What a restaurant can expect to see for engagement and attribution varies based on multiple factors. Having sent more than 40,000 email campaigns for brick-and-mortar clients in 2021, Adentro has been able to identify email benchmarks for restaurants that marketing teams can leverage when planning email campaigns.
Inbox Traffic Benchmarks
Average Number of Emails Sent Per Month
How many emails should restaurants be sending each month for optimal results? CoSchedule found that 67% of B2C companies send emails 2-5 times per month. In the food & beverage industry specifically, our clients have seen the best results sending 2-3 emails per month. This frequency maintains positive open rates while avoiding high unsubscribe rates. As you can see in the data below, many of our clients follow this best practice, sending about 2 emails per month.
It’s important to note that this average excludes automatically triggered emails sent for things like your loyalty program. Later, we cover the benefits of using automation tools to maintain relationships without repetitive effort.
When Emails Are Opened
When is the best time to send an email? Though the ideal time for a restaurant to send an email will likely vary based on location and audience, some standard times tend to be successful.
The heat map below shows when Adentro’s restaurant customers have seen the best results. Open rates are highest on emails sent Wednesdays and Fridays between 10am and 2pm.
Engagement and Attribution Benchmarks
As you would suspect, open rates vary based on a multitude of factors. The data below dives into average food & beverage open rates based on the sending platform and establishment type.
Average Food & Beverage Email Open Rate by Sending Platform
In 2019, Mailchimp recorded an average open rate of 20.39% for restaurants and venues. In contrast, Constant Contact recorded an average open rate of 28.97% for dining and food services in 2021.
Due to a deeper understanding of customer visit behavior and increased personalization, Adentro food & beverage clients saw an average open rate of 31.75% in 2021.
Average Email Open Rates by Establishment Type
With hundreds of clients in the food & beverage industry, Adentro also has the ability to further segment data by restaurant type. Though open rates don’t greatly vary in the data below, it’s helpful to note that emails can be a very successful way to connect with your guests no matter your establishment type.
Based on the open rates by sending platform and establishment type, restaurants should be aiming for a 22+% open rate, and anything over 30% is considered excellent!
Average Email Walk-Throughs in 2021
Most restaurant marketing emails are sent with a primary goal in mind: bring more guests back through the door. The problem is that many restaurants lack the technology to attribute walk-throughs to email campaigns.
Adentro gives restaurants the ability to measure the results of their email and online ad campaigns with the Walk-Through Rate™ — the number of people who walk through a restaurant’s door after being exposed to your marketing. From there, restaurants can also attribute revenue to campaigns through the Adentro platform either directly through integrating POS data or by inputting their average order value.
Fun Fact: Adentro drove more than 1 million customer walk-throughs for their food & beverage clients in 2021.
On average, Adentro’s food & beverage clients saw 460 walk-throughs per business location driven by emails in 2021.
Average Yearly Revenue Attributed to Email Campaigns
Based on thousands of emails sent, Adentro identified the average yearly revenue their food & beverage clients saw attributed to email campaigns. The graph below highlights the variance based on establishment type, but keep in mind that establishment size would also influence the average.
Wrap Up
All in all, email marketing is a powerful way to stay connected with your guests and drive restaurant revenue. We know it takes time and effort to see great results, but the benchmarks above will help set you up for success.
Looking for more email marketing tips and best practices? Download A Restaurant’s Guide to Successful Email Marketing.
This guide includes:
- Email marketing benchmarks for restaurants
- Actionable email trends and best practices
- A collection of email examples for inspiration
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