E-mail usage in the United States - Statistics & Facts

User behavior and the impact of COVID-19

As of 2020, e-mail is among the most popular digital activities in the United States. Over 90 percent of internet users currently hold an e-mail account for private or business purposes, predominantly using leading e-mail clients like Gmail or Apple’s native iPhone app. As most online activities are now being performed via smartphone, it comes as no surprise that e-mails are also increasingly checked on the go. In recent years, mobile has developed into the most popular reading environment worldwide, with portable devices accounting for over 40 percent of all e-mail opens. Another factor that continues to impact user behavior and the e-mail landscape as a whole is the progression of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic: As millions of people turned to technology to limit in-person contacts in early 2020, e-mail has become one of the primary methods of personal and business communication in the United States and worldwide.

E-mail marketing: The key to success?

Over the last few years, e-mail has evolved from a networking tool to a valuable marketing strategy. In North America, e-mail newsletters are among the three leading content marketing tactics used by B2B and B2C marketers, as they allow digital marketers to engage with previous customers and attract large potential audiences in a quick and cost-effective way. By targeting mobile e-mail users, companies aim to ensure high engagement/read rates of marketing e-mails, while discount codes and sales notifications are some of the techniques used to drive conversion and ROI rates. In the United States, spending on digital lead generation advertising formats like e-mail or search amounted to 2.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2019, with mail accounting for the largest share of local ad revenue. But just as the e-mail landscape keeps adapting to technological advancements such as voice assistants, new operating systems, desktop clients, and reading environments, marketers will have to keep their fingers on the digital pulse to stay relevant.

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