• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, April 22, 2024

North America remained the leading setting for email opt-outs last year, with the U.S. accounting for 76.42% of all opt-outs worldwide, according to a new report from Optizmo Technologies. 

Yet the total for North America slipped to 79.29%, falling below 80% for the first time as Europe increased to 16.24%. Europe also contributed to a global hike in opt-out activity. 

In another shift, Yahoo has reclaimed the top spot among email domains, accounting for 24.21% of opt-outs, versus 18.62% for Gmail. In contrast, Outlook sees only 1.61% opt-out activity. 

Note: This report is based on analysis of opt-out activity in Optizmo’s operating system. 

Monday is the top day for opt-outs, producing 16.32% -- compared to Saturday, the lowest day, with 11.93%:. The second-highest day for opt-outs is Tuesday (15.75%) and Wednesday (15.72%).

The leading time of day is between 9:00 and 11:00 Central Time, with the 9:00-10:00 period the most intense hour. However, opt-out activity is flattening across the entire day. 

Mobile is the main driver of opt-outs, as it has been for at least six years -- jumping up after a dip in 2022. 

As for operating systems, 42.37% of all opt-outs come in via iOS compared to 21,39% for Android, 18.33% for Windows, 11.13% for Mac OS and 6.78% for all others. 

Is there any good news? Yes, email remains a robust channel, Optizmo says.