The average second-quarter email open rate across 16 industries now stands at 22.2%, and has increased for the fourth quarter in a row, according to Epsilon’s  quarterly US email benchmark report for Q209 (pdf), which measured an 18.2% total increase over Q208.

Click-through rates averaged of 5.9% for the quarter, down slightly from 6.1% in Q109, but consistent with 5.9% measured in  Q208. CPG and financial services - general, had the highest click-through rates of the industries tracked:

Moreover, 14 of the 16 industries measured by Epsilon saw increases in open rates over Q208, while business publishing/media, consumer products, pharmaceutical, telecom, general retail, specialty retail and travel/hospitality all saw year-over-year increases in three of the major email metrics - deliverability, opens and clicks.

“Our research has shown that while email marketing volumes have increased substantially, email remains a highly-effective channel for communication,” said Kevin Mabley, SVP of strategic & analytic consulting, Epsilon. “The top performers are those taking advantage of lifecycle triggers to send timely, relevant emails. These marketers are capturing preferences, both explicit through preference centers and opt-in pages and implicit such as web activity, response and engagement activity.”