According to Experian CheetahMail, emails sent between 8 PM and 12 AM had greater conversion rate than any other time of the day.
| Time of Day | Unique Open Rate | Unique Click Rate | Transaction Rate | Revenue Per Email | Average Order |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12am-4am | 17.6% | 3.2% | 0.20% | $0.22 | $135 |
| 4am-8am | 16.2% | 2.5% | 0.15% | $0.18 | $164 |
| 8am-12pm | 16.1% | 2.4% | 0.13% | $0.17 | $174 |
| 12pm-4pm | 17.6% | 2.8% | 0.13% | $0.15 | $188 |
| 4pm-8pm | 18.2% | 2.9% | 0.15% | $0.16 | $182 |
| 8pm-12am | 21.7% | 4.2% | 0.34% | $0.48 | $246 |
Source: Experian CheetahMail, Q4 2012 Quarterly Benchmark Study, March 7, 2013
As you can see, 8pm-12am beat the next best performer by a significant margin. The next highest are emails sent between 12am-4am generating 22 cents per email, more than half less than 8pm-12pm. Last place are emails sent between 12pm-4pm, which is during the workday. Although there are peaks in ecommerce traffic during the lunch hour, perhaps consumers are not checking their personal emails at this time.
Personally, I’m more likely to open newsletter emails in the evening because that is where my free time is. In the morning, I will be rushing to get out of the house for work, but will still go through my email beforehand. However, I will skim over newsletters more quickly. During the workday, those newsletters are extremely likely to get a quick delete from me via Outlook or my cellphone.
Now, as you can see, senders are benefitting from sending emails during off hours, but they also benefit sending emails on off days.
| Day of the Week | Unique Open Rate | Unique Click Rate | Transaction Rate | Revenue Per Email | Average Order |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 16.6% | 2.7% | 0.12% | $0.17 | $173 |
| Tuesday | 16.8% | 2.7% | 0.12% | $0.16 | $189 |
| Wednesday | 16.7% | 2.6% | 0.11% | $0.13 | $188 |
| Thursday | 16.5% | 2.5% | 0.11% | $0.14 | $195 |
| Friday | 16.4% | 2.6% | 0.13% | $0.16 | $179 |
| Saturday | 17.8% | 2.9% | 0.16% | $0.20 | $176 |
| Sunday | 17.8% | 2.9% | 0.13% | $0.19 | $189 |
Source: Experian CheetahMail, Q4 2012 Quarterly Benchmark Study, March 7, 2013
Saturdays are when people were in the most buying mood followed by Sunday.
Therefore, send your newsletters off hours and off days for the best returns!
