Why Email Open Rates Are Declining (And What You Can Do About It)

Email marketing remains one of the most cost-effective and direct ways to communicate with customers and grow businesses. However, in 2025, marketers are facing a new challenge: steadily declining email open rates across industries.

Understanding why open rates are dropping—and more importantly, what metrics to focus on and strategies to implement—can help marketers, startup founders, creators, and small business owners like you maintain strong connections with your audience.

This comprehensive guide breaks down the root causes of declining open rates in 2025 and outlines proven actions you can take to improve your email marketing effectiveness.

The Cold, Hard Truth: Open Rates Are Dropping Everywhere

Real Statistics You Should Know:

• Email open rates fell by 5% globally from 2022 to 2024, according to Statista.
• In a recent Campaign Monitor report, average open rates dropped from 21.5% to 17.3% between 2023 and 2024.
• Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) impacted over 50% of tracked email opens, creating artificially inflated numbers before marketers realized real engagement was slipping.

And it’s not just big brands feeling it. Small businesses, startups, and creators are hit even harder.

Why Are Email Open Rates Declining?

There’s no single villain here, it’s a perfect storm.
Here’s what's causing the nosedive:

1: Privacy Changes (Blame Apple… and Others)

In 2021, Apple introduced Mail Privacy Protection. It hides recipient activity, masking whether emails are opened. Today, with Gmail and Yahoo pushing for sender verification and tougher spam protections, even more emails are missing the inbox entirely or getting flagged.

Impact:

• Fake “opens” inflate metrics
• Real engagement becomes harder to track
• Deliverability suffers without proper domain authentication (like DKIM, SPF, and DMARC)

Pro Tip: Seamailer.app automatically helps you set up domain authentication to stay compliant and boost deliverability

2: Inbox Overload & Changing User Behaviour

The average office worker receives 121 emails per day. With overflowing inboxes, consumers are more selective than ever and ruthless with the Unsubscribe button. If your subject line doesn’t cut through the noise immediately? It’s game over.

Key factors:

• Mobile-first behavior – 61% of emails are opened on mobile, where attention spans are shorter.
• Email fatigue – Too many brands are competing for attention.
• Prioritization of messaging apps – Many users prefer Slack, WhatsApp, or social DMs over email.

3: Poor List Hygiene

One of the most common and damaging reasons for declining email open rates is poor list hygiene. An outdated or unclean email list leads to lower engagement, higher bounce rates, and ultimately, a death sentence in the spam folder.

If your list contains any of the following, it’s time to act:

• Inactive subscribers: These are recipients who haven’t opened your emails in 6 months or more. Sending to inactive subscribers wastes resources and leads to lower deliverability.
• Spam traps: These are old, fake, or recycled email addresses used by ISPs to catch spammers. Sending emails to spam traps can severely damage your sender reputation and block future sends.
• Low engagement segments: Groups of subscribers who rarely interact with your emails can drag down your overall engagement metrics and negatively affect inbox placement for your entire list. 

4. Lack of Personalization & Relevance

A Salesforce study found that 62% of consumers expect personalized experiences. Yet, many brands still blast generic emails. Today, 74% of customers expect companies to understand their unique needs and expectations.

If you’re not personalizing based on behavior, preferences, and segmentation?
Your open rates are paying the price.

5. Subject Lines Aren’t Cutting Through the Noise

In today’s crowded inboxes, your subject line has less than 3 seconds to grab attention—otherwise, your email risks getting ignored or buried. Crafting subject lines that stand out is more critical than ever.

Common Mistakes Marketers Make:

• Too vague: Subject lines like “Check this out!” don’t give recipients a clear reason to open your email.
• Too salesy: Phrases such as “Last chance—buy now!” can feel pushy and trigger spam filters.
• Overused clichés: Expressions like “You won’t believe this!” have become so common that they lose impact and can appear spammy.

6. Mobile Opens Dominate (But Emails Aren’t Optimized)

In 2025, mobile continues to lead email engagement, with 58% of emails opened on mobile devices. Despite this majority, many marketers still design emails primarily for desktop viewing, missing critical opportunities to connect effectively with their audience on mobile platforms.

Common Issues with Mobile-Unfriendly Emails

• Tiny text: Small fonts make emails hard to read on smaller screens, frustrating recipients.
• Broken layouts: Complex designs that look great on desktop often render poorly on mobile, causing misalignment, cut-off content, or missing images.
• Slow-loading images: Heavy images that don’t load quickly can lead to users abandoning the email before it fully appears.

