Email marketing nets $42 return per $1

Email marketing is having one of those moments where an old stat keeps outrunning the newer data. You’ve probably seen the line that email returns $42 for every $1 spent. It sounds clean, memorable, and basically too good not to repeat. But the newer benchmark picture is messier — and more useful. The latest Litmus ROI update from July 2025 says most teams are seeing returns in the $10-to-$36 range, not a universal 42-to-1. (litmus.com) ### So where did the $42 number come from? It’s a real number, but not a current all-purpose benchmark. Litmus still references older industry-level figures from its 2020 survey, where marketing, PR, and advertising agencies hit 42:1, while retail reached 45:1 and software hit 36:1. Constant Contact also repeats the broader “42:1” framing, but that writeup is several years old and folds together older source material. (litmus.com) ### What does the newer data actually say? The 2025 Litmus infographic is more cautious. It says 35% of companies get $10-$36 back for every $1 spent on email, 30% get $36-$50, and only 5% get more than $50. That means strong returns are still common, but the viral number is better read as an upper-middle outcome for some teams, not the default for everyone. (litmus.com) ### Why does this gap matter? Because “email is amazing” and “your email program is amazing” are not the same thing. A benchmark can hide huge differences in list quality, offer strength, automation depth, and attribution. If one team is counting only direct last-click purchases and another is including retention, upsells, and assisted revenue, the R(litmus.com)evenue definitions and cost definitions make the number move. (blog.hubspot.com) ### Are engagement numbers as inflated too? Sometimes, yes. Broad benchmark data looks solid, but not magical. Mailchimp’s current benchmark page shows an average open rate of 35.63% across all users, with e-commerce at 29.81% and click rate at 2.62% overall. That’s healthy, but it is nowhere near a blanket 60%-70% open-rate reality for normal campaigns. (blog.hubspot.com)me emails, post-purchase messages, win-back sends — but they are not a safe default benchmark. (mailchimp.com) ### What actually drives the best returns? Usually the boring stuff. Segmentation. Lifecycle automation. Better creative. Better testing. Litmus says customer engagement emails, promotional emails, and newsletters are the top ROI drivers, depending on the business model. Omnisend’s older but still useful e-commerce data shows automated emails convert far(mailchimp.com)ast volume. (litmus.com) ### What about send frequency? There is no clean official rule like “three to four campaigns a week” that holds across the whole market. Recent MailerLite cadence research points instead to testing frequency against engagement and unsubscribe behavior, because the right answer changes by audience and business type. In other words — cadence is not a law, it’s a tuning problem. (mailerlite.com) ### Why are marketers still so bullish on email? Because even the downgraded version is strong. DMA’s 2024 benchmarking report still frames email as a standout channel for nurturing relationships and driving purchases, even while warning marketers not to lean too hard on open rates as the main KPI. Email volume keeps growing, and the chan(mailerlite.com)e they own. (dma.org.uk) ### Bottom line? The $42 claim is best treated as an older shorthand, not today’s one-line truth. Email still can be a monster ROI channel. But the newer evidence says returns cluster lower for many teams, and the winners are usually doing the unglamorous work — segmentation, automation, testing, and honest measurement. (litmus.com)