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We analyzed over 6,000 emails from 170+ popular baby products e-commerce brands over three months and compared them with the previous quarter. This playbook highlights key trends in send times, frequency, subject lines, and CTAs to help optimize your email campaigns.
This report is based on data collected from publicly available email campaigns sent by baby products ecommerce brands between April and June 2025 to random subscribers across 15+ email inboxes. While we strive for accuracy in our analysis, individual results may vary based on specific audience demographics, market conditions, and other factors. The strategies outlined in this report should be tested and adapted to your unique business needs. TargetBay is not affiliated with any of the brands mentioned in this report unless explicitly stated. All trademarks and brand names are the property of their respective owners.
We analyzed 6,361 emails from 179 Baby Products brands, covering the period of Q1 and Q2 2025. This includes 2,830 emails from Q1 and 3,531 emails from Q2, allowing us to identify evolving trends in email frequency, send times, subject line strategies, deliverability, CTAs, and more. Each email was studied in the context of when it was sent, how it was crafted, and where it landed—inbox, promotions, or spam. This report helps Baby Products brand owners, marketers, and email agencies understand what’s working (and what’s not), so they can make informed decisions and run more effective email campaigns.
| Metric Studied | Q1 (2025) | Q2 (2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Number of Emails Studied | 1,587 | 4,778 |
| Number of Brands Studied | 93 | 204 |
| Average Emails Sent / Week / brand | 1.26 | 1.88 |
| Email Inbox Rate (%) | 0.69% | 2.89% |
| Promotion Placement Rate (%) | 94.27% | 82.04% |
| SPAM Rate (%) | 5.04% | 15.07% |
| Popular Email Send Time Segment | 12pm - 4pm | 4pm - 8pm |
| Most Common Email Type | Discount Emails | Discount Emails |
| Most Common Email CTA | Shop now (30) | Shop now (923) |
In Q2 2025, “Evening (4PM–8PM)” emerged as the dominant send window, accounting for 32.7% of all emails in the Baby Products category. This marks a noticeable increase from Q1, where the afternoon slot (12PM–4PM) led the charts. The shift to late-day sending suggests that many brands are now targeting busy parents and caregivers when they are more likely to check emails—post work and school hours.
Leading brands like Squishable (218 emails), Hello Bello (116 emails), and ToyWorldInc (84 emails) heavily favored the evening window, likely aiming to capture attention during winding-down routines or evening browsing. Meanwhile, Annalee Dolls preferred the afternoon window, potentially targeting stay-at-home parents or early-shift workers.
Interestingly, brands like ‘emails’ and ‘email’ (email aliases from aggregator tools) sent a large share of their campaigns during the late night (12AM–4AM) slot—likely automated drip sequences or batch processing behaviors rather than intent-based strategy.
The pivot toward evenings may also stem from inbox competition—mornings are saturated with B2B and promotional emails. By sending later, brands aim to stand out in a quieter inbox.
If your baby product brand is targeting working parents, test scheduling your campaigns for late afternoon or early evening. Monitor open rates post 4PM and A/B test against morning sends to identify the optimal engagement window.
In Q2 2025, email marketing in the baby products industry leaned heavily on aggressive sending strategies, with several brands showing extreme frequency patterns that hint at deep segmentation and flow automation.
Take Metroparent and Blanqi — sending over 100 emails per week each. At first glance, this might seem excessive. But the likely strategy? They’re not blasting the same list. These brands are probably running automated behavioral flows (abandoned cart, browse recovery, welcome series) across multiple user segments. It’s a sophisticated volume game—one that works if engagement is maintained.
Saturday accounted for 26.66% of total emails sent. That’s not random. Brands like Kidrobot, Dammitdolls, and PinkBlush Maternity sent 100% of their Q2 campaigns on Saturdays. Why? It’s a classic parent behavior insight: weekends mean more screen time for casual browsing. By landing in inboxes then, brands align with buyer attention windows.
Wednesday (21.47%) emerged as the second-most used day, a smart midweek nudge when inboxes are less chaotic than Mondays and shoppers are mentally prepping for weekend purchases.
Meanwhile, Monday-focused brands like OurGreenhouse could be aiming to start the week top-of-mind, especially for new-parent audiences checking inboxes during early routines.
