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Read MoreWhat do you think is the best time to send an email campaign?
Most advice about email send times comes from the United States, which is not much help when your subscribers are in Auckland, Christchurch or Invercargill. This guide covers what the research says, how to adjust it for New Zealand, and how to find the right send time for your own list, whether you call it an email campaign, a newsletter or an EDM.
The timing of emails is crucial, as it can mean the difference between a successful campaign and one that goes unnoticed in a crowded inbox. According to a report by Campaign Monitor, email marketing has an average ROI of $42 for every $1 spent, making it one of the most cost-effective marketing channels. But to maximise the return on investment, businesses need to send emails at the right time to increase open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates.
The best time to send emails is highly dependent on the target audience and the type of email campaign. For example, a study by GetResponse found that the best time to send promotional emails to consumers is on weekdays, with the highest open rates on Tuesday (18.9%) and Thursday (18.3%).
B2B emails are read at work, so they follow the working week. Aim for Tuesday to Thursday between 8am and 10am, when people clear their inbox at the start of the day, or just after lunch between 1pm and 2pm. Avoid Monday mornings, when inboxes are full, and Friday afternoons, when attention drops away.
If you sell to businesses in both New Zealand and Australia, remember that Sydney and Melbourne are two hours behind New Zealand for most of the year, so a 9am NZ send arrives at 7am in Sydney. Split your list by country and schedule each group for its own morning.
In addition to the day of the week, the time of day is also crucial for email marketing success.
Morning sends usually win on opens because they arrive as people check their phone or start work. Late afternoon and evening sends can win on clicks and sales, because people have more time to read and buy. Decide which result matters most for each campaign: a newsletter might aim for opens, a sale email for revenue.
A study by Omnisend found that across sectors, the best time to send emails is between 8:00 AM and 10:00 AM , with an average open rate of 22.71%. However, the highest click-through rates were found between 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM. Nonetheless, you should base the timing of your email marketing campaigns to align with your industry. These times are as follows:
– Ecommerce: 10am
– Software/SaaS: 2pm-3pm
– Marketing Services: 4pm
– Hospitality/Online Retail: 8am-10am
– Professional Services (B2B): 8am-10am
– Nonprofits: 3pm-4pm
Still, there are more considerations to have than just the day and time when determining how to optimise email campaign performance. The location of subscribers can also impact the effectiveness of email campaigns. A study by MailChimp found that subscribers in different time zones have different peak engagement times. For example, subscribers in the United States’ Eastern time zone had the highest open rates between 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM, while subscribers in the Pacific time zone had the highest open rates between 8:00 AM and 10:00 AM.
How to Adjust Send Times for New Zealand
New Zealand runs on New Zealand Standard Time, 12 hours ahead of UTC, and moves to New Zealand Daylight Time, 13 hours ahead, during daylight saving. The Chatham Islands sit 45 minutes ahead of the mainland. Daylight saving starts on the last Sunday in September and ends on the first Sunday in April, so check that scheduled campaigns and automations are set to NZ time, not UTC, around those dates.
Also plan around the local calendar that global studies miss: public holidays and long weekends, school holidays, Matariki, and the quiet stretch between Christmas and mid January, when many B2B inboxes go silent but ecommerce can be at its busiest.
Let the Data Choose: Send Time Optimisation
Most email platforms can now choose the send time for you. Klaviyo’s Smart Send Time and Mailchimp’s send time optimisation use your subscribers’ past behaviour to pick the best time. They work best on lists with a few thousand active subscribers and several months of sending history.
If you use Klaviyo, our team can set this up as part of your email programme.
On the whole, businesses can significantly improve their email marketing results just by sending emails at the right time. By considering factors such as the target audience, the type of email campaign, the time of day, and the location of subscribers, businesses can further optimise their email campaign performance. With the help of CRM data and machine learning tools, businesses can take the guesswork out of their personal email timing and improve their email marketing ROI quicker.
If optimising your email campaign is something you’re interested in and want to explore, we have a range of tools and strategies we can help you with.
How to Find the Best Send Time for Your Own List
- Pick one thing to test, such as morning versus evening.
- Split your list randomly into two equal groups.
- Send the same email to each group at a different time.
- Compare clicks, conversions and revenue, not only opens.
- Repeat over at least four sends before you change your schedule.
Timing only matters if you reach the inbox
Since February 2024, Gmail and Yahoo have required bulk senders to authenticate their domain with SPF, DKIM and DMARC, offer one click unsubscribe and keep spam complaints low. If your emails land in spam, no send time will fix it.
In New Zealand, commercial emails must also meet the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007: you need the recipient’s consent, you must clearly identify your business, and every message must include a working unsubscribe.
Email Send Time FAQs
What is an EDM?
EDM stands for electronic direct mail. It is the term many New Zealand and Australian marketers use for a marketing email or email campaign.
What is the best time to send a newsletter in NZ?
Start with Tuesday to Thursday between 8am and 10am NZ time, then test an evening send to see which gets more clicks from your readers.
Should I send marketing emails at the weekend?
For consumer brands, often yes. Weekend sends can perform well for retail and hospitality. For B2B lists, weekday sends almost always do better.
How often should I send marketing emails?
Most businesses do well with one to four emails a month. Send more only if every email has something useful to say and unsubscribes stay low.
Do open rates still matter?
Less than they used to. Apple Mail Privacy Protection inflates opens, so use clicks, conversions and revenue to judge performance.
The Bottom Line
Start with a weekday morning send in NZ time, test against one alternative, and judge the results on clicks and sales rather than opens. Once your list is large enough, let your email platform choose the time for each subscriber. And before you worry about timing, make sure your emails are reaching the inbox.
If you are wondering whether email is still worth the effort, read our view on whether email marketing still works in 2026.
Sending emails at the wrong time means missing your audience when they're ready to engage.
Our email marketing specialists manage your entire email programme from strategy and segmentation to send time optimisation and automation.
- Data-driven send time and frequency recommendations
- Audience segmentation for more relevant campaigns
- Klaviyo specialists for eCommerce email automation
- Performance reporting with open, click, and revenue tracking
As always, we’re here to help you connect with your audience
and drive revenue through effective email campaigns.
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