Email Marketing Benchmarks for Online Stores (2025 Edition)

Metric	Benchmark (2025)
Open Rate	45–60%
CTR	8–12%
Conversion Rate	2.5–5%
Revenue per Email (RPE)	$0.35 – $0.75

Metric	Benchmark (2025)
Open Rate	40–50%
CTR	7–10%
Conversion Rate	3–6%
Revenue per Email (RPE)	$0.80 – $2.00

Metric	Benchmark (2025)
Open Rate	30–40%
CTR	2–4%
Conversion Rate	1.5–3%
Revenue per Email (RPE)	$0.25 – $0.60

Metric	Benchmark (2025)
Open Rate	35–45%
CTR	3–6%
Conversion Rate	1–2%
Revenue per Email (RPE)	$0.10 – $0.40

Metric	Benchmark (2025)
Open Rate	20–30%
CTR	1–2%
Conversion Rate	0.5–1%
Revenue per Email (RPE)	$0.05 – $0.15

Metric	Benchmark (2025)
Open Rate	40–60%
CTR	10–15%
Conversion Rate	3–7%
Revenue per Email (RPE)	$0.90 – $2.10

Metric	Benchmark (2025)
Open Rate	35–45%
CTR	4–6%
Conversion Rate	1.5–3%
Revenue per Email (RPE)	$0.40 – $1.00

Metric	Benchmark (2025)
Open Rate	28–40%
CTR	3–6%
Conversion Rate	2–4%
Revenue per Email (RPE)	$0.50 – $1.20

Metric	Benchmark (2025)
Open Rate	35–50%
CTR	4–7%
Conversion Rate	1–2%
Revenue per Email (RPE)	$0.20 – $0.60

Email Type	Open Rate	CTR	Conversion	RPE
Welcome Series	45–60%	8–12%	2.5–5%	$0.35–$0.75
Cart Abandonment	40–50%	7–10%	3–6%	$0.80–$2.00
Product Recommendations	30–40%	2–4%	1.5–3%	$0.25–$0.60
Post-Purchase	35–45%	3–6%	1–2%	$0.10–$0.40
Win-Back Campaigns	20–30%	1–2%	0.5–1%	$0.05–$0.15
Back-in-Stock Alerts	40–60%	10–15%	3–7%	$0.90–$2.10
Browse Abandonment	35–45%	4–6%	1.5–3%	$0.40–$1.00
Flash Sales	28–40%	3–6%	2–4%	$0.50–$1.20
Loyalty Emails	35–50%	4–7%	1–2%	$0.20–$0.60

 

What Influences Email Benchmarks for Online Stores?

Email benchmarks don’t exist in a vacuum. Two online stores in the same industry might see very different results based on how well they handle certain influencing factors. Below is a comprehensive guide to the 12 most impactful variables that affect your email open rates, CTRs, conversions, and revenue per email.

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1. List Quality and Hygiene

Why It Matters:
Your list is your foundation. If it’s full of unengaged users or invalid addresses, your performance will suffer—and you’ll hurt deliverability across the board.

Key Issues:

• Purchased or scraped lists

• Inactive subscribers (no opens in 90+ days)

• High bounce rates

Best Practices:

• Use double opt-in for new sign-ups

• Clean your list every 3–6 months

• Segment based on engagement (active vs inactive users)

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2. Audience Segmentation

Why It Matters:
Sending the same email to your entire list is outdated. Segmentation allows you to send more relevant, higher-converting emails.

Common Segments:

• Purchase history (bought X, suggest Y)

• Geographic region (timezone, language)

• Engagement level (active vs cold leads)

• Behavioral triggers (abandoned cart, browse, etc.)

Best Practices:

• Start simple: split new vs returning customers

• Use dynamic blocks to personalize product offers

• Use behavioral data from your ecommerce platform or ESP

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3. Email Frequency and Cadence

Why It Matters:
Sending too many emails increases unsubscribe rates. Sending too few hurts engagement and revenue.