Weekends work for awareness. Midweek drives decision-making. Build your cadence around how parents actually live, not just when inboxes are empty.
Average inbox rate
Promotions Placement Rate
Average Spam Rate
In Q2 2025, email deliverability remained a persistent challenge for baby product brands, with no improvement from Q1. Only 3.10% of emails reached the primary inbox, identical to the previous quarter. Meanwhile, 91.43% of emails were delivered to the Promotions tab, and 5.47% landed in Spam.
This indicates that despite consistent email volumes and cadence, most brands have not implemented effective measures to improve deliverability. The high Promotions placement significantly reduces the likelihood of emails being opened or acted upon, while Spam placements result in near-total invisibility.
| Baby Products Industry Email Deliverability Rates | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Email Deliverability | Q1 (%) | Q2 (%) | % Change (Q2 vs Q1) |
| Inbox Rate | 0.40% | 3.33% | 2.2% |
| Promotions Rate | 93.65% | 91.24% | -2.41% |
| Spam Rate | 5.95% | 5.43% | -0.52% |
However, a few brands demonstrated strong deliverability practices. Notably, Simple Wishes, 8Sheep, and Tata Towels achieved 100% inbox placement in Q2. These brands likely followed best practices in list hygiene, authentication protocols (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), and engagement-based segmentation.
The consistently low inbox rates across the industry may be attributed to:
✔️ Overuse of promotional language and discount-heavy subject lines,
✔️ Lack of audience segmentation leading to low engagement signals,
✔️Weak sender reputation due to outdated lists or poor email infrastructure.
To improve deliverability, baby product brands should prioritize email list hygiene, implement sender authentication protocols, and tailor campaigns to high-intent segments. Testing subject lines and optimizing email design for engagement can also contribute to better inbox placement over time.
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In Q2, 78.1% of the 5,858 email subject lines contained emojis, up from 71.0% in Q1 (503 emails). Brands like Squishable, Milky Mama, and American Girl leaned into visual attention-grabbers to stand out in crowded inboxes.
The biggest shift was toward discount-driven subject lines. In Q1, only 17.7% of subjects mentioned offers. That jumped to 33.1% in Q2—almost double. Subject lines like “Save on your favorites!” and “BOGO on all summer kits” were widely used. This reflects the industry’s competitive push to drive urgency and conversions in a cost-conscious market.
Personalization also crept up from 16.7% to 18.1%, while product mentions (e.g., “new stroller,” “baby bundle”) slightly dipped from 16.3% to 15.2%. Urgency phrases like “last chance” or “final hours” rose modestly from 8.9% to 9.6%.
| Brand | Best Baby Products Industry Email Subject Lines |
|---|---|
| Hello | Your New Loyalty Perk is Here 🔔 Limited time 30% Off |
| UK News | Last chance to save on your NEW Perfect Prep® |
| Bumpboxes | Final Hours! Grab Your FREE Bundle Today! 🎁 |
| Milky Mama | Last Chance to Get Your FREE Tote Bag! |
| Lionel | Rev Up Your Collection: 30% Off Autographed Diecast! 🏁 |
| Dreamland Baby Co | Semi-Annual Warehouse Sale Ends Soon! |
| Emails | Hey Parents—Amazon’s Massive Sale Ends Tonight |
| Squishable | Last chance to buy a Squish and get one for free! You heard it here! |
| Dadada Baby | Last chance: Get 30% off baby furniture |
| Hipmommies | 🚨 FINAL HOURS! 🚨 Sale Ends TONIGHT! |
| Stork | New & Now 25% Off — But Only Until Tomorrow! |
| Bellaluna Toys | Sale Ends Soon❗Last Chance to Save 15% on Developmental Toys |
| Kindred Bravely | On sale now: Your T-shirt’s best friend! |
| Dadada Baby | Thanksgiving Just Got Better! Take $350 Off the New Bliss Collection NOW! |
| Constructive Playthings | We’ve done the work for you - Shop our BTS Bundle Solutions and SAVE! |
| Lalabu | 🚨 Last Chance! Your 10% Off Welcome Offer Ends Soon! |
| Annalee | ALERT 🚨 60% Off Sale Ends Soon |
| Annalee | 🚨 FINAL HOURS 🚨 25% Off New Spring Designs |
| Bumkins | Lucky You! Save 20% NOW! 💚 |
| Dadada Baby | Don’t Wait—President’s Day Sale Ends Soon! |
Interestingly, there were no significant recurring spam-trigger keywords in Q2. Most spam placements seem to stem from non-content-related factors like poor domain reputation or unclean lists, rather than specific words in subject lines. That said, brands should still avoid overusing aggressive promo terms like “free,” “urgent,” or “deal” without proper domain warmup.
