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How Many Emails Does the Average Person Receive per Day in 2023?

Email is deeply ingrained in our daily lives, whether it’s for work or personal communication. But have you ever stopped to wonder just how many emails the average person sends and receives per day in this digital age? Get ready for some surprising statistics!

Let’s first look at the overall email landscape – both professional and personal emails combined:

  • Global email traffic has grown steadily over the past 5 years from around 269 billion daily emails in 2017 to 319 billion emails in 2021.
  • For 2022, the total number is forecast to surpass 333 billion emails sent and received worldwide per day!

Work Emails Make Up the Lion‘s Share of Traffic

Now, that 333 billion per day figure includes both business and consumer emails.

Work-related email generates significantly more activity than personal inboxes. According to The Radicati Group, here‘s the breakdown:

  • On an average weekday, the typical corporate user sends and receives around 80 business emails – related to internal communication, customer correspondence, sales, and other work matters.
  • For personal email, the average is just 27 emails daily per user.

So on Monday through Friday, your work inbox is responsible for nearly 75% of all the emails you send and receive!

The volume of business emails declines during weekends when most offices are closed. On Saturdays and Sundays, the average for work emails drops to 35, and personal rises slightly to 30.

Overall, the average knowledge worker sends and receives around 206 emails per day from Monday to Friday, but only 88 emails over the weekend, according to Radicati‘s data.

Let‘s take a deeper look at what‘s driving the high email traffic in workplaces:

  • Remote and hybrid work arrangements have increased reliance on email for office communication and coordination among distributed teams. Email replaces in-person meetings.
  • Customer expectations for fast responses lead many companies to set email SLAs (service-level agreements) of 24 hours or less. Employees feel pressure to be responsive.
  • Email inboxes are used for task management – flagging messages to follow up on later or assignments to delegate to others.

No wonder our inboxes are overflowing Monday through Friday!

How Do Different Age Groups Compare?

There are also significant differences in email usage across age groups and generations.

Data from Statista shows that older adults tend to have higher email volumes, likely because more of them are employed and rely heavily on email for work.

  • 25-34 year olds worldwide sent/received an average of just 47 emails daily in 2021.
  • 35-44 year olds averaged 83 emails per day.
  • Those aged 45-54 sent/received around 95 emails daily.
  • 55-64 year olds had the highest volume at 103 emails per day.

Meanwhile, teens aged 15-19 averaged only 25 emails daily – the lowest of any group.

The data indicates that Millennials and Gen Zers send and receive far fewer emails compared to Gen Xers and Baby Boomers who are more established in their careers.

Younger generations tend to prefer texting, social media apps, and mobile messaging over email for personal communications. However, their email usage is still likely to increase as they enter the workforce and begin using email heavily for business needs.

Jill Ward, an email marketing expert, explains:

“While social media and messaging are second nature to them, Gen Z will still have to use email professionally as they start careers. But brands should engage them on social channels to capture their attention.”

Tuesday Morning is the Sweet Spot for Open Rates

Understanding when most people engage with email can significantly boost marketing campaign performance.

Extensive research on open and click-through rates shows:

  • Tuesdays at 10 AM is the prime time to send marketing emails, according to Campaign Monitor. People are settled into the workweek and focused.
  • Mondays rank a close second best with strong open rates as people return to their inbox.
  • Wednesdays and Thursdays are also productive days for email marketing.
DayOpen Rate %
Tuesday18.6%
Monday18.3%
Thursday17.1%

Table 1: Email Open Rates by Day of Week (Source: Campaign Monitor)

And the winning hour is…drumroll10 AM to 3 PM on weekdays!

Litmus Analytics crunched data from over 500 million emails and found this mid-morning to mid-afternoon timeframe has the highest engagement as most people are at work desks reading email actively.

Keep Content Targeted, Brief, and Valuable

With so much competition for user attention, how can brands create stellar email campaigns?

Surveys indicate the most important element is relevant, targeted content. Generic emails get overlooked.

Litmus Email Metrics data reveals emails with targeted subject lines have 60% higher open rates. Using first names also boosts open rates by 26%.

Next, keep copy brief and scannable. Litmus finds succinct emails between 250-300 words have higher engagement. Long blocks of text don‘t get read.

Helpful incentives like special discounts and sneak peeks of new products make recipients more likely to open and click your emails too.

Steph Townsend, marketing director at Crafter Software, advises:

“Test different subject lines, but focus most on the value you’re providing subscribers. Give them truly useful or entertaining content.”

The Future: Enterprise Email Here to Stay

While messaging apps are encroaching on personal communications, enterprise email is here to stay for formal business needs.

Even as younger generations enter the workforce, they will have to adopt email. Professionals depend on features like groups, attachments, read receipts, and calendars.

According to market research firm Radicati, the corporate email user base will keep growing steadily from 1.58 billion in 2022 to 1.8 billion by 2026.

However, email service providers will need to keep enhancing mobile experiences to match messaging apps. And integration with social media can help brands better engage millennials and Gen Z.

Jake Jabs, a Forrester Research analyst, predicts:

“Email will remain a central communication and productivity tool among knowledge workers. But the days of desktop-centric email are ending. The inbox needs to go fully mobile.”

So how many emails does the average person get daily in 2023? For office workers, it‘s a staggering 80+ on weekdays! But leveraging data on usage patterns and user preferences can help brands master email outreach.

The astute email marketer will stay focused on sending targeted, concise content that delivers real value – not just noisy spam. With smart strategy, the trusty old inbox can still connect your brand to millions.

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Michael

Michael Reddy is a tech enthusiast, entertainment buff, and avid traveler who loves exploring Linux and sharing unique insights with readers.