Common Mistakes:

• Emailing every day without personalization

• Not adjusting frequency based on engagement

• Ignoring seasonality or customer lifecycle

Best Practices:

• Use frequency caps (e.g., 1 promo per 48 hrs)

• Let users set their email frequency preferences

• Prioritize transactional and behavioral emails over campaigns

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4. Send Time and Day

Why It Matters:
The best message in the world means nothing if it’s buried under 20 others in the inbox.

What Influences Optimal Timing:

• Audience location (timezone)

• B2C vs B2B (weekends vs weekdays)

• Product type (impulse vs research-heavy)

Best Practices:

• Test your send times (early AM vs evening)

• Use predictive send time optimization (offered by Klaviyo, Mailchimp, etc.)

• Consider behavior-based timing (e.g., 30 mins after browse)

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5. Subject Line and Preview Text

Why It Matters:
These two elements determine whether your email gets opened—period.

Tips for High-Performing Subject Lines:

• Use personalization (e.g., “Hey Sarah, your cart’s waiting”)

• Add urgency or curiosity (“Back in stock — but not for long!”)

• Keep it under 50 characters for mobile

Best Practices:

• A/B test every campaign subject line

• Use emojis carefully (can increase or decrease open rates based on audience)

• Make preview text support and extend the subject line, not repeat it

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6. Email Design and Layout

Why It Matters:
Visual presentation impacts CTR and CTOR. A cluttered or broken layout can sink engagement.

Key Design Factors:

• Mobile responsiveness

• CTA clarity and contrast

• Load time and image optimization

Best Practices:

• Use mobile-first, responsive templates

• Keep designs clean and scannable

• Use a single, bold CTA early in the email (“Shop Now”)

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7. Personalization and Dynamic Content

Why It Matters:
Generic emails perform worse. Personalized content leads to higher engagement and revenue per email.

Ways to Personalize:

• First name greeting

• Location-based offers

• Product recommendations based on behavior

• “You left this in your cart” reminders

Best Practices:

• Use dynamic product blocks (available in most ecommerce ESPs)

• Customize content by gender, size, or product category when possible

• Track behavior like wishlisting or page views

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8. Automation and Triggered Emails

Why It Matters:
Automated flows (abandonment, welcome, browse recovery) consistently outperform standard campaigns across all benchmarks.

Key Flows:

• Welcome series

• Abandoned cart

• Back-in-stock

• Post-purchase

• Win-back / re-engagement

Best Practices:

• Build and optimize your core flows first

• Personalize each step based on customer status

• Monitor flow drop-off and performance at each email step

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9. Product Types and Pricing Strategy

Why It Matters:
Benchmarks vary by product category and average order value (AOV).

Trends by Product Type:

• Impulse buys (under $50): Higher conversion rates

• Luxury or niche items: Lower CTRs, longer decision windows

• Subscriptions: Higher long-term revenue per email, but lower initial conversions

Best Practices:

• Match offer types to price point (e.g., bundle discounts for low-AOV items)

• Use trust-building content for expensive or high-involvement purchases

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10. Deliverability and Sender Reputation

Why It Matters:
Your benchmark performance is only possible if your emails land in the inbox—not the spam folder.

Factors That Impact Deliverability:

• High complaint or bounce rates

• Poor IP/domain reputation

• Inconsistent sending volume

Best Practices:

• Use SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication

• Avoid spammy formatting (ALL CAPS, too many links)

• Warm up new IP addresses gradually

• Monitor your domain on tools like Google Postmaster Tools

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11. Device and Email Client Usage

Why It Matters:
Different devices and email clients display your emails differently—and user behavior changes by device.

Key Data Points:

• 70–80% of ecommerce emails are opened on mobile

• Apple Mail Privacy Protection (AMPP) affects open rate tracking

• Gmail users tend to prefer image-rich layouts

Best Practices:

• Design mobile-first and test on major clients

• Focus more on click and conversion rates than open rates (due to AMPP)

• Use concise, tappable CTAs for mobile users

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12. Brand Loyalty and Customer Lifecycle Stage

Why It Matters:
A loyal customer will open and act on more emails than someone who barely knows you.