Why Email Open Rates Still Matter in 2025

Despite these challenges, open rates remain a valuable metric when combined with other engagement data like click-through rates and conversions. They help marketers understand broad trends and the effectiveness of subject lines and send times.

What You Can Do to Fix It (Starting Today)

Now, here’s the good news: you can still win at email in 2025.
You just have to play smarter.

1. Authenticate Your Domain Properly

Without SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records, you're a sitting duck.

Stat: Domains without authentication are 70% more likely to be flagged as spam (Valimail Email Fraud Report).

Actionable Steps:

• Utilize the Seamailer app’s built-in domain authentication wizard.
• Regularly audit your domain settings.
• Monitor your reputation using tools like Google Postmaster Tools.

2. Clean Your List Ruthlessly

Think of your list like a garden, you have to pull the weeds.

Steps:

• Remove inactive subscribers every 3–6 months.
• Run re-engagement campaigns (subject line idea: "Still want to hear from us?")
• Validate emails at sign-up with double opt-in.

3. Master the Subject Line

First impressions matter.

Best Practices for Effective Subject Lines:

• Be clear and specific: Tell recipients what to expect, e.g., “Unlock your exclusive 20% discount today.”
• Use personalization: Including names or relevant details can boost open rates by up to 26%.
• Create urgency without pressure: Use actionable language like “Ends tonight,” “Limited spots remaining,” curiosity ("You won’t believe this..."), or personalization ("[Name], a special gift for you").
• Keep it concise: Aim for 6–10 words or about 40–50 characters to ensure visibility on mobile devices.
• Avoid spam trigger words: Stay away from ALL CAPS, excessive punctuation, and aggressive sales terms like “Free” or “Buy now.”
• A/B testing different subject lines helps identify what resonates best with your audience. Use AI-powered subject line tools and platforms to optimize your email headers continually. (Seamailer app offers built-in A/B testing to make this simple.)

Examples:

• Bad: Newsletter #12
• Good: Unlock Your Free Marketing Toolkit Today!

4. Segment and Personalize Everything

Stop sending the same email to everyone. Divide your email list based on demographics, purchase history, or engagement levels.

This allows you to send targeted and relevant content, increasing the likelihood of your emails being opened.

Tools to help:

• Seamailer’s Dynamic Content Blocks
• Customer journey automation platforms like Zapier

5. Send Mobile-Optimized Emails

Mobile accounts for 61.9% of all email opens. Ensure your emails are responsive and display correctly on all devices.

Best Practices for Mobile Email Optimization.

• Use legible font sizes (14-16px minimum) and ample line spacing.
• Design with a single-column layout to ensure content flows naturally on narrow screens.
• Compress images and use lightweight formats for faster loading.
• Keep calls-to-action (CTAs) large and easy to tap.
• Test emails across popular mobile devices and clients before sending.

Optimizing your email campaigns for mobile devices is no longer optional—it's essential to stay relevant and maximize engagement in today’s mobile-first world.

6. Provide Actual Value

Here’s a simple test:
If your email disappeared tomorrow, would your audience even notice?

Ideas to add value:

• Share exclusive insights or tips
• Offer discounts or early access
• Tell engaging customer stories
• Highlight user-generated content

Example:
Instead of just promoting a product, tell the story behind it, how it was made, who it helped, and what impact it had.

7. Resend to Non-Openers (Strategically)

If someone didn’t open your email the first time, resend with a new subject line after 48-72 hours. Seamailer app makes this easy with Smart Resend automation.

How Seamailer Helps Improve Open Rates

At Seamailer.app, we’ve built tools specifically to combat declining engagement:

AI-Powered Send Time Optimization – Sends emails when your audience is most likely to open them.

Automated List Cleaning – Removes inactive users to boost deliverability.
 Smart Segmentation – Sends hyper-relevant emails based on user behavior.
 Spam Score Checker – Ensures your emails avoid spam filters.

Conclusion: Adapt or Be Ignored

Email isn’t dead—but generic, spammy emails are.

But marketers who embrace personalization, authentic value, and technical best practices will continue to thrive.

To combat declining open rates:
✔ Focus on relevance (segment, personalize).
✔ Optimize for mobile and inbox algorithms.
✔ Clean your list and track true engagement.

Need an email platform that helps you maximize opens? Try Seamailer for AI-powered insights and higher deliverability.