Open rate

Key takeaways

Open rate belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Open rate to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Open rate from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

There are two types of "open rates" one for electronic mail (a.k.a. e-mail; see below) and one for physical mail (a.k.a. snail mail via the USPS or other physical mail carrier).

Email Open Rate The email open rate is a measure primarily used by marketers as an indication of how many people "view" or "open" the commercial electronic mail they send out. It is most commonly expressed as a percentage and calculated by dividing the number of email messages opened by the total number of email messages sent (excluding those that bounced.) Some Email Service Providers (ESP) also track unique email opens. Similar to an email open, unique email opens eliminate all duplicate opens that occur. Tracking Email Open Rates are typically tracked using a transparent 1x1 pixel, or small transparent tracking image, that is embedded in outgoing emails. When the client or browser used to display the email requests that image, then an "open" is recorded for that email by the image's host server. The email will not be counted as an open until one of the following occurs:

The recipient enables the images in the email or The recipient interacts with the email by clicking on a link The open rate of any given email can vary based on a number of variables. For example, the type of industry the email is being sent to. In addition, the day and time an email is scheduled or sent to recipients can have an effect on email open rate. The length of an email's subject line can also affect whether or not it is opened. Tracking Concerns Open rates is one of the earliest metrics applied in email marketing, but its continued use has become controversial due to conflicting views on its usefulness. The open rate for an email sent to multiple recipients is then most often calculated as the total number of “opened” emails, expressed as a percentage of the total number of emails sent or—more usually—delivered. The number delivered is itself measured as the number of emails sent out minus the number of bounces generated by those emails. This method leads to problems with interpretation, since the request for the tracking image gives no indication of whether the email's recipient actually viewed or read the email or its contents. In addition, many webmail services and email clients block images by default, or the recipient may elect to receive text-only versions of an email. In both cases, no image call can ever be made, further reducing the accuracy of the open rate measure. As a result, open rates are broadly rejected as an absolute measure of a commercial email's performance. However, many marketers use open rates as a relative measure, for example to compare the performances of emails sent to similar recipient groups, but at different times or with different subject headers. The normal open rate for different businesses and types of messages can vary. According to 2023 statistics, overall it is approximately 30–40%. In the finance and real estate industries, the percentage is generally higher than in IT or education sectors. The healthcare and beauty industries have an average open rate of 23.58%, while the food service or restaurant industry can expect a higher rate (41.37%). Sometimes 20% can be a good indicator, and sometimes even 30% can be below the norm for a specific sector. The main goal is for the rate to remain stable or show improvements compared to previous campaigns. Usually, the open rate is analyzed in conjunction with other metrics: clicks, conversion, unsubscribe numbers, and complaints. This comprehensive analysis is necessary to get a complete picture of the campaign's effectiveness. There are several sociological and technical trends that influence the open rate:

The sports, arts, religion, and hobbies industries have a higher email open rate than retail companies. Emails with a narrow focus tend to have a higher open rate than those on widely discussed topics. The larger the mailing list, the lower the open rate. Some users disable image display, so their opening of the email isn’t counted unless they click a link. Plain text emails are not counted in the open rate, as they do not contain images. Some subscribers have an image preview feature enabled. This counts as an open, although the recipient may not fully view the email.

Physical Mail Open Rate The "open rate" for physical mail is difficult to quantify when compared to electronic mail, but it is extremely important to the success or failure of response-oriented mail (marketing, billing, recovery, renewals, etc.). In fact, physical mail open rates can, and should, be further segmented and defined: Open Rate (physical mail): The rate at which a piece of mail is opened within 30 days, as determined by the recipient’s conscious and sub-conscious judgments about the un-opened mail piece; this decision is often made in 3–5 seconds. Open NOW Rate (physical mail): The rate at which a piece of mail is opened while it is being looked at for the first time, as determined by the recipient’s conscious and sub-conscious judgments about the un-opened mail piece; this decision is often made in 3–5 seconds. Though physical mail, also known as “snail mail” or direct mail, may be overshadowed by email marketing, it's still considered an important part of some business' marketing strategy.

See also Web bug E-mail tracking Email marketing click rates == References ==

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Open rate

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Open rate claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Open rate before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Open rate ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Open rate

In research: Open rate appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Open rate in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Open rate is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Email, Online advertising, Rates, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Open rate outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Open rate in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Open rate means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Open rate out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Open rate in simple terms?

There are two types of "open rates" one for electronic mail (a.k.a. e-mail; see below) and one for physical mail (a.k.a. snail mail via the USPS or other physical mail carrier). Email Open Rate The email open rate is a measure primarily used by marketers as an indication of how many people "view" o…

Why does Open rate matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Open rate?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Open rate.