Best Time to Send Marketing Emails in 2025

While many sources recommend mid-week mornings as a sweet spot, other analyses, like Omnisend’s 2024 data, show surprising peaks in engagement during early mornings and evenings. 

This blog post delves into the latest U.S. data and expert recommendations to help you identify the most effective times to send your marketing emails in 2025, ultimately boosting your engagement and return on investment for industries like ecommerce, SaaS, and small businesses.

What Days and Times are Best to Send Marketing Emails in the U.S. (2024-2025 Data)?

Overall, most benchmarks suggest mid-week, late-morning to mid-afternoon sends (roughly 9 AM–3 PM) capture the most engagement. This section provides a detailed breakdown of current findings from leading email marketing platforms, including an analysis of first-24h engagement curves.

Key Days: When Do Emails Get Opened Most?

Multiple recent reports consistently find mid-week (Tuesday–Thursday) to be the best for email engagement.

Mid-Week Dominance: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday Performance

Klaviyo’s 2024 ecommerce data indicates mid-week (Wednesday–Thursday) yields the highest open and click rates, with Tuesday/Wednesday open rates (~12.5%) slightly above the rest of the week. Salesforce notes Tuesdays see higher opens and CTOR in B2B, while OptinMonster reports B2B emails peak on Tuesday mornings.

Weekend Email Sends: High Opens, Low Competition?

Weekends typically see fewer sends and lower volume. However, Sunday can produce good open rates (MailerLite: ~51.3%) simply because competition is low, especially for non-commercial content (as noted by OptinMonster).

B2B Email Timing: Weekday Focus for Professionals

B2B marketers especially favor early weekdays. Salesforce notes Tuesdays see higher opens and CTOR in B2B, while OptinMonster reports B2B emails peak on Tuesday mornings, aligning with typical business hours.

Key Times: What Hours See the Highest Engagement?

Beyond the day of the week, the specific hour of send can significantly impact your email's performance.

Morning Peaks: 8 AM - 11 AM Local Time

Late-morning (9–11 AM local) is consistently strong. SendGrid finds peak opens around 8–9 AM (local) during major sale periods. HubSpot data (cited by SendGrid) shows 11 AM EST outperforms later times, indicating a morning spike.

Afternoon Performance: 1 PM - 4 PM Engagement

Afternoon slots (1–4 PM) also perform well on weekdays. In practice, the 9 AM–3 PM (local) window generally captures peak activity for most segments.

Evening Surges: Why 8 PM Opens Are Rising

Omnisend’s 2024 analysis found a surprising evening peak at 8:00 PM (59% open), suggesting some audiences check emails late. OptinMonster shows highest opens between 3–7 PM on weekdays (especially 4–6 PM).

Early Morning & Late Evening Opportunities

Omnisend’s data also hints at upticks in both pre-dawn (5–6 AM) and early evening (5–6 PM) hours for click-through rates. These less conventional times might be effective for audiences who check emails before their day officially begins or after work hours.

Overall Recommended Time Window: 9 AM - 3 PM

Synthesizing the various U.S. data points, the most consistently recommended time window for capturing peak activity for most segments remains mid-week, late-morning to mid-afternoon sends (roughly 9 AM–3 PM local time).

Mobile & Flexible Work: Evolving Email Habits

The rise of mobile and flexible work arrangements has significantly influenced how and when people check their emails.

The Impact of Mobile Email Opens on Send Times

About 46% of email opens occur on mobile devices, and approximately 91% of people check email on smartphones daily. This favors sends timed around commutes or evenings, as people can check emails on the go or outside of typical office hours.

Adjusting for Remote & Flexible Work Schedules

With many working remote/flex schedules, traditional 9–5 patterns have blurred. Users often turn to email when their schedules are least crowded, typically dawn or late at night. Omnisend’s data, for example, hints at upticks in both pre-dawn (5–6 AM) and evening hours.

B2B vs. B2C: Different Audience Habits

As OptinMonster notes, B2B audiences align more with weekday mornings, while B2C consumers are active on Friday evenings and weekends. Plan your sends by your audience’s habits: traditional office workers prefer Tuesday–Thursday mornings, whereas consumer audiences often engage on Friday nights or weekend mornings.

Understanding Current Email Engagement Benchmarks (2024-2025)

Understanding U.S.-specific industry benchmarks from the past 12 months provides a valuable context for evaluating your own email marketing performance in 2024-2025.

U.S. Average Open and Click-Through Rates

Recent data show email engagement is strong and rising. HubSpot (April 2025) reports the average open rate across industries at ~42.35%. MailerLite (2025) likewise finds a median open rate of 42.35% across ~1.7M U.S. campaigns. In the U.S. specifically, GetResponse found open rates jumped to 45.6% (and CTR ~4.34%) in 2024. These figures underscore that good open rates are now often in the 30–50% range. In practice, a U.S. average CTR is roughly 2–4%, though top performers can exceed that.

