AUTOMATIONS AND FLOWS
See how different flows inspire engagement, revenue, and more
While email campaigns are sent to a targeted audience, an automated flow is an email triggered when a subscriber takes a certain action—like subscribing, visiting a product page, or making a purchase.
Because flows are based on what’s important and relevant to customers, they’re incredibly effective at driving engagement and revenue.
Personalization = engagement. Nothing new there, right?
Well—as you’ll see in this section, top-performing flows can convert 4X more recipients*—so there is a high degree of variability between what a good and great flow can mean for your bottom line. Use the benchmarks and guidance in this section to break into the top 10% of automations, and your revenue is sure to thank you for it.
*As measured by the performance of the median placed order rate (1.71%) compared to the top 10% placed order rate (5.71%) for all flows across all industries.
Flows engagement rates & revenues
Email flows engagement rates
Revenue by flow types
Email flows engagement rates
Revenue by flow types
All
Clothing & accessories
Automotive
Electronics
Food & beverage
Hardware & home improvement
Health & beauty
Home & garden
Jewellery
Mass merchant
Office supplies
Other
Specialty
Sporting goods
Toys & hobbies
All
Clothing & accessories
Automotive
Electronics
Food & beverage
Hardware & home improvement
Health & beauty
Home & garden
Jewellery
Mass merchant
Office supplies
Other
Specialty
Sporting goods
Toys & hobbies
$75.66
$9.63
$51.59
$5.70
$39.31
$4.51
$20.54
$2.66
$15.33
$1.10
$66.89
$5.85
$43.84
$3.93
$36.14
$3.21
$16.38
$1.35
$15.94
$0.59
$64.52
$6.33
$35.03
$4.19
$32.05
$3.32
$12.46
$1.46
$9.66
$0.59
$52.35
$9.86
$39.90
$6.29
$32.78
$5.47
$14.88
$2.74
$13.00
$1.42
$43.15
$6.73
$29.18
$4.47
$24.46
$3.42
$9.26
$1.61
$7.69
$0.74
$42.35
$4.00
$7.13
$0.92
$22.80
$2.79
$19.26
$2.00
$6.71
$0.41
$38.98
$2.93
$21.84
$1.68
$21.91
$2.15
$11.21
$0.42
$8.18
$0.73
$37.01
$2.89
$24.88
$2.05
$19.57
$1.54
$14.83
$1.11
$6.18
$0.26
$28.89
$3.65
$21.18
$2.65
$16.96
$1.94
$7.21
$1.07
$5.14
$0.41
$27.49
$2.56
$21.75
$2.40
$16.56
$1.50
$4.26
$0.21
$8.42
$0.90
$24.16
$4.00
$21.39
$3.12
$15.86
$2.13
$5.20
$0.95
$4.90
$0.53
$21.56
$3.19
$14.71
$2.10
$12.49
$1.66
$6.83
$1.06
$4.50
$0.41
$19.41
$3.08
$18.14
$2.39
$14.07
$1.72
$7.08
$0.99
$5.04
$0.36
$14.85
$2.92
$12.15
$1.89
$9.89
$1.60
$5.85
$1.09
$3.50
$0.38
$14.78
$2.65
$13.14
$1.85
$9.16
$1.32
$2.58
$0.25
$5.60
$0.99
All
Clothing & accessories
Automotive
Electronics
Food & beverage
Hardware & home improvement
Health & beauty
Home & garden
Jewellery
Mass merchant
Office supplies
Other
Specialty
Sporting goods
Toys & hobbies
All
Clothing & accessories
Automotive
Electronics
Food & beverage
Hardware & home improvement
Health & beauty
Home & garden
Jewellery
Mass merchant
Office supplies
Other
Specialty
Sporting goods
Toys & hobbies
51.14%
66.67%
5.90%
12.94%
1.74%
5.40%
0.71%
0.11%
53.24%
68.82%
5.61%
13.22%
1.99%
6.09%
0.89%
0.14%
50.03%
66.00%
4.62%
11.52%
1.62%
5.37%
0.67%
0.00%
51.68%
68.91%
5.36%
12.78%
1.48%
5.38%
0.66%
0.00%
50.00%
66.29%
4.98%
12.96%
1.74%
5.22%
0.95%
0.00%
