Sinch Mailgun report: Companies are leaving email performance on the table

Stockholm, Sweden - April 8, 2026 - Sinch Mailgun, part of Sinch, today released its Email Impact Report 2026, introducing new industry benchmarks across 10 high-volume sending sectors and revealing a gap between email performance and execution. Based on insights from more than 400 billion emails sent in 2025 and a global survey of over 1,200 email senders, the report shows that while email remains a critical, high-performing channel, poor deliverability is leaving significant revenue on the table. Nearly 18% of emails fail to reach the inbox, putting up to a fifth of potential return on investment at risk for many organizations.

78% of respondents say email is critical to business success. At the same time, the research highlights a growing disconnect between performance and execution, driven by gaps in measurement, deliverability practices and AI application.

 “Email delivers exceptional returns, but many organizations are not set up to capture its full value,” said Kate Nowrouzi, VP of Deliverability at Sinch. “The gap between performance and execution is where most are losing out.”

AI adoption is widespread, but its impact remains uneven. Many teams focus on basic use cases such as content generation, while higher-impact applications such as optimization, segmentation and deliverability remain underutilized. Organizations that use AI more effectively are significantly more likely to report improved email performance.

“Using AI to generate content is a good starting point, but it’s not where the biggest impact happens,” said Kate Nowrouzi. “Organizations that apply AI to optimization, segmentation and deliverability are seeing stronger results.”

Key findings include:

• 60% of companies measuring email ROI report returns above $10 for every $1 spent
• More than 1 in 10 achieve returns as high as 40:1
• 46% say AI improves speed and efficiency
• 41% of teams use AI to generate email content
• 23% say AI has not improved their email programs
• 49% report improved email performance year-over-year
• 79% plan to maintain or increase investment in email
• Fewer than half of organizations can confidently measure email ROI

About the report

Sinch Mailgun fielded this research from late September through early November 2025. The survey included users of Sinch email brands (Mailgun, Mailjet, and Email on Acid) as well as a custom panel of high-volume senders in the U.S., U.K, France, Germany, and Spain. Of the 1,234 total respondents, 769 were Sinch customers as well as other participants from the email community. 465 respondents came from the custom panel with support from Alchemer’s market research panel services.

Read more about the report here.

About Sinch

Sinch’s vision is to connect every business with every customer, everywhere in the world. With the industry’s most trusted foundation for intelligent customer communications, Sinch powers over 900 billion customer interactions annually for more than 200,000 customers across the globe. Leading global companies, including AI innovators, rely on Sinch to strengthen customer relationships and deliver seamless experiences across messaging, email and voice. Profitable since its founding in 2008, Sinch generated net sales of USD 3 billion (SEK 27 billion) in 2025 and has over 4,000 Sinchers in 60 countries, with headquarters in Stockholm. Sinch is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm (XSTO: SINCH). Visit us at sinch.com.

About Sinch Mailgun

Sinch Mailgun is the email infrastructure platform built for developers and businesses that demand reliable, high-performance delivery at scale. Trusted by companies worldwide, Mailgun powers transactional, marketing, and programmatic email through a developer-first API, advanced deliverability tools, and real-time analytics. As part of Sinch — the industry’s most trusted foundation for intelligent customer communications — Mailgun connects businesses to their customers through every send, at every scale. Visit us at mailgun.com.