Restaurant email marketing statistics: How emails drive reservations, loyalty, and revenue
Summarize
Want to know a secret? People enjoy feeling seen and noticed, and they like it when they are subtly offered something interesting, such as new tastes, dishes, drinks, or emotions. However, nobody likes being aggressively sold to on social media platforms or through other digital channels. If you’re in the restaurant business, email marketing is exactly what you need for customer retention and attracting new visitors.
SMS advertising? Let’s be honest. It looks dry and even intrusive, as if you’re invading someone’s personal space. At the same time, email messages don’t interrupt the moment like other digital channels, as they are a softer form of communication that enhances customer loyalty.
If you make the email design eye-catching, attractive, and memorable, your chances of engaging new diners will increase even more. Below, we’ll look at the key statistics regarding email marketing in the restaurant industry and what makes it work for restaurants.
Top 10 restaurant email marketing statistics you should know
To make your life a little easier and spare you from research headaches, we’ve gathered the most insightful and illustrative restaurant email marketing stats in one place. Further in this brief, we’ll consider how to craft emails that actually work and engage new customers in the restaurant industry.
- Global email adoption: In 2026, the number of email users worldwide is projected to grow to 4.73 billion (Statista).
- Dining and food services industry benchmarks: Open rate: 32.54%; click-through rate (CTR): 0.81% (Optinmonster).
- Average restaurant email open rate: 43.69% (Sender).
- Average CTR for restaurant emails: 1.13% (Sender).
- Email‑driven restaurant visits: More than 53% of visitors have attended a new restaurant because of marketing emails (based on a 6‑month study) (Mspark).
- Email marketing ROI (return on investment) for restaurants: Approximately $42 for every dollar spent; strong results for the restaurant industry! (WifiTalents).
- Bounce rate for restaurant emails: 8.78% (MyEmailVerifier).
- The best days to send emails: Monday: the highest open rate (51.90%); Tuesday: 51%; Sunday: 51.28% (Mailerlite).
- The best time to send a restaurant email marketing campaign: 3 PM to 7 PM (Mailerlite).
- Impact of restaurant email marketing: 55% of diners are influenced by quality promotional emails from restaurants (WifiTalents).
Diners' behavior insights behind the numbers
Based on these numbers and guest behavior, it’s clear that email marketing is a popular method of attracting diners in 2025 and beyond. However, it’s important to pay attention to the quality of these emails and thus avoid high bounce rates and ensure your email messages get noticed.
Key metrics for personalized restaurant emails
Personalized, carefully designed email campaigns work much better than mass mailings.
The open rate for personalized messages is 26% higher, and the click-through rate (CTR) for personalized emails reaches 41%. According to Gitnux, personalization increases customer retention by 20%.
What does implementing personalization involve?
For example, you can create a restaurant’s email list and include the recipient’s name in the subject line of email campaigns. Also, offer personalized menu recommendations based on order history on your online ordering platform, which can increase the average click-through rate by 3.5%.
The role of email in customer retention for restaurants
Email marketing is one of the best drivers of customer retention. This method assists in encouraging diners to return to you.
What marketing approaches influence customer retention?
- loyalty programs via email. Data derived from the National Restaurant Association indicates that 77% of loyalty program members are more likely to return to a restaurant;
- personalized menu offers based on previous online ordering history. Do you know that tailored emails can increase customer lifetime value (CLV) by up to 15%?
Implement loyalty programs and provide personalized recommendations to enhance diners’ lifetime value and reduce customer churn. For restaurant brands, turning one-time visitors into loyal customers doesn’t take a ton of work.
Reservation reminders and confirmation emails: Do they work?
Reservation reminders and confirmations have a huge impact on conversions. When restaurant brands send these emails, they stay top of mind with their diners.
How can these reminders work best to increase online ordering and restaurant visits?
The optimal frequency is one to two emails before the reservation date: Send the first reminder 24 hours before the event, and send the last one 15 minutes before it starts.
