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Email & SMS (owned) benchmarks

Owned channels — not 'paid media' in the strict sense, but central to lifecycle ROAS. Highest-ROAS channel for most DTC brands.

Share of digital ad spend: Owned channel — not counted in paid spend

Channel snapshot

Email avg open 22–32%, CTR 1.8–3.8%, revenue/recipient $0.08–0.45. SMS open 95%+, CTR 8–18%, revenue/recipient $0.45–2.40.

How to operate this channel

Operator playbook

Email is the highest-ROAS channel for most DTC — protect deliverability obsessively.
Segment by RFM (recency, frequency, monetary) — generic blasts kill engagement.
SMS is high-intent only — never use for prospecting.
Build flows before campaigns — welcome, abandonment, post-purchase, win-back.
Track contribution net of cannibalization — incremental revenue, not last-click revenue.

Platforms in this channel

Want to model your spend in this channel? Use the CPM calculator, ROAS calculator, and budget allocator to plan allocation.