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Ever wondered what is a good SMS open rate in 2025—or how your sms conversion rate compares to your industry? Spoiler: Klaviyo still reports open rates around ~95%, but the real opportunity lies in clicks, conversions, and retention. With changes in consumer habits, privacy, and technology, SMS marketing benchmarks have shifted—and brands that understand them can compete smarter.
In this post, we break down Klaviyo’s latest sms performance metrics by industry, explain what “good” performance looks like, and give you the practical playbook to beat average results.
How to Read These Benchmarks
Klaviyo aggregates performance data from over 167,000 brands, generating medians for each metric—click rate, placed order rate, unsubscribe rate, revenue per recipient, and more.
These numbers vary based on list quality, message cadence, and content type (campaign vs. flow). Use them as a relative benchmark, not a strict target—for improvement, your historical performance is the true yardstick.
Click Rates
2025 Industry Benchmarks
- Campaigns: Good click-through rate (CTR) = 8.9–14.5%; Excellent = 14.6%+
- Flows (automated messages): Better engagement, with CTR from 10.9%–14.9%
What Good Looks Like
- Above 14.5% CTR = industry-leading
- 8.9–14.5% CTR = solid
Why Click Rates Matter
Click rates are your first signal of engagement—they show whether your message resonated enough for the recipient to take action.
How to Improve
- Segment high-intent audiences (e.g., recent buyers, browsers, VIPs)
- Use exclusive or urgent campaigns, like drops, restocks, flash promos
- Test send windows like 9 am, 3 pm, or 7 pm
- Personalize with AI, based on behavior and past orders
- Ensure a single clear CTA + Klaviyo short link to boost trust and tracking
Placed Order Rates (Conversion)
2025 Industry Benchmarks
- Good conversion rate: 1.0–2.0%
- Excellent: 2.1%+
Why It’s Critical
Placed order rate is a direct indicator of your sms conversion rate—and it directly ties to revenue.
How to Improve
- Prioritize flows over one-offs: onboarding, cart abandon, post‑purchase upsells drive significantly more ROI.
- Enable text-to-buy, reducing friction from SMS to checkout.
- Use AI-tailored product recommendations.
- Include urgency prompts (low-stock, limited-time).
Unsubscribe Rates
2025 Industry Benchmarks
- Great: < 0.5%
- Good: 0.6–1.4%
- Needs improvement: 1.5–1.9%
- Critical: ≥ 2.0%
Why It Matters
High unsubscribe rates signal message fatigue—or irrelevance—and hurt list health and deliverability.
How to Improve
- Promote only high-value messages: exclusives, VIP offers, back-in-stock.
- Limit sends to 1–2 SMS campaigns per week (total flow + campaign count).
- Exclude unengaged users, adjust segment definitions over time.
- Rotate content types: blend promos with value-driven updates or tips.
Other Key Metrics to Watch
- Open rate: ~95%, consistently high for SMS.
- Delivery rate: Monitor bounce/failure status regularly; follow consent and clean-list best practices.
- Revenue per recipient (RPR):
- Excellent: ≥ $2.42
- Good: $0.66–$2.41
- Needs improvement: $0.18–$0.65
- Critical: < $0.18
- Reply rate (two-way messaging): aim for 2–5%, using conversational formats, polls, FAQs, etc.
Benchmark Variations by Industry
These industry splits approximate Klaviyo’s broader averages by vertical. Brands with fast repurchase cycles (like food or personal care) tend to see higher conversion rates and RPR.
Future Trends in SMS for 2025
- AI-Driven Personalization: automated intelligence chooses send time, message tone, and product selection.
- Text-to-Buy / Instant Checkout: fewer steps boost conversions.
- Cross-channel cohesion: integrating email marketing, SMS, and direct mail yields higher sms retention rate and overall ROI.
- Flows over blasts: Automation-driven messaging delivers relevance at scale—and revenues that compound over time.
Key Takeaways
- Track your sms performance metrics—click-through, conversion, unsubscribe, RPR—regularly.
- Compare against industry benchmarks, but measure progress against your own past performance too.
- To boost your SMS marketing benchmarks, optimize segmentation, cadence, message type, and personalization.
- Keep an eye on sms retention rate: subscriber quality is just as crucial as acquisition.
Take the Next Step
Craving deeper insights? At Stimulate Agency, our retention marketing strategies combine strategic tech setup with tactical execution. We’ll benchmark your Klaviyo accounts, identify gaps, and craft a bespoke growth plan—optimized for email marketing and sms marketing synergy.
✨ Request your free SMS performance audit today—let’s benchmark your account against Klaviyo medians and build a roadmap to outperform the averages.
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