50.99%
67.32%
5.20%
12.28%
1.69%
5.35%
0.72%
0.00%
51.40%
68.45%
5.73%
14.78%
1.81%
6.17%
0.77%
0.07%
54.11%
68.09%
6.22%
13.89%
1.77%
5.73%
0.84%
0.19%
52.10%
69.51%
5.89%
17.02%
1.69%
6.16%
0.72%
0.00%
46.35%
63.09%
4.64%
12.52%
1.31%
4.39%
0.79%
0.00%
53.28%
68.71%
5.69%
13.21%
1.65%
5.80%
0.97%
0.00%
51.76%
66.15%
5.72%
12.45%
1.67%
5.37%
1.00%
0.04%
51.08%
67.22%
5.78%
13.98%
1.49%
5.21%
0.86%
0.00%
52.75%
68.75%
5.22%
12.68%
1.77%
5.80%
0.64%
0.00%
52.04%
68.08%
5.31%
12.98%
1.71%
5.71%
0.73%
0.00%
WELCOME flow
$2.65
Abandoned browsing flow
ABANDONED CART flow
$1.07
$1.07
$3.65
Post-purchase flow
$0.41
$0.41
engagement rate
TOP 10%
Average
WELCOME FLOW - ORDER RATE
2.32%
All
Clothing & accessories
Automotive
Electronics
Food & beverage
Hardware & home improvement
Health & beauty
Home & garden
Jewellery
Mass merchant
Office supplies
Other
Specialty
Sporting goods
Toys & hobbies
All
Clothing & accessories
Automotive
Electronics
Food & beverage
Hardware & home improvement
Health & beauty
Home & garden
Jewellery
Mass merchant
Office supplies
Other
Specialty
Sporting goods
Toys & hobbies
55.51%
74.49%
6.67%
17.03%
2.16%
9.21%
0.84%
0.00%
55.52%
75.50%
6.53%
17.78%
2.46%
11.11%
1.09%
0.00%
51.64%
72.72%
5.24%
16.28%
2.32%
10.56%
0.85%
0.00%
53.52%
74.93%
5.56%
16.35%
1.85%
9.69%
0.85%
0.00%
53.80%
74.08%
5.90%
16.07%
2.33%
10.59%
1.19%
0.00%
53.64%
75.86%
5.86%
16.67%
2.21%
9.94%
0.87%
0.00%
54.40%
75.00%
6.60%
18.40%
2.50%
11.11%
0.88%
0.00%
57.63%
75.45%
6.95%
17.76%
2.32%
10.81%
1.02%
0.00%
54.69%
76.92%
6.22%
18.57%
2.39%
12.52%
0.89%
0.00%
48.79%
70.91%
5.10%
15.66%
1.79%
8.91%
1.03%
0.00%
55.31%
75.53%
6.11%
16.71%
2.13%
10.17%
1.12%
0.00%
54.00%
72.86%
6.21%
16.69%
2.26%
9.81%
1.16%
0.00%
54.45%
74.12%
6.37%
18.39%
1.82%
9.31%
1.04%
0.00%
55.11%
75.41%
5.56%
16.15%
2.46%
10.46%
0.86%
0.00%
54.34%
75.00%
5.84%
16.67%
2.32%
10.53%
0.93%
0.00%
RPR
TOP 10%
AVERAGE
All
Clothing & accessories
Automotive
Electronics
Food & beverage
Hardware & home improvement
Health & beauty
Home & garden
Jewellery
Mass merchant
Office supplies
Other
Specialty
Sporting goods
Toys & hobbies
All
Clothing & accessories
Automotive
Electronics
Food & beverage
Hardware & home improvement
Health & beauty
Home & garden
Jewellery
Mass merchant
Office supplies
Other
Specialty
Sporting goods
Toys & hobbies
49.33%
62.96%
6.44%
12.50%
3.04%
7.01%
0.72%
0.00%
52.16%
65.49%
6.63%
13.42%
3.66%
8.32%
0.93%
0.00%
49.43%
63.43%
5.68%
12.08%
3.20%
7.56%
0.59%
0.00%
50.27%
66.47%
6.29%
13.55%
3.21%
7.58%
0.41%
0.00%
49.08%
64.37%
6.06%
12.63%
3.45%
7.51%
0.81%
0.00%
49.69%
64.58%
5.98%
11.99%
3.36%
7.47%
0.71%
0.00%
49.34%
64.01%
6.35%
14.29%
3.34%
7.69%
0.75%
0.00%
51.69%
64.43%
6.95%
12.89%
3.50%
7.38%
0.79%
0.00%
48.92%
65.99%
6.25%
14.29%
3.15%
7.78%
0.62%
0.00%
46.25%
61.99%
5.41%
12.49%
2.28%
7.01%
0.71%
0.00%
51.74%
65.83%
6.74%
13.82%
3.32%
7.79%
0.79%
0.00%
49.31%
63.12%
6.96%
13.14%
3.35%
7.82%
0.98%
0.00%
48.92%
64.34%
6.28%
13.39%
2.78%
6.79%
0.82%
0.00%
51.43%
66.67%
6.25%
13.84%
3.42%
7.75%
0.41%
0.00%
50.50%
65.34%
6.25%
13.33%
3.33%
7.69%
0.60%
0.00%
Key takeaways
Abandoned browsing flow
EMAIL CAMPAIGN