Lifecycle Stages:

• New subscriber

• First-time buyer

• Repeat buyer

• Churn-risk user

• Lapsed customer

Best Practices:

• Use lifecycle segments to deliver relevant content

• Treat first-time customers differently than VIPs

• Gradually re-introduce offers to lapsed users (win-back campaigns)

 

Benchmark Goals for Growing Ecommerce Brands (2025 Guide)

If you run an ecommerce brand and you're actively working to grow, you need more than generic industry averages—you need realistic yet ambitious benchmarks that guide your email strategy, performance reviews, and growth decisions.

Here’s how to set meaningful email marketing goals that evolve with your store’s maturity and marketing sophistication.

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1. Core Email KPI Goals (2025 Targets for Growth-Oriented Stores)

 Note: These are healthy, attainable goals for stores doing at least $5k/month and actively investing in email marketing.

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2. Email Goals by Growth Stage

Different-sized stores should prioritize different benchmarks. Here’s how to align goals with your current size and ambitions:

Stage 1: Startup / Early Growth (< $10k monthly revenue)

Primary Focus:

• Grow your list with engaged subscribers

• Launch core automation flows

• Establish baseline performance

KPI Targets:

• Open Rate: 30%

• CTR: 2–3%

• RPE: $0.10–$0.25

• List Growth: 5% per month

Action Goals:
✅ Set up Welcome, Abandoned Cart, and Post-Purchase flows
✅ Capture emails with pop-ups and exit intent offers
✅ Focus on basic segmentation (e.g., new vs returning)

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Stage 2: Scaling Brand ($10k–$50k monthly revenue)

Primary Focus:

• Improve engagement with better segmentation

• Optimize automations for revenue

• A/B test content and design regularly

KPI Targets:

• Open Rate: 35–40%

• CTR: 3–5%

• RPE: $0.30–$0.60

• Conversion Rate: 2–3%

• Automation revenue share: 25–35% of email revenue

Action Goals:
✅ Segment by purchase behavior (frequent buyers, category preference)
✅ Launch win-back and browse abandonment flows
✅ Begin using dynamic product recommendations

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Stage 3: Mature Brand ($50k–$250k+ monthly revenue)

Primary Focus:

• Optimize deliverability, retention, and LTV

• Personalize at scale

• Leverage loyalty, reviews, and referral data in email

KPI Targets:

• Open Rate: 40–45%

• CTOR: 12–15%

• RPE: $0.50–$1.00+

• Unsubscribe Rate: < 0.1%

• Revenue from flows: 40–50%+ of total email revenue

Action Goals:
✅ Use predictive analytics for send time and product targeting
✅ Personalize emails based on loyalty/VIP tiers
✅ Re-engage cold segments with dedicated content journeys

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3. Benchmarks by Email Type (Quick Reference)

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4. Strategic KPI Benchmarks by Email Category

Break your campaigns into three core categories and monitor performance separately:

➤ Transactional Emails (e.g., order confirmations, shipping updates)

• Open Rate: 65–80%

• CTR: 5–8%

• RPE: Low (but essential for CX)

Goal: Use these as brand-building touchpoints (add loyalty reminders, cross-sells).

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➤ Automated Flows

• Open Rate: 40–60%

• CTR: 8–12%

• Conversion: 3–6%

• RPE: $0.50–$2.00+

Goal: Generate 30–50% of total email revenue from automation.

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➤ Campaign Broadcasts (Newsletters, Sales)

• Open Rate: 25–35%

• CTR: 2–4%

• Conversion: 1–2%

• RPE: $0.10–$0.40

Goal: Use segmentation and A/B testing to push these higher.

