For years, the open rate has been the quintessential barometer of email marketing. A simple number, seemingly reliable, that reassured as much as it guided: if an email was opened, it indicated interest. But this certainty today is being challenged, even shaken. New regulations, privacy protection tools — starting with Apple Mail Privacy Protection — and the evolution of digital usage have profoundly distorted this indicator. We then wonder if the open rate is still relevant or if it should be considered completely obsolete. This upheaval raises another essential question: how can marketers adapt and continue to effectively measure their campaign performance?
The Open Rate: An Indicator Losing Its Meaning
The Impact of Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection
Since the introduction of Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) by Apple in 2021, email open data has become less reliable. Indeed, this feature disguises the actual email opening behaviors. Images are automatically preloaded upon receipt, even if the user never opens the email. Simply receiving a message can now be interpreted as an opening by tracking tools.
In addition, IP address masking makes reliable geolocation or device identification impossible. For senders, this results in a significant loss of behavioral data.
When a Distorted Indicator Leads to Bad Decisions
Since the widespread adoption of Mail Privacy Protection, the open rate has become a misleading signal. Messaging platforms automatically trigger the tracking pixel without user action. This misalignment between measured behavior and reader reality distorts the analysis, and thus strategic decisions.
Many marketing scenarios (follow-ups, re-engagement campaigns, A/B tests, etc.) relied on the reliability of the open rate. Result:
- Active users can be considered inactive (and excluded);
- Tested email subjects can be misclassified;
- Automation may activate at the wrong time or on the wrong segment.
This is not just a technical issue: it is a profound distortion of the logic of optimization.
Towards a Redefinition of Performance Indicators
Prioritizing Click and Conversion Rates
In light of these concerns about the open rate, it is essential to focus on more reliable indicators, such as the click-through rate (CTR) and the conversion rate. These show active user interaction with the content, thus providing a more accurate view of actual engagement.
The Responsiveness Rate: A Relevant Alternative
The responsiveness rate, calculated by dividing the number of clicks by the number of opens, helps evaluate the effectiveness of email content. However, with the amount of inaccurate opens, this rate can also be skewed. It should therefore be interpreted with caution and complemented with other indicators.
What About the Open Rate?
Rather than a clear disappearance, we observe a mutation of its role. The open rate can no longer be used as the main indicator — but it is not entirely useless. It retains value in certain contexts:
- A/B Testing on subjects, if the audience is not greatly affected by MPP;
- Performance tracking in B2B, where privacy protections are less widespread;
- Evaluation of very occasional campaigns (transactional, notifications…).
What is being buried is not so much the open rate itself as a metric but its overly intensive use. It becomes a secondary KPI to be handled with discernment.
Responding Intelligently to This Evolution of the Open Rate: Concrete Approaches
Rethinking Triggers in Automations
Many automation scenarios still rely on the trigger “if the email is opened.” Prefer criteria that are truly measurable, such as using a click as a new trigger signal.
Building A/B Tests Centered on Real Engagement
Avoid basing your subject tests on the open rate. It’s better to rely on click-through rates, micro-conversions (like a download or an add to cart), or tests conducted on active panels by observing their behavior once on your site.
Incorporating Trackable Elements in the Email
Even without the open pixel, you can measure subscribers’ interest through other elements integrated into your emails: multiple links to see which sections attract the most, polls or simple interactions, or buttons like “Was this content useful to you?”
These clickable actions allow you to gather precise data while making the email more engaging.
Beyond Email: How to Broaden Engagement Analysis
Other sources of analysis can help better understand the quality of engagement.
Observing Website Behavior
Web tracking becomes an essential analysis leverage. It allows tracking the traffic generated by emails, session quality (bounce, time spent, depth of navigation), and conversions attributable to emailing.
Integrating Qualitative Feedback
Subscriber feedback becomes even more valuable as technical signals become blurred. Consider:
- Incorporating quick surveys;
- Tracking manual responses to certain campaigns;
- Collecting product or content feedback.
The Golden Age of the Open Rate is Over, But Not Quite Dead
The open rate has long been the king indicator of email marketing. Today, it has lost its reliability, meaning, and status. But should it be declared dead? Not entirely.
The open rate hasn’t disappeared; it has simply changed roles. From a central indicator, it becomes a secondary benchmark, useful in well-targeted contexts — such as B2B, transactional emails, or tests on segments unaffected by privacy protections.
For professionals, this change is an opportunity. The opportunity to build stronger strategies based on tangible signals rather than on metrics that have become illusory. It is also a chance to refocus on content, user experience, and the quality of interactions.
