The latest edition of the GDMA International Email Benchmark 2026 shows that email marketing is performing steadily worldwide, as organizations continue to refine their sending strategies. Ternair, along with fourteen other email service providers, contributed to the study by providing anonymized email statistics.
The benchmark is based on data from 17.7 million email campaigns and 847 billion emails sent across 61 countries. As a result, the study provides a unique international perspective on trends in email marketing.
Key Findings
Worldwide, the Acceptance Rate remained stable at 98.6%. Engagement figures also show a slight improvement. The Unique Open Rate rose to 34.2%, while the Click-to-Open Rate came in at 7.7%, and the Click-Through Rate at 3%.
In addition, the study reveals a clear shift in shipping strategies. Whereas many organizations previously relied heavily on peak periods such as Black Friday and the holidays, campaigns are now spread more evenly throughout the year. The peak in mailing volumes now begins as early as July, while the proportion of campaigns in November and December is declining slightly.
The choice of shipping days is also changing. In addition to Tuesday, Thursday is gaining ground as a key shipping day, while the share of campaigns sent over the weekend is also growing worldwide.
Compare your performance to the market
For Ternair customers, these insights are immediately applicable. Through the Ternair Report Center Organizations can compare their own email performance with benchmark figures at the industry and sector levels. This quickly reveals opportunities to further improve engagement, deliverability, and conversion.
