- Most organizations cannot reliably track returns from email campaigns
- Strong ROI only exists for companies that actively measure performance
- Many teams rely on content generation without deeper optimization strategies
Email marketing continues to generate strong returns, but many organizations still lack clarity on whether those returns are actually being realized.
The recent Sinch Mailgun’s Email Impact Report 2026 analyzed insights from more than 400 billion emails sent in 2025 and surveyed over 1,200 email senders, and found that fewer than half of organizations can reliably track ROI from their email programs.
This gap between email’s proven potential and actual execution is where many businesses lose out.
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The surprising numbers behind email ROI
“Email delivers exceptional returns, but many organizations are not set up to capture its full value,” said Kate Nowrouzi, VP of Deliverability at Sinch.
Among companies that measure email ROI, 60% report returns above $10 for every $1 spent. More than one in ten achieves a return as high as 40 x 1, figures that suggest that email remains one of the most effective marketing channels available.
Despite these impressive numbers, a large proportion of companies continue to send promotional emails without knowing whether these messages are actually paying off.
These organizations are essentially flying blind on their own email service, but they don’t have to stay blind.
AI adoption in email marketing is widespread, but its impact remains uneven across different applications.
Many teams focus only on basic use cases such as content generation, while higher impact applications such as optimization, segmentation and deliverability remain underutilized.
Just under half (41%) of teams use AI to generate email content, but only 23% say AI has significantly improved their email programs.
“Using AI to generate content is a good starting point, but that’s not where the biggest impact happens,” Nowrouzi said.
Organizations that use AI for optimization and segmentation see much stronger results.
This measurement gap becomes even more concerning when combined with poor deliverability, as nearly 18% of all marketing emails never reach the inbox, meaning organizations can’t track ROI on messages that never arrive.
Even if a company tracks its email performance perfectly, up to a fifth of potential returns are still at risk simply because messages are never seen.
Despite 78% of survey respondents saying email is critical to business success, poor delivery practices persist alongside weak ROI measurement.
79% of organizations plan to maintain or increase their email investment despite these gaps in both tracking and execution.
For a channel that delivers exceptional returns when done right, leaving money on the table through poor tracking and deliverability is a choice, not a necessity.
The tools exist to fix this gap, from proper email hosting infrastructure to sophisticated email service platforms.
Whether the companies flying blind on ROI will ever invest in proper tracking remains uncertain, but the data suggests that those who measure their returns are seeing clear results.
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