• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, July 7, 2023

The United States is hardly the leader when it comes to email deliverability. It’s also not the worst, judging by Validity’s 2023 Email Deliverability Benchmark.

The U.S. has an inbox rate of 84.6% and a spam rate of 6.3%. Missing? Some 9.1%.

In contrast, Canada has an inbox rate of 90% and a spam rate of 3.9%. Missing: 6.1%. 

“Canadian email programs prioritize quality over quantity, and it shows,” Validity writes.. “Compared to our U.S. neighbors, Canadian email programs typically see higher inbox placement rates and healthier, more engaged lists thanks to the widely adopted double opt-in process. Subscribers who verify their email address are much more likely to engage with future emails.” 

Other countries score as follows: 

• Germany — 97.8%
• China — 92.7% 
• United Kingdom — 89.8%
• Australia — 89.7% 
• France — 88.7%
• Brazil — 86.9% 
• India — 68.9%

One thing is for sure: deliverability is not getting easier.

Of the marketers polled, 61% say it’s becoming harder. Another 23% claim it hasn’t changed, while 10% don’t know, and 6% feel it is becoming easier. 

Here are some general findings:

• 1 in 6 legitimate, permission-based marketing emails isn’t delivered to inboxes
• 1 in 10 emails is not even accepted by receiving mailbox providers (MBPs)
• Europe is the highest-performing global region, with inbox placement rates (IPRs) of 91%
• Asia Pacific is the lowest-performing region with IPRs of 78%

Moreover, deliverability issues “cost the average email program over $15,000 for every million emails sent.”

While Gmail, Microsoft (which includes Outlook and Hotmail), and Yahoo/AOL all have inbox placement rates of over 80% Apple is substantially worse, coming in at less than 67%.  Plus, Apple’s spam placement rates are around three times higher than average. 

Gmail has an inbox rate of 88.1%, with Yahoo at 87.4% and Microsoft at 82.5%.

The best deliverability rates by industry? They are:

• Real Estate — 97.1%
• Media & Internet — 94.9%
• Travel & Hospitality — 94.5%
• Holding Companies — 91.6%
• Construction — 90.9%
• Healthcare — 89.8%
• Consumer Services — 89.7%
• Education — 89.5%
• Software — 89.1%
• Retail — 87.7%
• Manufacturing — 84.7%
• Nonprofit Organizations — 83.5%
• Business Services — 83.4%
• Telecoms — 80.8%
• Finance & Insurance — 80%