To kick off 2026, we joined forces with our industry partner Omnisend, an email and SMS platform provider, to deconstruct their recent Ecommerce Marketing Report. This report analysed data from 150,000 brands, 27 billion emails, 321 million SMS messages, and 458 million push notifications sent over the past year.
The data reveals a stark reality: last year’s gains were captured by a small group of fast-growing brands:
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The top 5% of brands generated 57% of total ecommerce order growth.
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The top 10% accounted for nearly 69% of all growth.
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The top 20% drove 81% of total growth.
To join that top 5% and capture your share of market growth, you must shift your strategy from chasing attention to capturing intent. Our recent webinar broke down the key areas required to make this shift.
Key Takeaways for 2026
The Metrics Paradox
While open rates have risen for the fifth consecutive year (reaching 26.2%), email clicks declined by 33% last year. Historically, this would suggest failing content; however, click-to-conversion rates surged by 53%. Effectively, the “window shopper” is disappearing. Customers are now clicking only when they are ready to buy. As a retailer, your job has changed. It is no longer about simply generating the most clicks, but about delivering the right message to those with high intent.
Moving from Manual Work to Automated Precision
The market is growing, but it is concentrated at the top as shoppers become increasingly selective. You can win in this environment by leveraging technology to handle the heavy lifting. Automated messages allow you to reach people at the exact moment when their intent is highest.
Last year, automated emails, such as welcome series and cart recover, accounted for only 2% of total sends but drove 30% of total revenue. These “silent earners” work while you sleep, earning roughly 20x more per message than manual campaigns. Because automation responds to customer behaviour, it is the ultimate form of intentional shopping. Focus on the three flows that account for 87% of all automated orders:
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Abandoned Cart
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Welcome Series
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Browse Abandonment (nudging those who are interested but need a final push)
SMS: The High-ROI Closer
Last year saw SMS volume increase by 40%, with retailers seeing a return of $71 (€60*) for every $1 (85c*) spent. The secret here is the automation multiplier; reminders such as cart expiration can earn up to $8 (€6.80*) per message sent. It is time to view SMS as a frictionless nudge that effortlessly converts shoppers.
The Death of “Batch and Blast”
In the current landscape, sender reputation has evolved from a technical metric into a brand's most valuable asset. The 2025 shift in provider requirements, specifically the 0.3% spam threshold, has turned high-volume, low-relevance emailing into a “deliverability death sentence.”
Success in 2026 requires an obsessive focus on list hygiene and engagement. Top-tier brands recognise that inbox placement is a hard-earned privilege and by protecting their reputation year-round, they ensure maximum visibility and ROI during high-stakes windows like Black Friday and the Christmas shopping.
The Retention Mandate
Customer acquisition costs (CAC) jumped by 40% in 2025, essentially placing a “growth tax” on every new customer. The era of buying your way to growth is officially over. To thrive in 2026, we must embrace the Retention Mandate. Profit is now based on the subsequent transactions rather than the initial sale.
We are moving away from static marketing toward agentic commerce. This involves creating AI-driven systems that act as a personalised assistant for your customer. By predicting needs before they arise, you stop hunting for “rented attention” and start building an “agentic engine” that serves your existing base, making rising CAC irrelevant.
Is your brand ready for the shift?
The gap between average performers and the top 5% is widening. Success in 2026 will be defined by efficiency over volume and data integrity over guesswork. To find out more you can watch the full webinar here.
*Exchange rates correct at the time of publishing, February 2026.