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5. How to Track These Benchmarks Efficiently

Use your ESP (e.g., Klaviyo, Mailchimp, Omnisend, ActiveCampaign) and ecommerce platform (Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce) to:

• Create dashboard KPIs for each email type

• Track flow vs campaign performance separately

• Monitor 24-hour post-send metrics and 30-day trend lines

• Export reports for each segment and lifecycle stage

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Final Email KPI Targets Checklist for 2025

Use this checklist to self-audit your performance quarterly:

• 35%+ average open rate

• 10%+ click-to-open rate (CTOR)

• <$0.10 unsubscribe rate

• $0.30+ revenue per email

• 30–50% of email revenue from automation

• 4%+ CTR on top-performing flows

• Monthly list growth of 5–10%

• Win-back emails convert 0.5%+ of cold users

• Average order value (AOV) from email is consistent with paid/organic traffic

 

3. How to Improve Each KPI (Tactical Breakdown)

Open Rate (Goal: 35–45%+)

Problems: Low subject line appeal, weak branding, poor timing
Solutions:

• A/B test 3–5 subject lines per campaign

• Use the subscriber’s name or location

• Optimize preview text separately from subject line

• Avoid “spammy” words and emojis unless tested

Tools:

• Klaviyo/Mailchimp subject line testing

• CoSchedule Headline Analyzer (free tool)

• Mail-Tester.com (spam score checker)

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CTR / CTOR (Goals: CTR 3–5%+, CTOR 10–15%)

Problems: Weak calls-to-action, irrelevant content, poor UX
Solutions:

• Make CTA buttons large and visually distinct

• Use first-person verbs (“Show me the deal” vs “Click here”)

• Segment product offers based on past purchase behavior

• Include fewer choices (less = more engagement)

Tools:

• ESP heatmaps (click maps)

• Email on Acid or Litmus (render testing)

• Dynamic blocks for product personalization

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Conversion Rate (Goal: 2–5%)

Problems: Weak landing pages, friction in checkout, mismatch between email and offer
Solutions:

• Match subject line to email content to landing page ("message match")

• Add trust symbols (reviews, security badges)

• Highlight urgency (e.g., countdown timers)

• Offer cart-recovery discounts with dynamic coupons

Tools:

• Postscript / ReConvert / Rebuy for post-purchase optimization

• Dynamic checkout buttons

• Shopify conversion analytics or Hotjar for behavior tracking

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Revenue per Email (Goal: $0.30–$1.00+)

Problems: Sending to too many low-value users, weak flows, bad timing
Solutions:

• Focus on automation flows (abandonment, welcome, post-purchase)

• Re-engage high-LTV segments more often

• Use cross-sell & upsell modules

• Increase AOV with bundles or threshold offers

Tools:

• Klaviyo Predictive Analytics (LTV, churn risk)

• Recharge or Bold (for subscriptions or upsells)

• ESP revenue reports per flow vs campaign

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Unsubscribe Rate (Goal: < 0.15%)

Problems: Too many sends, poor targeting, repetitive promos
Solutions:

• Let users set preferences (topics, frequency)

• Rotate types of content (educational, promo, UGC, product-focused)

• Suppress disengaged users automatically

• Show a sneak peek in the footer: “Next week’s topic: [topic]”

Tools:

• List suppression rules in your ESP

• Preference centers

• Segment by engagement level (openers vs dormant)

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Bounce Rate (Goal: < 0.5%)

Problems: Dead emails, old lists, poor list acquisition
Solutions:

• Use a reputable signup tool (like Klaviyo Forms or Justuno)

• Remove bounced emails automatically

• Require email confirmation (double opt-in) for cold traffic

Tools:

• NeverBounce / ZeroBounce (email validation)

• Klaviyo list cleaning tools

• ESP reporting for bounce reason

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4. Implement a Monthly Email KPI Review Routine

Every Month:

• Identify top 3 and bottom 3 performing emails (campaigns + flows)

• Review list growth and health (hard bounces, unsubscribes, spam)

• Track automation revenue vs campaign revenue

• Audit email previews on mobile and desktop

Every Quarter:

• Refresh your abandoned cart and welcome series

• Optimize one flow based on performance data

• Re-segment your list for better targeting

• Clean inactive subscribers who haven’t engaged in 90+ days

Pro Tip: Automate reports via your ESP and GA4 dashboards. Export monthly reports into Google Sheets or Looker Studio for trend tracking.

 

Final Thoughts: Don’t Just Measure—Optimize

Tracking email marketing KPIs is not the goal—optimization is.