Abandoned browsing flow - CLICK RATE
5.48%
All
Clothing & accessories
Automotive
Electronics
Food & beverage
Hardware & home improvement
Health & beauty
Home & garden
Jewellery
Mass merchant
Office supplies
Other
Specialty
Sporting goods
Toys & hobbies
All
Clothing & accessories
Automotive
Electronics
Food & beverage
Hardware & home improvement
Health & beauty
Home & garden
Jewellery
Mass merchant
Office supplies
Other
Specialty
Sporting goods
Toys & hobbies
54.79%
69.02%
6.66%
12.51%
1.00%
2.99%
0.43%
0.00%
56.42%
70.86%
5.78%
11.92%
1.41%
4.34%
0.50%
0.00%
54.56%
69.23%
5.02%
11.11%
1.23%
3.67%
0.38%
0.00%
55.90%
71.30%
5.60%
12.50%
0.73%
2.38%
0.34%
0.00%
53.85%
69.70%
4.92%
10.00%
1.10%
3.45%
0.53%
0.00%
54.91%
70.65%
5.61%
11.92%
1.11%
3.66%
0.41%
0.00%
54.91%
69.36%
5.72%
12.64%
1.04%
3.17%
0.40%
0.00%
57.81%
68.92%
6.73%
12.85%
0.93%
2.82%
0.43%
0.00%
53.91%
71.50%
5.48%
12.50%
1.04%
3.85%
0.40%
0.00%
49.48%
66.60%
4.98%
10.70%
0.71%
2.99%
0.42%
0.00%
56.78%
71.43%
5.89%
11.74%
0.82%
2.79%
0.52%
0.00%
54.93%
68.82%
6.85%
13.72%
1.14%
3.22%
0.64%
0.00%
55.84%
72.68%
6.21%
13.35%
0.75%
2.54%
0.56%
0.00%
56.52%
71.33%
5.14%
11.51%
0.78%
2.47%
0.30%
0.00%
55.80%
70.61%
5.48%
11.85%
0.95%
3.16%
0.38%
0.00%
Key takeaways
OPEN RATE
61.68%
PLACEd ORDER RATE
0.54%
TOP 10%
X4
PLACED ORDER RATE
All
Clothing & accessories
Automotive
Electronics
Food & beverage
Hardware & home improvement
Health & beauty
Home & garden
Jewellery
Mass merchant
Office supplies
Other
Specialty
Sporting goods
Toys & hobbies
All
Clothing & accessories
Automotive
Electronics
Food & beverage
Hardware & home improvement
Health & beauty
Home & garden
Jewellery
Mass merchant
Office supplies
Other
Specialty
Sporting goods
Toys & hobbies
63.16%
79.52%
5.33%
16.53%
0.70%
2.54%
0.41%
0.00%
61.18%
76.50%
3.85%
11.35%
0.63%
2.54%
0.49%
0.00%
58.67%
74.47%
3.25%
10.45%
0.43%
1.77%
0.39%
0.00%
63.51%
80.10%
4.38%
13.33%
0.55%
2.31%
0.35%
0.00%
60.54%
74.59%
3.19%
12.96%
0.43%
2.02%
0.52%
0.00%
60.39%
76.27%
3.95%
12.78%
0.60%
2.50%
0.42%
0.00%
61.97%
77.42%
4.36%
14.47%
0.53%
2.69%
0.45%
0.00%
64.44%
80.00%
5.15%
16.93%
0.66%
2.45%
0.49%
0.00%
62.28%
79.73%
4.78%
24.37%
0.40%
2.35%
0.30%
0.00%
56.12%
75.05%
3.85%
10.57%
0.42%
2.32%
0.47%
0.00%
64.26%
79.86%
4.58%
14.67%
0.53%
2.10%
0.56%
0.00%
61.76%
77.95%
4.66%
14.80%
0.63%
2.74%
0.57%
0.00%
62.09%
78.60%
5.24%
17.24%
0.53%
2.14%
0.50%
0.00%
62.64%
78.50%
3.87%
12.40%
0.60%
2.28%
0.36%
0.00%
61.68%
77.78%
3.97%
13.39%
0.54%
2.23%
0.41%
0.00%
How to improve email campaign performance
How to improve SMS campaign performance
“Remember that SMS is different in that it is a social tool that we normally use for 2 way communication. Set up Klaviyo auto-responses that walk customers through a simple "What's your favorite flavor" 1, 2, 3 type flow, delivering the customer via SMS to the page that houses the products they are interested in.”
You really need to make sure your SMS messages are personalized. If you're recycling your email message to SMS you're missing the boat. Make SMS conversational and personal. Ask questions and encourage a response. That might be more work for customer service but you will drive more sales and build a positive brand impression.”
