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We analyzed over 99,800 emails from 2,800+ popular Fashion & Apparel 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 you optimize your email campaigns.
This report is based on data collected from publicly available email campaigns sent by Fashion & Apparel ecommerce brands between April and June 2025 to random subscribers across 15+ 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 99,840 emails from 2,859 fashion and apparel brands across two quarters, 262 emails from Q1 2025 and 95,794 emails from Q2 2025. This report dives deep into how brands approached email marketing during this period, uncovering insights on send times, frequency, subject lines, preview texts, CTA strategies, deliverability, and overall content direction. Whether you’re a DTC brand or an email marketer in the fashion space, this data-driven analysis will help you identify what’s working, what’s evolving, and how to optimize your campaigns for better inbox placement, engagement, and conversions in an increasingly competitive landscape.
| Metric Studied | Q1 (2025) | Q2 (2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Number of Emails Studied | 4,046 | 95,794 |
| Number of Brands Studied | 217 | 2,822 |
| Average Emails Sent Per Week per brand | 0.54 | 2.61 |
| Email Inbox Rate (%) | 0.62% | 2.59% |
| Promotion Placement Rate (%) | 92.91% | 86.86% |
| SPAM Rate (%) | 6.48% | 10.55% |
| Popular Email Send Time Segment | 9am - 12pm | 3pm - 6pm |
| Most Common Email Type | Discount Emails | Discount Emails |
| Most Common Email CTA | shop now (342) | Shop Now (1,4175) |
In Q2 2025, the most popular window for sending marketing emails was 3pm–6pm, accounting for 21.89% of all emails sent. This suggests a clear industry shift toward targeting shoppers during mid-to-late afternoon hours—likely when they’re wrapping up work or casually browsing online.
Following that, the 6pm–9pm window was the second most preferred (18.06%), indicating a strong leisure time targeting strategy across many fashion brands. Brands like 0degreescelsius, 100graces, and 100milesclothing preferred the early-bird strategy—potentially aiming to catch customers checking emails during their morning routine.
On the other hand, brands like 124shoes, 1822denim, and 247comfortapparel leaned into the 3pm–6pm slot, possibly targeting casual, post-lunch scrollers or those returning to their inbox in the afternoon slump.
Interestingly, 9am–12pm, often considered a prime inbox window, saw significantly lower usage (only 273 brands chose this as their top window). This suggests that in a competitive industry like fashion, brands are avoiding peak hours in favor of less crowded inbox timing—betting on visibility over tradition.
Compared to Q1, where email volume was minimal, Q2 saw a strategic diversification in send times. With increased competition, brands are testing new windows to stand out.
👉 Test non-traditional windows like early morning or late afternoon if your emails are getting buried. Afternoon sends, in particular, seem to gain traction in fashion retail.
In Q2, the average email frequency per brand increased substantially, with top senders like email, e, and em averaging over 130–270 emails per week—a clear sign of aggressive campaign testing or high-volume automation strategies.
When it comes to days of the week, fashion brands showed strong preferences. Saturday emerged as the top email send day, accounting for 23.5% of all Q2 campaigns. Wednesday followed closely with 20.2%, indicating a split strategy: weekend emails likely target leisurely shoppers, while midweek campaigns aim to catch attention before the weekend rush.
Some brands consistently leaned on Mondays—like 27 Miles Malibu, 2belowclothing, and 316collection—perhaps to kickstart the shopping week or push fresh collections. Meanwhile, brands like 021originals, 2bigfeet, and 333swim favored Thursdays, strategically timing emails right before the weekend when consumers are more inclined to shop.
Compared to Q1, where email frequency was negligible, Q2 brands ramped up not just volume, but timing precision as well—choosing distinct windows based on audience behavior.
Average inbox rate
Promotions Placement Rate
Average Spam Rate
The Fashion & Apparel industry showed a notable improvement in deliverability compared to Q1. In Q1, 100% of emails landed in Spam, with zero visibility in the inbox or promotions tab—likely due to poor list hygiene or sending infrastructure issues. However, Q2 marked a shift.
| Fashion Industry Email Deliverability Rate Comparison | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Email Deliverability | Q1 (%) | Q2 (%) | % Change (Q2 vs Q1) |
| Inbox Rate | 0.62% | 2.59% | 1.97% |
| Promotions Rate | 92.91% | 86.86% | -6.05% |
| Spam Rate | 6.48% | 10.55% | 4.07% |
This improvement suggests many brands upgraded their email setup—either through verified sending domains (SPF/DKIM), better segmentation, or improved sender reputation.
Brands like miliebijoux, astteria, adorafinejewelry, devondowd, and adorn512 achieved 100% inbox placement in Q2, setting a benchmark for email infrastructure and content strategy.
However, the overwhelming 86.86% of emails landing in Promotions still limits discoverability. While better than Spam, promotional tab placement often gets ignored or delayed by users, leading to lower open rates.
The remaining 10.55% of emails still landing in Spam is a major concern—this could be caused by excessive use of promotional keywords, large image-heavy content, or low engagement rates.
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In Q2, 25.49% of subject lines used emojis, a notable rise from 19.85% in Q1, signaling an industry-wide shift toward visual appeal to stand out in crowded inboxes. This was the most frequently used tactic.
Interestingly, product mentions (e.g., “new drop,” “just launched”) doubled from 7.25% in Q1 to 14.76% in Q2, indicating a strong push toward promoting new arrivals or exclusive collections. Brands are likely tapping into shoppers’ excitement for novelty.
However, the use of discount-based subject lines dropped from 39.69% in Q1 to 30.10% in Q2—potentially a deliberate move to reduce spam risk or over-reliance on sales-driven messaging.
