Why are Gmail open rates lower when emails land in tabs other than the inbox?

Email marketer from MarketingProfs answers that the tab system introduces filtering that affects user behavior. Users actively sort and attend to their 'Primary' inbox, thus devaluing other categories and reducing open rates in those tabs.

Email marketer from StackOverflow mentions that it's crucial to consider how users perceive emails in different tabs. The expectations and behaviors tied to each tab (like 'Promotions' vs. 'Primary') heavily influence open rates.

Email marketer from Sendinblue Blog responds that emails in the Promotions tab can be perceived as less valuable or important, leading to lower open rates. Users may associate these emails with advertisements or promotional offers, reducing their likelihood of opening them.

Email marketer from Campaign Monitor shares that many users check the primary inbox frequently, but may not visit or even notice the Promotions tab, resulting in low open rates for emails delivered outside the primary inbox.

Email marketer from Neil Patel's Blog shares that emails landing in the Promotions tab often have lower open rates because users check the primary inbox more frequently. They also suggest that some users might ignore the Promotions tab altogether.

Email marketer from Quora explains that people have been conditioned to scan their main inbox quickly, while promotional emails are considered less important and viewed as a lower priority, leading to fewer opens.

Email marketer from HubSpot Blog answers that Gmail users are trained to look for important communications in their primary inbox. Emails in other tabs, such as Promotions or Updates, are seen as less urgent, resulting in lower open rates.

Email marketer from Reddit shares that many people ignore the promotions tab and it is basically treated as a spam folder. They may only check it periodically, if at all, which significantly lowers open rates.

Email marketer from Mailchimp Resource states that users tend to check the primary inbox first, leading to higher visibility and open rates for emails delivered there. Emails in other tabs might be overlooked or checked less frequently.

Expert from Spam Resource responds that landing in the primary inbox is crucial because that's where users focus their attention. When emails land in tabs like 'Promotions' or 'Updates', they are less likely to be seen immediately, leading to significantly lower open rates due to decreased visibility.

Expert from Email Geeks shares their belief that Gmail doesn't pre-fetch images in the promotions tab, possibly as a way to avoid messing with marketers' open data in that tab, this is further supported by the incentive Gmail has been giving senders to use the promotion tabs, including exclusive features.

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that Gmail's tabbed interface directly impacts open rates, noting that users prioritize emails in the primary inbox while those in other tabs, like Promotions, are often overlooked or considered less important and therefore have reduced open rates.

Expert from Email Geeks shares that a 10-30% drop in opens can occur when mail goes to a tab other than the inbox in Gmail, theorizing that Gmail prefetches images in the inbox but not in other tabs.

Expert from Email Geeks explains that image pre-fetching isn't just done by Apple Mail, Yahoo and various spam filters also do it. There's anecdotal evidence from Email Geeks that Gmail does it as well, though they haven't confirmed it.

Documentation from Microsoft indicates that email filtering and categorization significantly shape user attention. Different tabs inherently create different interaction patterns, making it more challenging to get high open rates outside the primary inbox.

Documentation from SparkPost highlights the technical aspects tied to inbox placement. They advise that sender reputation, authentication, and engagement all play a role, but the location in Gmail's inbox tabs directly affects potential opens.

Documentation from Google Support explains that Gmail's tabbed inbox is designed to help users prioritize their emails. The primary inbox is for personal communication, while other tabs are for promotions, social updates, and other categories. This segregation can lead to lower open rates in non-primary tabs.

Documentation from Litmus shares that Gmail's tabbed inbox system directly impacts email open rates. The primary inbox often sees higher engagement because users prioritize those emails. Other tabs may experience lower open rates due to reduced visibility and prioritization.