{"id":35021,"date":"2014-05-23T15:42:00","date_gmt":"2014-05-23T19:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/?p=35021"},"modified":"2025-12-18T16:38:16","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T21:38:16","slug":"gmail-data-analysis-reveals-image-blocking-affects-43-of-emails","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/blog\/gmail-data-analysis-reveals-image-blocking-affects-43-of-emails","title":{"rendered":"Gmail Data Analysis Reveals Image Blocking Affects 43% of Emails"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t
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When\u00a0Google announced\u00a0that images in emails will now show automatically. We\u2019ve kept a close eye on the increased open counts in Gmail\u2014automatic image downloads have given us a unique opportunity to examine the impact that image blocking has had on email marketing for years. What we\u2019ve learned is fascinating, and unveils a critical metric unknown to email designers before now.<\/p>\n

By comparing open rates before and after Gmail\u2019s switch to automatic image downloads, we can tell how many people view emails without displaying images. When Gmail still blocked image downloads, 57% of Gmail users turned images on.<\/p>\n

What about other email clients that block images?<\/h2>\n

While Gmail isn\u2019t blocking images any more, many email clients still do. If we look at the difference between people reading with images off vs. images on, we can extrapolate that difference to other email clients that block images. Clients that block images would see about a 26% increase in opens, while those that download images would see a 4% decrease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Email Client<\/td>\nApril %<\/td>\nAdjusted %<\/td>\nChange<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
iPhone<\/td>\n26.02%<\/td>\n24.88%<\/td>\n-4.38%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Outlook<\/td>\n13.88%<\/td>\n17.59%<\/td>\n26.73%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
iPad<\/td>\n12.50%<\/td>\n11.95%<\/td>\n-4.40%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Gmail<\/td>\n12.22%<\/td>\n11.69%<\/td>\n-4.34%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Apple Mail<\/td>\n7.90%<\/td>\n7.55%<\/td>\n-4.43%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Android<\/td>\n6.47%<\/td>\n8.20%<\/td>\n26.74%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Outlook.com<\/td>\n5.28%<\/td>\n6.69%<\/td>\n26.70%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Yahoo!<\/td>\n4.95%<\/td>\n6.27%<\/td>\n26.67%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Windows Live Mail<\/td>\n2.33%<\/td>\n2.95%<\/td>\n26.61%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Windows Mail<\/td>\n1.74%<\/td>\n2.21%<\/td>\n27.01%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/h2>\n

Show your work<\/h2>\n

If math is your thing, Matt Brindley (Litmus co-founder and CTO) reveals\u00a0the data behind the analysis.<\/p>\n

Defensive design for image blocking<\/h2>\n

You can use a\u00a0Litmus account\u00a0to preview how your email looks in email clients that still block images. After taking stock of how your emails look with images disabled, consider using \u201cdefensive design\u201d techniques to combat the effects of image blocking:<\/p>\n