“From a customer database perspective, the best indicator of whether a user will complete an action is if they've done that same action before. Therefore, make sure you ruthlessly filter those that don't click SMS out of your sends, to ensure you're targeting users who are likely to click (and shop) again.”
Damon Didier, founder and CEO, Win at Ecommerce
Tim Akers, founder, Akers Digital
Randy McHugh, founder, Stimulate Agency
The key to an effective email campaign is combining smarter segmentation with highly targeted content.
“Segmentation is key! The more you know your subscribers/customers, the more you'll be able to segment your database and your sendings. Don't send to your entire database because you think you'll make more money. Segment regarding RFM data, activity with your emails and website, and give them different messages.”
“Firstly, perform regular list cleaning to ensure you’re only targeting engaged users that want to hear from you. Then, segment your subscribers into groups that have similar behaviors or interests to serve hyper-tailored content where relevant.”
Joshua Hobson, Head of Growth, Vervaunt
Victor Montaucet, CEO, ThirtyFive/Ben&Vic
campaign performance
Dive into email and SMS campaign data specific to your industry
To set the scene for this section, let’s clarify what a campaign is: email and SMS campaigns are one-off sends to a specific marketing list (versus a flow, which triggers automatically based on a subscriber’s behavior).
But not all campaigns are created equally. a message sent to your entire marketing list will almost certainly have lower engagement and conversion than a highly targeted campaign sent only to VIP customers, for example.
In this section, you’ll see how good and great email and SMS campaigns perform—plus how experts recommend using segmentation to target messages and drive more revenue.
Campaign engagement rates & revenues
Email campaign engagement rates
SMS campaign engagement rates
Revenue per recipient
Email campaign engagement rates
SMS campaign engagement rates
Revenue per recipient
All
Clothing & accessories
Automotive
Electronics
Food & beverage
Hardware & home improvement
Health & beauty
Home & garden
Jewellery
Mass merchant
Office supplies
Other
Specialty
Sporting goods
Toys & hobbies
All
Clothing & accessories
Automotive
Electronics
Food & beverage
Hardware & home improvement
Health & beauty
Home & garden
Jewellery
Mass merchant
Office supplies
Other
Specialty
Sporting goods
Toys & hobbies
$2.34
$0.06
$0.69
$0.08
$1.38
$0.14
$0.73
$0.08
$1.36
$0.10
$0.77
$0.07
$1.24
$0.16
$0.74
$0.14
$1.23
$0.16
$0.89
$0.13
$1.08
$0.12
$0.76
$0.12
$1.04
$0.09
$0.61
$0.09
$0.98
$0.09
$0.91
$0.11
$0.95
$0.11
$0.77
$0.12
$0.92
$0.09
$0.40
$0.07
$0.88
$0.11
$0.77
$0.13
$0.86
$0.10
$0.63
$0.09
$0.86
$0.10
$0.77
$0.12
$0.83
$0.10
$0.80
$0.12
$0.71
$0.09
$0.69
$0.08
*Note for RPR: Your product price point influences the positioning of your metrics relative to these averages. Therefore, RPR may not be an accurate benchmark if your product prices deviate from the average within your industry.
