source: Google Trends
The age-old question of Gmail vs Outlook has seen a back and forth over the years. When it comes to search engine superpower Google, we see a steady decline in the number of searches for the keyword “Outlook for business.” On the other hand, “Gmail for business” saw the highest searches for it in the past five years at the beginning of 2023.
16. Search for ‘AI for email’ boomed starting mid-2022
Source: Google Trends
Before, the search for “AI for email” on Google was almost nonexistent. However, starting in mid-2022, it gained more interest and finally reached an all-time high in 2023—reaching 100% of its search trend by September 2023. As more people search for these AI tools, both the demand and supply of AI email software have skyrocketed in the last year alone.
17. The cloud email market is projected to be worth around $93 billion
Source: Statista
The cloud email and collaboration market includes cloud business email and collaboration platform services, such as Microsoft Office 365 or Google Workspace. In 2025, it is projected to be worth $93 billion. With this prediction, our key takeaway is that businesses value online connectedness and collaboration even in emails.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Most consumers prefer email to communicate with the businesses they frequent. Not only is it easy to use, but it also provides an opportunity for timely and personalized communication—factors that are important to consumers when communicating with a business.
In general, it’s more effective to use a combination of both cold calling and sales emails. Cold calling offers a personal touch and immediate feedback while sales emails are scalable and less intrusive. It’s advised to use sales emails to secure consumers and to make calls based on the email responses.
Yes, AI tools can learn algorithms from previous email content and craft emails based on the style, structure, and tone of the reference material. However, use it with caution because overreliance on AI can result in repetitive and unauthentic content, which is more likely to be flagged as spam.
Bottom Line
Business email continues to be a powerful channel for businesses of all sizes, even decades after its launch. Not only are people exchanging business emails more frequently, but the level of engagement and value we can receive from using business email is in a league of its own. These business email statistics are a testament to its value and how it can evolve in the next few years.
