2025: Our year in review

In 2025, marketers faced more channels, more data, and increased pressure to deliver exceptional customer experiences at speed. The year kicked off with a huge spike in AI usage (as a workplace tool and in day-to-day life) and is closing out with a record-breaking Black Friday. Between that, marketers have struggled with changing customer behavior and new ways to connect with audiences.

We’ve had a busy time at Dotdigital too. To continue to serve you better, we expanded globally, advanced the functionality of our platform, and analyzed billions of messages to see what’s actually working for marketers. Here’s a look at the milestones that shaped our year, and some of the latest stats to help you plan for what’s next.

A bigger, bolder Dotdigital

This year has been one of incredible growth and momentum for Dotdigital. From welcoming new faces across the business, launching a new global entity, and a huge acquisition, the Dotdigital team has grown and settled in right away. 

• In June, we proudly welcomed Social Snowball to the Dotdigital family when we acquired the #1 influencer, affiliate, and referral platform
• In October, Dotdigital launched its Japan entity. This is an exciting milestone, allowing us to continue to grow and serve businesses in the SEA market 

• The Dotdigital team is expanding, with new hires now making up 17% of our workforce, including four key additions to our Senior Leadership Team

New channels, smarter AI, and faster marketing

It’s been a landmark year for Dotdigital’s platform. We launched a brand-new channel (hi, WhatsApp), shipped dozens of updates, expanded our integrations, and introduced game-changing AI tools to make marketers’ lives easier. 

• Our customers added 155 new 5-star G2 reviews this year, pushing us past 700 in total
• Since launching WhatsApp in April, marketers have already sent over half a million messages through Dotdigital
• We added 20+ new verified integrations, so you can connect, extend, and streamline your marketing tech stack with ease 
• We delivered 60+ platform updates and expanded our AI tools to simplify segmentation, instantly translate campaigns, and summarize survey responses 
• We launched new and improved Data Firehose and Snowflake integrations, making it simpler and faster to sync your data 
• Dotdigital earned 800+ G2 badges, including Leader status across marketing automation, personalization, and customer data platforms

The trends defined marketing this year

From record-breaking shopping moments to always-on email performance and evolving search behavior, this year’s data shows how marketers are scaling, experimenting, and refining strategies in real-time. 

Black Friday/Cyber Monday marketing trends

• On average, brands began using “Black Friday” in subject lines 12 days before the big day
• More than 87 million people shopped online, a 7% increase from 2024
• US shoppers alone spent $11.8 billion on Black Friday 
• Global online spending hit a new peak, reaching $79 billion within 24 hours, marking a 6% year-over-year increase
• Shoppers used Buy Now, Pay Later services for $747.5 million worth of online purchases, reflecting a 30.85% rise from the previous year
• Campaigns sent via Dotdigital reached inboxes in an average of just 17 minutes
• Over 3 billion emails were sent on Dotdigital throughout November alone
• Email performance remained very strong, but the real standout was the way savvy marketers blended MMS, WhatsApp, and push notifications 
• Marketers sent 70+ million SMS messages in November using the Dotdigital platform
• The number of mobile shoppers grew by 7% year-on-year during Black Friday 2025

Email marketing trends

• Email sends have increased by 24% globally
• The global average unique open rate was 33%
• The average click-through rate (CTR) was 3% worldwide
• The global click-to-open-rate (CTOR) was 8%
• Dotdigital’s global delivery rate was 99.28%
• Mailing lists grew by 7.88% 
• Abandoned cart emails enjoyed an average open rate of 73% and a click-to-open rate of 14% globally
• Global email volume is on track to exceed 408 billion messages a day by 2027, up from an already staggering 4.2 million emails sent every second in 2024
• The global email marketing market size is set to soar to $36.3 billion by 2033, up from $14.8 billion in 2025

Search trends

• “Is SEO dead?” attracted 2,500 searches globally every month
• “Is email dead?” was searched 400 times per month worldwide
• Searches for “per my last email” exploded from 100 per month in 2015 to 2,600 today
• “Let’s circle back” grew from 500 to 2,000 monthly searches over the last 10 years
• “Move the needle” searches increased from 60 to 200 per month in the UK
• “Thinking outside the box” declined from 6,400 to 3,000 monthly searches in the US
• In January, informational queries made up 91.3% of those triggering an AI Overview, but by October that share had fallen to 57.1% as commercial (e.g., best noise-canceling headphones) and transactional (buy wireless headphones online) queries gained ground
• The industries with the most AI Overviews in November were Science (25.96%), Computers & Electronics (17.92%), and People & Society (17.29%)

Reports, research and real-world conversations

We doubled down on empowering marketers this year through four exclusive, data-rich reports. We also shared plenty of educational content and how-to sessions at events around the globe. Along the way, we’ve had great conversations, built meaningful connections, and made standout memories with our customers and partners.

• We analyzed the engagement metrics from over 10 billion emails and 500 million SMS campaigns to create our Global benchmark report
• We asked 3,000 consumers what brands could do to earn their loyalty in our Customer loyalty report
• 1,500 marketers told us how they’re really feeling, where they’re focusing, and what tools they’re using in our Secret lives of marketers report
• Our Content Marketing team subscribed to the email marketing of 100 global brands to showcase the email tactics, designs, and flows that leading brands are delivering in our Hitting the mark report
• We released 100 blogs packed with tips and tricks to inspire your next marketing campaign
• We organized 184 partner activities, including our fabulous DotSki event in Whistler, Canada
• We hosted 121 events and webinars, sharing advice, celebrating the wonderful world of marketing, and connecting with lots of brilliant marketers

Connecting through culture and community

Our employee groups have led inclusive, global initiatives that unite our people, celebrate culture, support wellbeing, and raise awareness of important issues.

• We launched two new carbon offsetting projects in India and Bangladesh, accelerating clean energy adoption, cutting emissions, and improving health and livelihoods for millions through solar power and fuel-efficient cookstoves.
• In March, we celebrated International Women’s Week with a mix of virtual and in-person events, including networking sessions, confidence workshops, panel discussions, and a fantastic event with UK charity The Girls’ Network.
• In July, we celebrated Pride with a series of podcast episodes sharing employee stories, virtual Drag Bingo, and we marched in London Pride. 
• Over the summer, we launched Summer Fridays globally, giving employees Friday afternoons off to relax and enjoy the sunshine.
• In September, our teams shared step counts and photos from scenic walks all around the world as part of our ‘On Your Feet Dotdigital’ initiative to get outside and get active. 
• In November, we celebrated our second ECHO Week, a celebration of Ethnicity, Culture, Heritage, and Origin, supported by the DotDEI team and brought to life through podcasts, employee stories, and shared cultural traditions, art, and recipes.
• In December, our DotWellbeing group shared 24 thoughtful wellness tips with employees through a wellbeing advent calendar. Recognizing that the holidays can be joyful and also a stressful or difficult time for some.

See you in 2026

We’re hitting the ground running next year, building on everything we’ve made together, from smart tools that give you your time back to channels that allow two-way conversations. Our goal hasn’t changed; we’re here to help you show up for your audience when it matters most. 

Thanks for being a part of our community this year. We can’t wait to meet more of you in 2026 and help you work smarter, connect better, and deliver some serious marketing results.