All
Clothing & accessories
Automotive
Electronics
Food & beverage
Hardware & home improvement
Health & beauty
Home & garden
Jewellery
Office supplies
Other
Specialty
Sporting goods
Toys & hobbies
Toys & hobbies
All
Clothing & accessories
Automotive
Electronics
Food & beverage
Hardware & home improvement
Health & beauty
Home & garden
Jewellery
Office supplies
Other
Specialty
Sporting goods
Toys & hobbies
12.94%
25.10%
0.05%
0.39%
1.56%
0.52%
11.07%
23.00%
0.20%
1.01%
1.78%
0.51%
10.00%
20.00%
0.14%
0.71%
1.41%
0.36%
10.99%
22.23%
0.07%
0.45%
1.39%
0.40%
12.82%
24.79%
0.09%
0.63%
1.56%
0.26%
13.44%
26.14%
0.08%
0.53%
1.58%
0.48%
15.01%
30.00%
0.15%
0.87%
1.49%
0.39%
12.50%
25.77%
0.11%
0.68%
1.66%
0.37%
10.44%
20.92%
0.07%
0.43%
1.30%
0.10%
11.20%
21.87%
0.06%
0.41%
1.97%
0.57%
11.97%
25.05%
0.04%
0.36%
2.03%
0.70%
14.26%
28.09%
0.06%
0.38%
1.76%
0.51%
10.98%
23.06%
0.11%
0.62%
1.29%
0.30%
11.19%
23.08%
0.11%
0.64%
1.49%
0.37%
All
Clothing & accessories
Automotive
Electronics
Food & beverage
Hardware & home improvement
Health & beauty
Home & garden
Jewellery
Mass merchant
Office supplies
Other
Specialty
Sporting goods
Toys & hobbies
All
Clothing & accessories
Automotive
Electronics
Food & beverage
Hardware & home improvement
Health & beauty
Home & garden
Jewellery
Mass merchant
Office supplies
Other
Specialty
Sporting goods
Toys & hobbies
38.85%
55.42%
1.73%
5.74%
0.06%
0.34%
0.35%
0.10%
40.58%
56.88%
1.49%
4.79%
0.18%
0.83%
0.41%
0.13%
37.82%
54.81%
1.05%
3.63%
0.12%
0.56%
0.32%
0.09%
39.58%
56.41%
1.46%
5.03%
0.05%
0.26%
0.28%
0.09%
37.79%
54.96%
1.56%
4.49%
0.09%
0.46%
0.40%
0.11%
40.00%
57.04%
1.38%
4.98%
0.10%
0.59%
0.33%
0.10%
40.19%
56.91%
1.81%
6.53%
0.10%
0.56%
0.35%
0.10%
40.76%
55.98%
1.74%
5.55%
0.06%
0.30%
0.35%
0.11%
38.13%
55.55%
1.59%
5.80%
0.09%
0.58%
0.40%
0.09%
37.10%
56.83%
1.19%
4.10%
0.05%
0.25%
0.32%
0.07%
41.13%
57.20%
1.61%
5.22%
0.06%
0.32%
0.42%
0.12%
38.88%
53.62%
1.67%
4.88%
0.06%
0.32%
0.51%
0.15%
38.07%
55.56%
1.48%
5.54%
0.05%
0.24%
0.39%
0.10%
40.48%
56.94%
1.64%
5.42%
0.08%
0.36%
0.27%
0.08%
39.74%
56.32%
1.47%
5.06%
0.09%
0.47%
0.33%
0.09%