Thus, you’ll reduce cancellations and increase the number of visits.
Important note: Sending too many emails can lead to spam complaints.
Email marketing automation for restaurants
Why do you need automation? It helps restaurants maintain constant contact with diners without manual monitoring. Automation techniques in restaurant marketing can be used to send greetings or special offers with exclusive discounts or to remind visitors about their reservations.
Optimal sending times (based on guest data)
The data show that the best days for sending emails are Monday and Tuesday, and that it is best to send email marketing campaigns in the morning (8–9 AM). This is when recipients are most likely to check their inboxes.
Balancing email frequency and engagement
Balance is very important. Sending emails too frequently annoys recipients. However, sending emails too infrequently reduces restaurant marketing’s efficiency and engagement.
The ideal email frequency also depends heavily on the specific target group. For example, new email subscribers can receive a series of welcome emails three times a week. Loyal visitors can receive one to two emails a week, with targeted promotions or events.
Automation helps to collect diners’ data, provide personalization, test, and find the optimal rhythm for each segment. Using smart automation, you can increase email marketing campaign effectiveness, average order value, and the number of diners.
Mobile optimization: The key to higher open rates
Most of your diners open emails on mobile devices (55–56% of all email opens), which means responsive design should be your first priority.
Responsive emails enhance engagement, reduce target audience churn, and minimize negative feedback resulting from overly complex mobile layouts, but what do we mean when we say “responsive”?
“Responsive” means a simple structure and large calls-to-action (CTAs), a convenient subscriber journey on smartphones, and an eye-catching subject line (short and personalized).
Here is an example of great mobile email design in restaurant marketing:
Email promotions and discount campaigns: What the numbers say
Promotions and discounts are powerful marketing tactics via which to engage diners and strengthen brand relationships. Restaurant emails that include promotional campaigns with triggers show higher CTR (21.32%) and conversion rates (here’s a little tip: personalize them for better results).
You can try different formats: coupons, bonus points, free delivery, or event-specific discounts. Feel free to explore: Test different types of promotions and discount email marketing campaigns to understand what your recipients like.
Email design best practices backed by guest data
At the end of the day, the effectiveness of any email marketing campaign hinges on the visual content. Delicious-looking food photos increase CTR and conversions (according to WifiTalents, 69% of casual diners choose restaurants based on their food photos).
A clear CTA, a clean email structure, and a catchy subject line also enhance customer engagement. Your restaurant marketing emails should hold your readers’ attention and simplify the recipient’s path to online ordering or visiting.
How email marketing supports restaurant eCommerce
With thoughtful restaurant email marketing, you can transform readers into loyal customers through online ordering and delivery.
What do we recommend doing?
- implement upselling/cross-selling through personalized restaurant email campaigns.
Example: Your customer orders pasta → you provide an email with a wine recommendation (cross-sell) or a delicious dish with a higher price (upsell);
- provide special offers for those who have already placed several orders. This increases the chances of future repeat business sales.
These two main restaurant marketing strategies increase the frequency of online ordering and conversion rates, drive sales growth, and increase customer loyalty.
Future trends in restaurant email marketing
The future of email marketing is all about automation and artificial intelligence (AI). Today, about 89% of restaurant owners and restaurant managers feel positive about the use of AI, and most want to automate their services, including email campaigns.
Also, personalized, mobile-optimized, automated, and interactive emails will become the standard, enhancing campaign effectiveness and your revenue.
Personalization is expected to result in a 10–15% increase in income. Automated email performance without manual campaign monitoring generates 320% more revenue than non-automated email marketing campaigns.
Wrapping up
Are you a restaurant owner or operator looking for modern ways to attract new diners? Restaurant email marketing is a robust but affordable method via which to connect with diners naturally, without being too salesy. Ready to try it? Grab our ready-to-use restaurant email templates and encourage restaurant guests to enjoy something tasty at your place!