Research shows strategic shifts as marketers tackle top challenges: ROI, engagement, personalization and AI
BOSTON — June 4, 2025 — Recently acquired by Validity, Litmus from Validity released its 2025 State of Email report, revealing how marketers are adapting to today’s complex marketing landscape based on responses from hundreds of global email marketers. As email marketers navigate frequent mailbox provider updates, advancements in technology, complex privacy regulations and shifting consumer behaviors, the State of Email 2025 report highlights what works in email marketing, what doesn’t and what’s top of mind for today’s email professionals.
The research reveals opportunities for measurement and personalization practices. While most marketers could identify ROI from their email program, one in five respondents (22%) report struggling with measuring or proving ROI. When it comes to personalization, the top challenges are developing personalized content efficiently (17%), collecting and analyzing the data needed for personalization (16%), and measuring the impact of personalization on email performance (15%).
Companies achieving higher ROI from email (36:1 to 50:1) dedicate 25-50% of their marketing team to email operations, signaling that investment in email marketing brings strong results. There is a correlation between investment and performance: companies that dedicate over 15% of their marketing budget to email marketing are 2X more likely to have open rates of 40% or more than the average company.
“The brands seeing the strongest email marketing results moved beyond traditional tactics to create sophisticated, data-driven programs that respond to individual customer needs,” said Cynthia Price, SVP of Marketing at Validity. “Successful marketing teams invest strategically in both technology and talent, recognizing email isn’t just a cost-effective channel—when executed thoughtfully, it’s a high-performing business driver.”
Looking ahead, 29% of marketers believe advanced AI-driven content generation and analytics will drive the most significant changes in email marketing in 2025. The majority (70%) predict that up to half of their email operations will be AI-driven by 2026, while another 18% expect AI to handle 50-75% of their email marketing tasks.
Other key findings from the State of Email report include:
The research also shows notable differences across industries. Retail and professional services companies primarily leverage email as a brand awareness channel, focusing on engagement metrics. In contrast, tech companies prioritize purchase and transaction history data, using email campaigns as lead drivers.
The full State of Email 2025 report is available at www.Litmus.com.
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About Validity
For over 20 years, tens of thousands of organizations throughout the world have relied on Validity solutions to achieve end-to-end marketing success—using trustworthy data as a key advantage. The Validity flagship products—DemandTools, BriteVerify, Litmus, Everest, GridBuddy Connect, and MailCharts—are all highly rated solutions for CRM data quality, email performance, and campaign analytics. These solutions deliver smarter campaigns, more qualified leads, more productive sales, and ultimately faster growth. For more information, visit Validity.com and connect with us on LinkedIn and X.
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