Continue using emojis and test discount messaging, but pair it with list hygiene and sending best practices to avoid spam traps. And always match your subject line with a compelling preview for better engagement.
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In Q2, brands in the Baby Products industry doubled down on crafting stronger preview texts to complement subject lines and improve open rates. The most dominant strategy? Emojis—used in 99.9% of Q2 emails, up from 97.2% in Q1. While this signals visual continuity and brand voice, overuse might soon lead to diminishing impact, especially if inbox previews look too similar across brands.
The biggest shift, however, came from discount messaging. In Q1, 22.7% of previews contained offer-related text. That number nearly doubled to 44.1% in Q2. Brands like Bump Boxes, Milky Mama, and Squishable loaded their preview snippets with phrases like “save more,” “free tote,” or “bundle ends soon.”
| Preview Text Strategy | Usage in Q2 2025 |
|---|---|
| Emoji Usage | 99.9% |
| Discounts | 44.1% |
| Personalization | 31.4% |
| Product Tease | 26.1% |
| Urgency | 8.3% |
Meanwhile, personalization slightly declined—from 33.0% to 31.4%, while product teases (like “just arrived,” “restock alert,” “new collection”) stayed consistent at around 26% in both quarters. Urgency terms like “final hours” or “ends soon” saw a small increase from 6.0% to 8.3%, suggesting more time-sensitive pushes heading into promotions or restocks.
Importantly, preview text remains a non-deliverability-affecting element. Unlike subject lines that can trigger spam filters, preview text allows brands to add context, tease urgency, or reinforce a CTA, without risking placement.
Use your preview text real estate wisely—balance emojis with concise value statements. Reinforce urgency or highlight product benefits that your subject line can’t fully express. Think of it as the second headline you can’t afford to waste.
Q2 saw a strategic pivot toward aggressive discounting. 44.1% of emails were discount-focused—nearly double the 22.7% share in Q1. Brands like Milky Mama and BumpBoxes pushed subject lines such as “Last chance to get your FREE tote bag!” and “Final Hours! Grab Your FREE Bundle Today!”, capitalizing on urgency and deal-driven conversions. This trend signals intensified competition and a stronger push toward customer acquisition during promotional windows.
Meanwhile, Personalized emails dropped from 23.3% in Q1 to 15.3% in Q2. Despite their long-term retention potential, brands seem to have deprioritized segmentation in favor of broader discount campaigns.
Discount
Promotional
Personalized
Others
Promotional emails—highlighting new collections or featured products—also declined slightly, from 18.9% to 12.1%, suggesting less emphasis on pure product announcements. Subject lines like “New arrivals just dropped” or “Our best sellers, back in stock” saw reduced frequency.
The “Other Engagement” category comprised 28.6% of emails in Q2 (down from 35.2% in Q1). This includes seasonal content (“Celebrate Spring with Us”), brand storytelling, reminders, and educational tips (“How to prep your newborn’s room”). Brands like American Girl and Annalee Dolls continued using this strategy to foster brand connection beyond conversions.
The “Other Engagement” category includes:
While discounts dominate Q2, balance is key. Smart brands will blend promotions with seasonal stories and personalized journeys to build lasting relationships, especially in a nurturing space like baby products.
In Q2, brands in the Baby Products space heavily favored Simple CTAs like “Shop now,” “View more,” or “Explore the collection.” These made up a striking 75.4% of all email CTAs—up significantly from 39.4% in Q1. This sharp increase reflects a streamlined push toward action-driven outcomes, especially during high-discount campaigns where minimal friction is critical.
Discount-focused CTAs—like “Get 20% off” or “Claim your free gift”—also saw a small bump from 5.6% to 7.8%, aligning with the broader surge in price-driven messaging seen across subject lines and preview texts. Brands such as Blanqi and BumpBoxes leaned on these CTAs to directly highlight offers.
