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

Date:
Sun, 19 Apr 2026 19:15:00 +0000

Description:
Many businesses continue investing in email marketing despite weak ROI tracking, poor deliverability, and limited AI use beyond basic content generation.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Tech Radar Pro Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Become a Member in Seconds Unlock instant access to exclusive member features. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are
now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Join the club Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards. Explore An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter 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. Article continues below You may like 'Email is at an inflection point': new study finds only 13% of emails sent worldwide were actually written by humans Experts warn UK firms want to keep spending on AI - even without clear ROI Only 31% of UK firms report positive returns on AI investments 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. Are you a pro? Subscribe
to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

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. What to read next How AI
has made bad measurement worse Vanity metrics are jeopardizing AI ROI 'Belief alone is not enough': New study reveals businesses are widely different when it comes to AI adoption so what's the best course?

"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. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/its-a-bit-surprising-why-the-majority-of-busines ses-are-still-sending-marketing-emails-without-tracking-roi


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