Personalization (e.g., “just for you”) also saw a decline from 21.76% to 16.20%, possibly due to brands shifting toward universal language for wider audience appeal.
From the 10,106 spam emails in Q2 (10.5% of total), we identified several common spam-triggering words. Subject lines in spam folders used keywords like:
Though some of these terms appeared in inbox/promotions emails as well, their higher ratio in spam indicates deliverability issues tied to overusing urgency or promotional cues without context.
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In Q2, brands were far more deliberate with preview text usage—leveraging it as a crucial second hook alongside the subject line. The top strategies included:
The most dominant email type in Q2 was “Other Engagement”, making up 49.55% of all emails. This category includes relationship-building content, seasonal campaigns, educational tips, and urgency-driven messages. These emails often use subject lines like “Your Spring Style Forecast” or “Last Chance to Grab These Picks” and preview texts like “Let us help you build your summer wardrobe.” Brands like Judith Bright and Buykud used this approach to stay relevant without sounding salesy.
Discount
Promotional
Personalized
Others
Discount-driven emails followed closely at 31.61%, featuring subject lines such as “💌Exclusive $8 Off Just for You” or “BOGO Sale Ends Tonight.” These emails are a staple for driving conversions but risk landing in spam if overused.
Promotional emails, which highlight new arrivals or product collections, made up 18.32%. Brands like Shapellx and iHeartRaves used subject lines like “New Drop: Rustic Orange Is In” to keep their customer base excited about the latest trends.
Surprisingly, Personalized emails represented just 0.53% of the total volume—a significant drop from Q1’s 21.76% personalization in subject lines. This signals a shift away from individual targeting, possibly due to scalability concerns or overuse risks.
The 49.55% of emails classified under “Other Engagement” is a catch-all that includes:
Compared to Q1, which relied heavily on discounts and personalization, Q2 embraced engagement-driven content, signaling a strategic move toward long-term brand building and higher inbox placement.
In Q2, brands took a distinct turn in how they structured their call-to-action (CTA) buttons and text. The most common strategy was the use of “simple” CTAs like Shop Now, View Collection, or See More, accounting for 19.99% of all Q2 CTAs. These CTAs were clear, easy to act on, and designed for broad appeal.
Close behind were urgency-based CTAs (17.76%) such as Shop Now Before It’s Gone or Act Fast, indicating that brands were strategically trying to drive time-sensitive clicks without compromising deliverability. Urgency CTAs are particularly effective during product drops and seasonal campaigns.
Interestingly, discount-focused CTAs dropped sharply from 17.94% in Q1 to just 1.34% in Q2, suggesting that brands might be deliberately minimizing trigger words like “discount” and “save” to improve inbox placement.
Personalized CTAs were the least used (0.29%) in Q2—a continuation of the trend seen in subject lines and preview text. Brands are possibly avoiding overpersonalization to maintain scalability and avoid spam filters.
The most notable change is in the “other” category, which surged to 60.61% in Q2 from 48.09% in Q1. This includes creative or non-standard CTAs like Level Up Your Style, Feel the Luxe, or Join the Movement—suggesting a strong branding-driven approach over pure conversion tactics.
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The Fashion & Apparel industry significantly evolved its email strategy in Q2, shifting from generic discount-heavy tactics to more engagement-focused and brand-driven campaigns.
Email Volume & Frequency: Q2 saw a massive rise to 95,794 emails across 2,822 brands, compared to just 262 emails from 37 brands in Q1, marking the industry’s full-scale adoption of email marketing this year.
Send Time Preference: Brands like 124shoes and 2bigfeet preferred 3pm–6pm, the top window (21.89%), while Q1 had no dominant trend due to negligible volume.
Deliverability Improvement: Inbox rate jumped to 2.59% (from 0%), and spam dropped from 100% in Q1 to 10.55%, driven by better infrastructure and content strategy.
Email Content: Subject lines in Q2 leaned into emojis (25.49%) and product mentions (14.76%), while Q1 overused discounts (39.69%).
Send Day Optimization: In Q2, Saturday (23.5%) and Wednesday (20.2%) were top picks. Brands like 27milesmalibu and 333swim optimized for weekend or midweek sends, unlike Q1’s scattered patterns.
Email Types: Q2 prioritized Other Engagement (49.55%) over Discounts. Q1 was heavily discount-focused.
Fashion Email Marketing CTAs: “Shop now” and other simple CTAs dominated Q2 (19.99%), replacing discount CTAs that were more common in Q1 (17.94%).
Q2 ecommerce marketing for Fashin & Apparel industry is more strategically timed, and increasingly focused on brand presence. With inbox competition rising, fashion brands are shifting toward clarity, and personalization to capture attention and clicks.
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 fashion &apparel marketing emails opened on mobile devices, ensure your templates are fully responsive and CTAs are easily “tappable” on smaller screens.
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The fashion and apparel industry is stepping up its email game—shifting from basic promotions to more thoughtful, brand-led communication. With inbox competition heating up and spam filters getting smarter, deliverability is no longer just a technical challenge—it’s a strategic one.
Our analysis shows that success lies in more than discounts and deals. Brands that combine well-timed sends, clear CTAs, and engagement-focused content are the ones making it to the inbox—and to their customers’ hearts. From seasonal storytelling to smarter segmentation, Q2 has proven that fashion brands are evolving fast.
We hope these insights help you rethink your approach and unlock more value from your email marketing.
Need help applying these strategies to your store? The email experts at TargetBay are always here to walk you through what works, and what’ll work even better for your brand.
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