A soft bounce is a temporary email delivery issue, often caused by factors such as a full inbox, a busy server, or a message that’s briefly too large to process. Because the problem is temporary, the email service provider will usually attempt delivery again.
Tracking soft bounces helps marketers spot short-term issues that may affect deliverability, such as sudden changes in list quality or recipient server behaviour. Understanding these patterns can prevent small problems from becoming larger deliverability risks.
If the same contact continues to soft bounce over multiple sends, it’s usually a sign that the address is no longer active or consistently reachable. Removing or suppressing these contacts protects sender reputation and keeps reporting accurate.
