Open Rates Rise Again: Epsilon

E-mail average open rates have edged up for the fourth quarter in a row, according to a just-released study by marketing services provider Epsilon.

Average open rates—or the percentage of people who view e-mail with graphics turned on—were 22.2% in the second quarter of 2009, up slightly from 22.1% in the first quarter, according to Epsilon.

The figure is up significantly from the second quarter of 2008 when average open rates bottomed out at 18.8%, according to Epsilon.

Of the industries Epsilon tracks, financial services achieved the highest average open rates, coming in at 35.6% in the second quarter of 2009, up significantly from 28.4% during the same period in 2008, according to the study.

The retail-apparel sector’s average open rates in the second quarter of 2009 were 13.4%, the lowest of the sectors Epsilon tracks, according to the study.

Meanwhile, average click-through rates for the second quarter of 2009 were 5.9%, down slightly from 6.1% in the first quarter of 2008, according to Epsilon.

Of the industries Epsilon tracks, consumer packaged goods and financial services achieved the highest average open rates, both at 9.2%, according to Epsilon.

The non-profit/educational sector achieved the lowest average open rates, coming in at a dismal 1.7%, according to Epsilon.

Read the whole study here.