Email Marketing 2026

What Consumer Behavior Shifts and Increased AI Adoption Mean for Marketers

Report by Kelsey Voss  | Jan 2, 2026
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Email remains a stable, high-value marketing channel
Recommendations
Sources
Media Gallery
About This Report
Email’s reliability is no longer enough to offset rising consumer expectations. AI accelerates production and enhances relevance, while engagement, trust, and tougher inbox rules push marketers to rethink how they will use the channel in 2026.
Topics
Email Marketing
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
B2B Marketing
United States
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Email remains a stable, high-value marketing channel
Recommendations
Sources
Media Gallery

Email is a top-performing channel. But shifting behaviors and AI-driven workflows are intensifying pressure around relevance, trust, and deliverability. This report outlines how marketers can refine strategy, production, and measurement to meet demands in 2026.

Key Question: How can marketers update email strategy, production, and measurement to meet evolving consumer needs and take advantage of AI-driven efficiencies in 2026?

Key Stat: Email marketing delivers the highest ROI, according to US and UK marketers.

Email Marketing Delivers the Highest ROI
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Table of Contents

  1. Executive Summary
  2. Email remains a stable, high-value marketing channel
  1. Recommendations
  2. Sources
  1. Media Gallery

Charts in This Report

Email Marketing Delivers the Highest ROIEmail Remains a Cost-Efficient Channel, Taking Up Less Than 15% of Most Marketers' Budgets, (% of marketing professionals worldwide*, Jan 2025)
Email Supports Diverse Communication Needs Across IndustriesEmail Is the Preferred Communication Channel for Consumers, (% of adult consumers worldwide*, June 2025)
Consumers Expect Brands to Use Information They Have Shared for CorrespondenceAI Is Most Used for Email Content Creation, (% of marketers worldwide, March 2025)
GenAI Tools Are the Most Impactful AI Application for Email MarketingEmail Is a Top Channel for A/B Testing, (% of marketing professionals worldwide, April 2025)
Frequency and Poor Content Decisions Cause Unsubscribes, (% of adult consumers worldwide*, June 2025)Email Is the Largest Source of Scam Attempts, (% of US adult consumers who have encountered scams, March 2025)
Lack of Trust and Sender Identity Affect Email Response Rates Across Generations, (% of US adults, on the top reasons they don't respond to emails, by generation, June 2025)Spam Filtering Is the Biggest Inbox Barrier for Email Marketing Campaigns

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authors

Kelsey Voss

Contributors

Eleni Digalaki
Madan Kumar
Copy Editor
Heather Sprung
Senior Editor
Tracy Tang
Matt Torpey
Senior Chart Editor
Emman Velasco
Chart Editor
Paul Verna
VP, Content