Omnisend’s analysis of almost 1 billion marketing messages sent by Canadian brands has revealed:
- Canadian brands made $143 million in revenue from 818 thousand sales, setting the average order value (AOV) for 2024 at $175
- Brands sent 4.7 times more push notifications and 77% more SMS in 2024 than they did in 2023. In total, the adoption of these two channels has grown by 115% year-over-year
- 1 in 3 people who click on an automated message make a purchase, compared to 1 in 16 for regular, scheduled messages.
- Automated emails drove 29% of sales, though they represented just 1.3% of email volume. The same trend was noticed with SMS and push notifications campaigns where the ratio was 19% to 6%, and 50% to 3%, respectively.
- The top industries for email marketing click-to-conversion rate were Autos & Vehicles (28.3%), Arts & Entertainment (23.9%).
Omnisend, a leading ecommerce marketing platform, has released its annual ecommerce marketing study, revealing how Canadian brands used 840 million emails, 8 million SMS, and 3 million push notifications to drive $143 million in revenue from 818 thousand sales in 2024.
“Algorithms change. Data shares stop. As seen with TikTok, platforms get banned. Relying on third-party channels makes brands vulnerable. First-party channels, on the other hand, leave brands in control of their customer engagement, making them critical for growing sales,” says Greg Zakowicz, Sr. Ecommerce Expert at Omnisend.
The report underscores the growing importance of SMS and push notifications as essential tools for ecommerce marketing. With adoption up 115% year-over-year, these channels are proving to be highly effective for driving customer engagement.
“It’s no surprise SMS continues to grow and deliver results. As a ubiquitous channel spanning all generations, and a primary one for many, its adoption for brand communications was inevitable as text-first habits became the norm,” says Greg Zakowicz.
“Web push messages are growing due to increased awareness and brands exploring less competitive channels. Unlike crowded, costly platforms like social and paid search, web push offers an inexpensive way to engage and convert shoppers.”
1 in 3 people who click on an automated message make a purchase
Automated emails drove 29% of sales, though they represented just 1.3% of email volume. The same trend was noticed with SMS and push notifications campaigns where the ratio was 19% to 6%, and 50% to 3%, respectively.
“If brands have been neglecting automated messages to this point, they need to stop. The right automated messages are the cheat code to increase both first-time and repeat sales,” says Omnisend’s Greg Zakowicz.
The best performing email automations in 2024 were:
- “Back in stock” – 64.74% open rate ; 5.77% conversion rate ;
- “Abandoned cart” – 51.15% open rate ; 3.00%% conversion rate ;
- “Welcome” – 32.97% open rate ; 2.26% conversion rate
“Back-in-stock emails continue to dominate in terms of open, click, and conversion rates. These messages are a form of social proof – they sold out once and people loved them – and naturally convey a sense of FOMO that generates sales,” says Omnisend’s Greg Zakowicz.
Automated messages are messages triggered by user behavior, such as when a user abandons a cart, subscribes to a newsletter, or makes a purchase.
Automotive and Arts & Entertainment were the best performing industries for email marketing
Autos & Vehicles led 2024 with the highest click-to-conversion rate at 28.3%, followed by Arts & Entertainment at 23.9%. The adult industry had the lowest click-to-conversion rate with 1.71%.
Brands in the Pets & Animals industry had one of the highest open rates with a 44.62% average. However, the percentage of people who opened an email and clicked on a link was the second lowest across industries.
“For Pets & Animals brands the challenge lies in converting attention into action. Brands should spend time optimizing their email templates by incorporating more social proof, such as customer reviews and enhancing product images to make them more appealing,” says Omnisend’s Greg Zakowicz.
How can brands improve their marketing strategy for 2025?
To make your marketing budget go further, Zakowicz recommends:
- Use Behavior-Triggered Messaging. Use data to identify customer behavior patterns and send tailored automated messages at key moments, such as post-purchase follow-ups or product recommendations. Personalization based on real-time actions drives significantly better engagement and conversion rates.
- Diversify with SMS and Push Notifications. Combine email, SMS, and push notifications to create multi-touchpoint customer journeys. For example, use SMS for immediate alerts like flash sales, email for detailed product showcases, and push notifications for last-minute cart reminders.
- Leverage Social Proof and Scarcity Tactics: Incorporate elements like customer reviews, back-in-stock alerts, and low-stock notices in your messaging. These tactics tap into FOMO and build trust, encouraging quicker purchasing decisions.
- Analyze and Refine Regularly. Track metrics like open rates, click rates, and conversion rates for each channel. Use these insights to refine your strategies, focusing on what drives the most value for your specific audience.
Methodology
This report analyzed close to 24 billion marketing emails, 230 million SMS, and 413 million web push messages sent by Omnisend merchants in 2024 worldwide. We calculated conversion rates by looking at attributed orders compared to total emails/SMS/push messages sent and calculated click rates by looking at the number of clicks compared to the number of emails/SMS/push messages sent.
We also use the following terminology:
- Scheduled campaigns (campaigns): messages manually sent by brands, such as those promoting special offers, discounts, new products, and other promotional-style messages.
- Automated messages (automations): automated messages triggered by user behavior, such as when a user abandons a cart, subscribes to a newsletter, or makes a purchase.
