Glossary · CRM & retentionTOFU
Open rate
The short answer
Open rate is the percentage of delivered emails that are recorded as opened. Opens are tracked with a tiny invisible image that loads when an email is displayed.
Privacy features — notably Apple Mail Privacy Protection — now pre-load those images for many recipients whether or not a person reads the email. That inflates open rates and makes them unreliable as a performance measure.
Better metrics
- Click-through rate — clicks per delivered email
- Placed order rate — orders attributed per delivered email
- Revenue per recipient
- Unsubscribe and spam complaint rates
- Engagement over time by segment
In practice
If open rates suddenly jump after a certain date without any change in clicks or revenue, privacy-driven pre-loading is the likely cause. Rebase your reporting on clicks, placed orders and revenue per recipient so comparisons over time stay meaningful.
Better email metrics
| Metric | Why it's more reliable |
|---|---|
| Click-through rate | Requires a real action |
| Conversion rate | Measures business outcomes |
| Revenue per recipient | Combines engagement and value |
| Unsubscribe and complaint rates | Show relevance and list health |
See email marketing.
Open rates in practice
Privacy features in some email apps can register opens automatically, inflating open rates. Clicks, conversions and revenue per email are more reliable measures.
Common open-rate mistakes
- Optimising subject lines for opens alone
- Ignoring privacy-inflated opens
- Not cleaning inactive subscribers
Frequently asked questions
Are open rates useless now?
Not completely — sudden drops can still flag deliverability problems. But don't judge campaigns on them.
Should we still A/B test subject lines?
Yes, but judge the winner on clicks or revenue per recipient rather than opens, since opens are inflated by privacy features.
Should we stop tracking open rates?
Use them as a rough trend or for deliverability monitoring, not for judging campaign success.
Do WhatsApp read rates work the same way?
Read receipts depend on user settings, so treat them as directional too.
Is open rate still useful?
Directionally, but clicks and conversions are better success metrics.
What metrics are better than open rate?
Click rate, conversion rate and revenue per recipient.
Related terms
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