Internal email remains a critical and highly effective channel for internal communication, with strong engagement rates and reliable reach. The report analyzes performance data from over 100,000 anonymized internal email campaigns across 20+ industries to provide benchmarks and insights for 2026.
Key findings:
- Overall engagement: The average email open rate is 81%, click rate is 24%, and click-to-open rate is 42%. Over 40% of employees spend more than nine seconds reading internal emails, indicating strong message engagement.
- Device usage: Desktop dominates internal email consumption (82%), while mobile engagement is growing (13%) but still relatively small. Device preference varies by industry, with field-based workforces showing higher mobile usage.
- Company size impact: Smaller organizations achieve higher open rates (86% for 1-50 employees) compared to larger enterprises (55% for 10,000+ employees), as communications are more targeted and relevant.
- Interactive features: Emails with emoji reactions (8% click rate) and embedded eNPS surveys (11% click rate) see higher engagement than standard sends, providing direct feedback and increasing interaction.
- Best day and time to send: Friday is the most common send day across 12 industries, while Monday leads for Software and Services, Retailing, Utilities, and Consumer Durables and Apparel. Most industries peak between 8:00 AM and 12:00 PM, with exceptions like Health Care Equipment and Services (3:00 PM) and Transportation (3:00 PM).
- Regional variations: North American employees engage most in mid-morning, European audiences in the early afternoon, and Australia and New Zealand favor mid-week over Monday. The Middle East data shows a Sunday-to-Thursday workweek, while Asia Pacific is an outlier with late evening sends likely due to timezone misalignment.
Recommendations:
- Localize send times to recipient timezones and regions.
- Segment audiences for more relevant and targeted messaging.
- Incorporate interactive features like surveys and reactions to increase engagement and gather feedback.
- Understand workforce culture and communication preferences to optimize timing and content.
The data highlights the importance of considering timing, audience, and format as strategic variables in internal communication. By localizing sends, segmenting audiences, and using interactive features, organizations can improve reach, engagement, and the overall effectiveness of their internal communications.
