'It’s a bit surprising': Why the majority of businesses are still sending marketing emails without tracking ROI

• Most organizations cannot reliably track returns from email campaigns
• Strong ROI exists only for companies that actively measure performance
• Many teams rely on content generation without deeper optimization strategies

Email marketing continues to generate strong returns, yet 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, finding fewer than half of organizations can reliably track return on investment from their email programs.

This gap between email's proven potential and actual execution is where many businesses are losing out.

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 do measure email ROI, 60% report returns above $10 for every $1 spent. More than one in ten achieve returns as high as 40 x 1, figures which suggest email remains one of the most effective marketing channels available.

Yet despite these impressive numbers, a large portion of businesses continue sending promotional emails without knowing whether those messages are actually paying off.

These organizations are essentially flying blind on their own email performance, but they do not have to remain 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 like optimization, segmentation, and deliverability remain underused.

Just under half (41%) of teams use AI to generate email content, yet only 23% say AI has greatly improved their email programs.

"Using AI to generate content is a good starting point, but it's not where the biggest impact happens," Nowrouzi said.

Organizations that apply AI to optimization and segmentation are seeing much stronger results.

This measurement gap becomes even more concerning when combined with poor deliverability, as nearly 18% of all marketing emails fail to reach the inbox at all, meaning organizations cannot track ROI on messages that never arrive.

Even if a company tracks its email performance perfectly, up to one-fifth of potential return is still at risk simply because messages never get seen.

Despite 78% of survey respondents saying email is critical to business success, poor deliverability 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 businesses flying blind on ROI will ever invest in proper tracking remains uncertain, but the data suggests those who do measure their returns are seeing clear results.

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