Quarterly data released by Epsilon and the Direct Marketing Association revealed a marked increase in the percentage of B2B email open rates from the second quarter to the third quarter, BtoB Online reports.

The Q3 2011 Email Trends and Benchmarks report found that open rates rose to 23.8 percent – a 7.1 percent increase from last quarter and a 7.8 percent increase from this point last year.

Furthermore, click rates improved – albeit slightly – from 5.2 percent to 5.5 percent since last quarter. The statistic has remained relatively steady this year, just 0.1 percent higher than last year's 5.4 rate.

Lastly, average volume per client increased significantly by 14.9 percent, and non-bounce rates sat at 96.5 percent.

"A nearly 8 percent rise in open rates year-to-year, even as volumes go up, is a big deal," said Ali Swerdlow, director of DMA's Email Experience Council. "Email is a mature channel, so an improvement on that scale indicates better marketer practices for subject lines and preview panes."

Judy Loschen, vice president of digital analytics at Epsilon division Aspen Marketing Services, adds that based on this data, it's integral that marketers "dive deeper" into testing email as a marketing channel to drive loyalty, engagement and action. 

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