Are Current Email Open Rates Increasing?

While average open rates have seen slight increases, partly due to stricter bot filtering, remember Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) inflates reported opens. Therefore, clicks and click-to-open rates (CTOR) often tell a more accurate story of true engagement.

Email Performance Benchmarks by Industry (Mailchimp Data)

Mailchimp's 2024 email marketing benchmarks provide industry-specific performance metrics:

• Business & Finance: Open rate: 31.35%, Click-through rate (CTR): 2.78%
• Education & Training: Open rate: 35.64%, CTR: 3.02%
• Nonprofit: Open rate: 40.04%, CTR: 3.27%
• Ecommerce: Open rate: 29.81%, CTR: 1.74%

Email Performance Benchmarks by Industry (GetResponse Data)

GetResponse's 2024 global email marketing benchmarks provide valuable insights into industry-specific performance:

• Retail: Open rate: 35.07%, Click-through rate (CTR): 9.47%
• Agencies: Open rate: 57.2%, CTR: 29.05%
• Health: Open rate: 61.23%, CTR: 14.23%
• Software/Web: Open rate: 48.08%, CTR: 19.67%

Interpreting Your Own Email Marketing Metrics

These benchmarks show your results in context. For example, an open rate above ~40% is now above average, and click rates around 3–5% are strong. Always track your own data against such statistics, and remember Apple’s Mail Privacy (MPP) inflates reported opens, so clicks and CTOR often tell a more accurate story.

Optimal Email Send Times by Industry & Segment

Different sectors have characteristic rhythms. Below is a summary of optimal send days/times by industry, based on recent U.S. data from the past 12 months:

Applying Industry Benchmarks: A Starting Point

These recommendations synthesize multiple recent U.S. sources. For instance, MailerLite’s 2025 data found creators/SMBs see highest opens on Monday. Klaviyo (e-commerce) highlights Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday for strong opens across apparel, health, and home categories. Salesforce and OptinMonster suggest 9–11 AM for B2B. In practice, each industry’s audience is unique – use the table as a starting point and A/B test around those days/times.

How U.S. Holidays & Seasons Impact Email Send Times

Email engagement shifts dramatically around U.S. holidays. In general, opens slump on the holiday itself (as recipients are offline) and spike just before or after. Key patterns from 2024–2025 data:

Thanksgiving & Black Friday Email Strategy

People tend to stop opening marketing emails on Thanksgiving Eve. This decline in open rate continues until the Monday after Thanksgiving Day, where click rates jump back to normal, spiking on Wednesday. 

Interestingly, despite the overall decline in engagement during the holiday weekend, Thanksgiving Day itself has shown strong performance in email marketing. According to Omnisend's 2023 data, emails sent on Thanksgiving Day achieved the highest conversion rate of the entire Cyber Ten period, at 0.12%. This suggests that while overall engagement may be lower, targeted campaigns on Thanksgiving Day can still be highly effective. 

Given these trends, it's advisable to schedule your primary marketing emails for the week following Thanksgiving, capitalizing on the rebound in engagement. Additionally, as "Cyber Monday" continues to grow as a significant shopping event, this post-holiday period offers valuable opportunities for effective email marketing campaigns.

Christmas & New Year Email Engagement Drop-offs

Activity peaks before Christmas and drops off on the holiday. HubSpot reports ~6% higher open rates in the week before December 25. But engagement plummets on December 24 (–42% open) and especially December 25 (–72% open). In fact, December 31 and January 1 each see ~58–62% fewer opens than normal. Opens only rebound in the first working week of January (roughly January 5–8). Recommendation: Don’t wait till the last minute—kick off campaigns before year’s end or capitalize on renewed interest in early January.

Memorial Day Weekend Email Timing

Open rates drop on Memorial Day (holiday Monday) as people are away from their inboxes. Analysis shows about a 32% decrease in opens on Memorial Day itself. However, engagement rebounds strongly immediately after: by Tuesday–Wednesday after Memorial Day, opens can run ~19% above average.

Fourth of July Email Send Patterns

Engagement peaks before the holiday, then dips. Data indicates the Thursday preceding July 4th often has very high opens (as people prepare for the holiday). On July 4th (and any “in lieu” weekday if it falls on a weekend), opens drop off sharply. Similar to Memorial Day, plan major sends before the holiday and allow a brief pause on the day of.

Email Marketing During Other Minor U.S. Holidays

For smaller federal holidays (Labor Day, Presidents’ Day, etc.), the effect is usually minor. Sometimes opens dip slightly on the holiday itself if many are off work, but for the most part send schedules can follow normal patterns on those days.

