Definition
Read and delivery receipts are notifications an email system can request to confirm what happened to a message. A delivery receipt confirms the email was accepted by the recipient's server, while a read receipt reports the recipient viewing the message.
In practice receipt behaviour is unreliable. Recipients can decline read receipts, many clients ignore them, and delivery receipts only confirm server acceptance, not that a person read the mail. So receipts offer limited value in marketing, where platforms measure opens and clicks through their own tracking instead.
Delivery vs Read Receipt
| Type | What It Confirms |
|---|---|
| Delivery receipt | Message reached the recipient's server |
| Read receipt | Recipient viewed the message |
Acceptance is not the same as reading.
Limits of Receipts
| Limit | Consequence |
|---|---|
| Optional reply | Recipients can decline read receipts |
| Client variance | Some clients ignore requests |
| Acceptance ≠ read | Delivery does not mean attention |
| Automation blocking | Systems often do not respond |
Receipts give incomplete signals.
Better Alternatives for Marketing
- Open tracking: Gives a clearer reading signal.
- Click tracking: Confirms real interaction.
- Bounce handling: Confirms delivery accuracy.
- Platform analytics: Compiles send and engagement data.
Related Glossary Terms
A/B Testing
A/B testing in email marketing is the practice of sending two variations of an email to a small sample of your list to determine which version performs better before sending the winner to the remaining subscribers.
ARPU (Average Revenue Per User)
ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) is a metric that measures the average revenue generated per email subscriber over a specific period, used to evaluate list value and campaign effectiveness.
Attention Rate
Attention rate is the percentage of email opens that last longer than 5 seconds, distinguishing genuine reads from passive opens, preview-pane views, or Apple MPP auto-loads.
Average Order Value in Email
Average order value in email is the average amount spent per transaction from recipients who clicked through from an email campaign.
Behavioral Segmentation
Behavioral segmentation is the practice of grouping subscribers based on their actions, such as opens, clicks, purchases, browsing and engagement patterns.
Bounce Rate
Email bounce rate is the percentage of emails that were rejected by the receiving server before reaching the recipient. It is a key indicator of list health and data quality.
Frequently Asked Questions
A delivery receipt is a notification confirming a message was accepted by the recipient's mail server. It shows the email arrived at that server, not that a person read or even saw it.
A read receipt is a notification that a recipient viewed an email. Because recipients can decline and many clients ignore the request, the reports are optional and often absent, making them an unreliable signal.
Not much. Their optional and unreliable nature gives incomplete data, and marketing platforms already measure opens and clicks through their own tracking. Receipts are more suited to one-to-one messaging than to campaign measurement.
Use open tracking to gauge reading, click tracking to confirm engagement, and bounce handling to confirm delivery. These provided more dependable data for marketing than optional read or delivery receipts.