You could have beautiful charts and data dashboards, but if you aren’t using that information to refine your campaigns, you’re not growing. The highest-performing ecommerce brands don’t settle for industry averages—they treat benchmarks as starting points, and their analytics as a roadmap for optimization.

Here’s how to turn tracking into transformation:

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1. Benchmarking is Not a Destination, It’s a Diagnostic Tool

Benchmarks help you understand where you stand—but they don’t tell you why you're performing at that level or what to do next.

For example:

• A 2% CTR isn’t inherently “bad,” but it might indicate your CTAs or design need refinement.

• A high unsubscribe rate doesn’t mean “email doesn’t work”—it means segmentation or content relevancy needs improvement.

• A high open rate but low CTR means your subject line works, but your email body doesn't deliver value.

Use benchmarks as a guidepost, not a final grade.

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2. Optimization = Controlled Experiments + Iteration

You can’t optimize what you don’t test. Ecommerce brands should be running A/B tests regularly across all aspects of their email marketing.

Where to run A/B tests:

• Subject lines (urgency, personalization, questions, emojis)

• Send times (morning vs evening, weekday vs weekend)

• CTA copy and placement

• Number of products featured

• Email layout (single-column vs grid)

• Discount type (% off vs $ off)

Golden Rule: Test one variable at a time, measure the results, and apply learnings to future campaigns and flows.

Don’t stop testing once you hit “good” performance. The market evolves, and so do customer expectations.

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3. Prioritize High-Impact Optimization Opportunities

Not all emails are created equal. Some emails—like automated flows—can generate more revenue over time than one-time campaigns.

Focus on optimizing your:

• Abandoned Cart Flow – test discounts, product images, send times

• Welcome Series – test how you introduce your brand and incentivize first purchase

• Browse Abandonment Flow – test whether showing exact browsed products or related items performs better

• VIP/Loyalty Campaigns – test offer types, product categories, personalization

80/20 Rule for Email Optimization:
Spend 80% of your time optimizing automated flows and your top campaigns, and 20% creating new sends.

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4. Use Tools That Turn Data Into Action

Use the right tools that not only collect data, but enable smart decisions:

Pro Tip: Don’t just look at email metrics. Evaluate end-to-end journeys—from inbox to checkout.

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5. Turn KPIs into Continuous Improvement Workflows

It’s not about massive overhauls—it’s about steady iteration. Set a recurring cycle:

Use a feedback loop:

1. Measure →

2. Analyze →

3. Test →

4. Implement →

5. Re-measure

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6. Align Optimization With Business Goals

Your email optimization should support larger growth targets, not just vanity metrics.

For example:

• Want to increase AOV? Focus on upsell/cross-sell automations.

• Want more repeat buyers? Optimize post-purchase and loyalty sequences.

• Want lower CAC? Improve welcome flow conversions and reduce unsubscribes.

• Want to retain VIPs? Segment and customize high-LTV campaigns.

Email is not an isolated marketing channel—it’s a growth engine.

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7. Optimization is a Culture, Not a Task

The best ecommerce email teams don’t treat optimization as a checklist item—they make it a mindset.

They:

• Encourage curiosity over complacency

• Track progress, not perfection

• Celebrate small wins (e.g., +0.3% CTR = 300 more buyers if you have 100K subscribers!)

• Build a culture of continuous improvement

Make optimization part of your team language: "What did we learn from this send?" should be a standard question after every campaign.

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Final Optimization Checklist

Use this final checklist before publishing or iterating on any campaign:

• Does the email match the subject line and preview text expectations?

• Is the CTA clear, clickable, and above the fold?

• Is the content segmented and relevant to the audience?

• Have I tested this version vs an alternative?

• Does the landing page continue the story from the email?

• Have I reviewed this email’s performance 48h and 7d after send?

• Have I tagged or documented key learnings?

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Last Word

You can’t scale what you don’t optimize.
Data is your compass. Testing is your vehicle. And optimization is the engine that turns your email channel from a cost center into a reliable profit driver.

Start small. Be consistent. And always improve.