Key Holiday Email Timing Tips

Don’t send important campaigns on Christmas Day or July 4th – open rates will be very low. Instead, send holiday promotions 1–2 weeks prior, or align with the next business week.

Tailoring Email Timing to Your Unique Audience & Mobile Habits

Optimizing email send times goes beyond general benchmarks; it requires a deep understanding of your audience and their evolving digital habits.

Timing vs. Quality: Why Both Matter for Email Success

While strategic send times can boost open rates and engagement, the quality of your email content remains paramount for driving website traffic. Consumers receive nearly 120 emails daily, making quality crucial for standing out. To cut through the noise, focus on compelling subject lines, engaging preview text, and valuable body content. Utilizing urgent phrases like "Check out this can't-miss sale" or "Last chance to save!" can significantly increase engagement by tapping into a fear of missing out.

Work vs. Leisure: B2B vs. B2C Email Habits

9-to-5 professionals tend to check email in the morning and (to a lesser extent) at noon. Thus, mid-week late-morning slots work well for B2B/SaaS content. Consumers (B2C) often engage outside work hours – e.g., evenings and weekends. OptinMonster notes B2C and promotions often do well on Friday evenings.

Adapting for Remote & Flexible Work Schedules

With more remote and flexible work, people may open emails early or late. For instance, Omnisend found people who stay up late still open in the evening (8 PM), and those who rise early open pre-dawn (5–6 AM). If your audience is unique (e.g., stay-at-home parents or night-owl gamers), test times outside the traditional window.

The Importance of Mobile Optimization for Email Timing

Given that roughly 46% of all opens occur on mobile devices (91% of users check email on smartphones daily), always ensure your emails and send times suit mobile readers. Commuter times (8–10 AM) can be especially effective for mobile opens.

Leveraging Smart Scheduling & A/B Testing for Optimal Results

Many email platforms offer “send at optimal time” features. These machine-learning tools can personalize each subscriber’s best open time. While general guidelines help, the best approach is to test: use A/B tests or platform analytics to fine-tune your send time for your specific list.

Key Takeaways for Optimizing Your Email Send Times in 2025

In summary, while recent U.S. data points to mid-week late mornings as generally effective, the absolute best time to send your email depends on your specific audience and goals. Combine these data-driven insights with consistent A/B testing and intelligent sending tools to maximize your email opens and clicks, leading to improved overall campaign performance.

Sources & Methodology

This blog post synthesizes U.S.-specific data and insights from recent analyses (2024–2025 where available, or most recent annual reports otherwise from the past 12 months) by leading email marketing platforms and thought leaders, including MailerLite, Klaviyo, Mailchimp, GetResponse, Salesforce, Omnisend, HubSpot, and OptinMonster. The information is based on reported trends and benchmarks rather than proprietary research. Data vary slightly by source, so use them as guidelines and verify with your own analytics.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About Email Send Times

What are the statistically best days to send marketing emails in the U.S.?

In the U.S., mid-week days—especially Tuesday through Thursday—tend to deliver stronger email marketing results, with higher opens and clicks than other weekdays. Mondays also show strong performance, particularly for SMBs and creators.

Which times of day generally show the highest email open rates?

Late mornings (around 9 AM - 11 AM local time) are consistently strong. Interestingly, new data from the U.S. highlights increased email interaction during late afternoon to early evening hours (3–7 PM), with some segments even engaging around 8 PM, and a notable spike in early-morning click-throughs around 5–6 AM.

How do email open rates differ between B2B and B2C audiences?

B2B audiences typically engage more during standard business hours (weekdays, particularly mid-morning to early afternoon). B2C audiences, in contrast, may show higher engagement in the evenings, on Friday nights, or on weekends, aligning with their leisure time.

Should I send marketing emails on major U.S. holidays like Christmas or July 4th?

Recent U.S. data strongly advises against sending important marketing emails on major holidays like Christmas Day or July 4th, as engagement plummets significantly. It's more effective to send promotions 1-2 weeks prior or align with the next business week.

What role does mobile optimization play in email send time effectiveness?

Mobile optimization is crucial because a substantial portion (around 46%) of U.S. email opens occur on mobile devices. This flexibility allows people to check emails at various times, not just at a desk, making mobile-friendly designs and considering commuter-time sends vital for effectiveness.

Why is A/B testing crucial for determining my specific audience's best email send time?

A/B testing is crucial because general benchmarks are just starting points. Your specific audience has unique habits and preferences. A/B testing different send times allows you to gather proprietary data on when your subscribers are most likely to open and click, leading to truly optimized performance.

What are the average email open and click-through rates in 2024-2025 across industries?