We split Resquared customers' cold email to local businesses from January 2025 to September 2026 by the kind of address each email went to, then compared positive leads per business emailed. A positive lead is a reply that shows interest or starts a real conversation.
At single-location businesses, info@ and other general inboxes produced 1.32 times as many positive leads as a named email on the business's own domain, such as jane@ followed by the shop's own domain. At businesses with 2 to 5 locations, they produced 1.16 times as many. The direction was the same in 2025 and in 2026.
The owner's personal Gmail or Yahoo address did best: 1.60 times the named work email at single-location businesses and 1.74 times at 2 to 5 locations. The named work email was the weakest of the three in both years.
At a shop this size, the general inbox is usually read by the owner or by someone who works next to them. A named work email often belongs to one employee who is not the person who decides.
This is about owner-run local businesses. Large chains and franchises are a different case. Results also vary by niche and by sender, so treat it as a starting point and test it with your own list. We are biased here: much of the local business contact data we provide is general inboxes like info@.
Put this into practice with Resquared
Resquared is the AI sales platform built for selling to local businesses: the most complete local business database, verified contacts, and outreach written and followed up in your name.
- Verified emails and phone numbers, with owner and staff names on premium plans
- Filter by radius, category, business size, hours and recent reviews
- AI writes each email in your name from the business's own details
- Automated follow-ups that stop when someone replies; replies land in your inbox
Every digital footprint of every brick-and-mortar business, resolved into one record and checked source by source.
See how it works
What to do
- Keep good-fit owner-run businesses on your list even when info@ is the only listed email.
- Use the owner's personal email first when you have it.
- Compare replies from general inboxes and named emails in your own campaigns before you change your list rules.
Related questions
Does info@ reach the owner?
At small owner-run businesses it often does, because the owner or someone close to them watches the general inbox. In one onboarding call we reviewed, the reply to an info@ email came from the owner himself.
Should I email info@ at a large chain?
Not as a substitute for finding the right person. This finding is about owner-run businesses with 1 to 5 locations.
Is a named work email better than info@?
Not at owner-run shops in our data. A named email on the business's own domain was the weakest address type at businesses with 1 to 5 locations.