Conversely, Personalized CTAs such as “Your exclusive deal” or “Pick your favorite” dropped significantly from 21.2% in Q1 to just 2.7% in Q2, suggesting that segmentation and 1:1 messaging took a backseat to broader campaigns. Urgency-based CTAs (e.g., “Shop now before it ends”) were rarely used in Q2 (0.2%).
Despite the dominance of generic CTAs, they did not negatively impact deliverability, as CTA content is generally not a strong spam trigger.
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The baby care products industry saw several notable trends in Q2 2025 when compared to Q1 2025. Below is an overview of the key trends across email data points, including email send times, frequency, deliverability, subject lines, and spam rates.
Send Time Optimization: Evening sends (4–8PM) dominated with 32.7% share. Brands like Squishable and Hello Bello targeted parents post-work hours.
Q1 Trend: Afternoon (12–4PM) led with 32.4%, indicating a shift toward later-day visibility.
Email Frequency & Send Days: Brands like Metro Parent sent up to 124 emails/week, with Wednesday (22.7%) as the most favored day.
Q1 Trend: Fewer aggressive senders. Monday (19.9%) topped the send days.
Email Deliverability: Inbox placement improved to 3.5%, spam dropped to 0%.
Q1 Trend: Just 0.4% inbox placement and 6.0% spam.
Email Types: Discounts made up 44.1%.
Q1 Trends: Discount emails were only 22.7%, with a higher focus on engagement (35.2%).
Subject Lines: Emojis (91.9%) and discounts (33.4%) soared.
Q1 Trend: Emojis were similar (90.5%), but discounts were only at 17.5%.
CTAs: 75.4% used simple CTAs like “Shop now”.
Q1 Trend: More varied—Personalized CTAs at 21.2%.
In Q2 2025, baby product brands intensified their email marketing strategies. Discount-based subject lines surged from 17.3% in Q1 to 30.8%, and emoji usage more than tripled (from 3.6% to 10.8%), indicating a shift toward aggressive, attention-grabbing tactics. However, inbox placement remained critically low at 3.3%, unchanged from Q1, with 91.24% of emails still landing in the Promotions tab. Saturday continued to dominate as the top send day (26.7% of emails). While engagement strategies increased, deliverability optimization remained stagnant, highlighting a gap between volume and visibility.
➤ Most brands (32.7%) now send in this window. Test evening sends for better open rates.
➤ Avoid crowded Monday mornings—aim for Tues–Thurs to maximize visibility.
➤ Phrases like “Save 20%” or “Free Gift” drive action, but avoid overuse to prevent fatigue.
➤ Keep it under 100 characters and ensure it complements your subject line.
➤ It builds long-term loyalty.
➤ Improve yours with warm IPs, SPF/DKIM, and consistent volume.
Begin by analyzing your current email metrics against the benchmarks in this report. Identify gaps in your strategy and prioritize areas for improvement based on potential impact.
Create a structured testing plan to experiment with different send times, subject line formulas, and CTA strategies. Document results and iterate based on performance data.
Implement more granular audience segmentation based on purchase behavior, engagement level, and product preferences to deliver more relevant content to each subscriber.
With over 60% of baby care products brands marketing emails opened on mobile devices, ensure your templates are fully responsive and CTAs are easily “tappable” on smaller screens.
Thousands of templates in one place.
The Baby Products industry is stepping up its email marketing game, with brands embracing discount-heavy campaigns, evening send times, and streamlined CTAs to stand out in crowded inboxes. But even with more aggressive tactics, the real winners are those who manage to balance promotion with thoughtful engagement.
Our Q2 analysis shows that email deliverability is improving—spam rates are down to zero, and inbox placement is on the rise. That’s good news, but also a sign that competition is heating up. Standing out isn’t just about sending more; it’s about sending smarter.
As personalization takes a backseat and “Shop Now” dominates CTAs, there’s an opportunity for brands to reintroduce unique messaging strategies and better segmentation to win over parents and caregivers.
If you’re looking to improve your email performance and stay ahead of the competition, the experts at TargetBay are here to help you turn these insights into results.
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