What is a good email open rate for an ecommerce store?

Before you start rewriting subject lines, look at who you’re sending to. Send most of your campaigns to an engaged segment, like people who’ve been active in the last 180 days, and clean out the profiles that never open, click or buy.

Then check you’re still earning well per send. Don’t judge the change on open rate alone. I compared a store’s full-list sends with its engaged-segment sends recently. The engaged sends had much better opens, clicks and purchases, and they made about the same money as the full-list blasts.

That’s the result you’re after. The same revenue from a smaller, keener audience, plus a healthier sender reputation, which means more of your emails land in front of the people who actually want them.

Subject lines still matter. Fix the audience first, then work on them.