Without benchmarks, you are flying blind. You might think your 30 per cent open rate is good — until you learn that brands in your vertical average 42 per cent. Or you might stress about a 3 per cent click rate that is actually above average for your industry.
This guide provides realistic, UK-specific Klaviyo benchmarks based on what we see across the ecommerce brands we manage through our Klaviyo email marketing services. These are not aspirational targets — they are achievable metrics for brands with well-maintained accounts and smart strategies.
Why benchmarks matter
Benchmarks serve three purposes: they tell you whether your email programme is healthy, they identify specific areas for improvement, and they help you set realistic goals. Without them, you cannot know whether a particular metric is good, bad, or average for your situation.
Important caveats: benchmarks vary significantly by industry, list size, sending frequency, and audience quality. Use these as reference points, not absolute standards. Your own historical performance is always the most relevant benchmark.
Overall UK ecommerce benchmarks
| Metric | Campaigns | Flows |
|---|---|---|
| Open rate | 35–50% | 45–65% |
| Click rate | 2–5% | 5–12% |
| Click-to-open rate | 8–15% | 12–20% |
| Conversion rate | 0.5–2% | 2–8% |
| Revenue per recipient | £0.05–0.15 | £0.20–2.00 |
| Unsubscribe rate | Below 0.3% | Below 0.1% |
| Bounce rate | Below 2% | Below 1% |
| Spam complaint rate | Below 0.08% | Below 0.02% |
Benchmarks by industry vertical
Performance varies significantly by industry. Here are benchmarks for the most common UK ecommerce verticals:
Fashion and apparel
Open rate: 30 to 40 per cent. Click rate: 2 to 4 per cent. Revenue per recipient: £0.08 to 0.12. Fashion brands typically have larger lists but lower engagement rates due to frequent sending and highly competitive inboxes.
Beauty and skincare
Open rate: 35 to 45 per cent. Click rate: 3 to 5 per cent. Revenue per recipient: £0.10 to 0.18. Beauty brands benefit from high repeat purchase rates and strong brand loyalty, which translates to better email engagement.
Food and drink
Open rate: 40 to 55 per cent. Click rate: 3 to 6 per cent. Revenue per recipient: £0.06 to 0.12. Food brands often have smaller lists but highly engaged subscribers. Replenishment flows perform exceptionally well for consumable products.
Health and supplements
Open rate: 35 to 50 per cent. Click rate: 3 to 5 per cent. Revenue per recipient: £0.12 to 0.25. Subscription-based supplement brands see some of the highest email ROI due to the recurring nature of purchases.
Home and lifestyle
Open rate: 30 to 42 per cent. Click rate: 2 to 4 per cent. Revenue per recipient: £0.08 to 0.15. Higher average order values compensate for lower purchase frequency. Cross-sell flows are particularly effective in this category.
Flow performance benchmarks
Here are benchmarks for the most important Klaviyo flows:
| Flow | Open rate | Click rate | Conversion rate | Revenue per recipient |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abandoned cart | 45–60% | 8–15% | 3–10% | £0.50–3.00 |
| Browse abandonment | 40–55% | 4–8% | 1–3% | £0.10–0.50 |
| Welcome series | 50–70% | 5–10% | 2–6% | £0.15–0.80 |
| Post-purchase | 55–70% | 4–8% | 1–3% | £0.08–0.30 |
| Winback | 25–40% | 2–5% | 0.5–2% | £0.05–0.20 |
The abandoned cart flow should be your highest-performing flow by revenue. If it is not, that is the first place to optimise. For more on flows, see our 7 Klaviyo flows guide and abandoned cart guide.
Campaign benchmarks
Campaign performance depends heavily on your sending frequency and audience quality. Here are benchmarks for common campaign types:
- Product launch — Open: 35 to 50%, Click: 3 to 7%, RPR: £0.10 to 0.25
- Sale/promotion — Open: 30 to 45%, Click: 3 to 6%, RPR: £0.08 to 0.20
- Newsletter/content — Open: 35 to 50%, Click: 2 to 4%, RPR: £0.03 to 0.08
- Back in stock — Open: 40 to 55%, Click: 8 to 15%, RPR: £0.15 to 0.40
Deliverability benchmarks
Deliverability is the foundation that all other metrics depend on. If your emails do not reach the inbox, nothing else matters.
- Inbox placement rate: Above 95 per cent (target 98 per cent or higher)
- Bounce rate: Below 2 per cent per campaign
- Spam complaint rate: Below 0.08 per cent (Google's threshold for sender reputation)
- Domain reputation: Green/good in Klaviyo's deliverability dashboard
If your deliverability metrics are below these thresholds, address them before optimising anything else. Poor deliverability undermines every email you send. For more on how we approach this alongside SEO services, see our technical guides.
Revenue split: flows vs campaigns
A healthy Klaviyo account generates revenue from both flows and campaigns. The ideal split depends on your business model, but here are general guidelines:
| Account maturity | Flow revenue | Campaign revenue |
|---|---|---|
| New (first 6 months) | 60–80% | 20–40% |
| Established (6 to 18 months) | 40–60% | 40–60% |
| Mature (18+ months) | 35–50% | 50–65% |
New accounts lean heavily on flows because that is where the quick wins are. As the account matures and campaigns become more sophisticated, the split evens out. If your flows generate less than 30 per cent of email revenue, they are likely underoptimised.
How to improve your metrics
If open rates are low
Test subject lines, improve your sender reputation through list cleaning, send at better times, and ensure your from name is recognisable.
If click rates are low
Improve email design with clearer CTAs, use dynamic product content, segment more tightly so content is relevant, and reduce email length.
If conversion rates are low
Check your landing pages for friction, ensure email content matches the landing page, improve product imagery, and review your checkout process through your Shopify development setup.
If deliverability is poor
Clean your list immediately, authenticate your sender domain (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), reduce sending volume temporarily, and suppress hard bounces and complainers.
Benchmarks are a tool, not a destination. Use them to identify where your email programme is strong and where it needs attention. Then take systematic action to improve, measuring the impact of each change against your own historical performance.
If you want a detailed benchmark analysis of your Klaviyo account, get in touch for a free audit. We compare your metrics against industry standards and provide a prioritised improvement plan.
