Klaviyo email metrics explained: Opens, clicks, and conversions for Shopify

Klaviyo displays 15+ email performance metrics per campaign: open rate, click rate, bounce rate, unsubscribe rate, revenue per recipient, placed order rate, conversion rate, unique clicks, total clicks, click-to-open rate, and more. This abundance creates analysis paralysis—merchants check all metrics without clear hierarchy of which actually matter for business outcomes.

According to email marketing research, open rates and click rates (most-watched metrics) have weak correlation with email program profitability. Two stores might both achieve 35% opens and 4% clicks but generate wildly different revenue—one earns $0.15 per recipient, other earns $1.20 per recipient. The difference lies in conversion quality, offer relevance, and audience intent—metrics rarely tracked but far more important than engagement rates.

This guide explains what each Klaviyo metric actually measures, which metrics correlate with revenue (and deserve attention), and which create false focus pulling attention from business outcomes.

Understanding Klaviyo's metric categories

Deliverability metrics (table stakes)

These metrics indicate whether emails reach inboxes successfully: Delivered rate, bounce rate, spam complaint rate. These aren't performance metrics—they're technical health checks. As long as delivered rate is 98%+, bounce rate under 2%, and spam complaints under 0.1%, deliverability is healthy. Only investigate if these thresholds breach.

Engagement metrics (intermediate indicators)

These metrics measure recipient interaction: Open rate, click rate, click-to-open rate. Engagement metrics indicate content resonance but don't directly measure business value. High opens with zero purchases don't help your business. These metrics are useful diagnostic tools, not end goals.

Conversion metrics (business outcomes)

These metrics measure revenue impact: Placed order rate, revenue per recipient, conversion rate, total attributed revenue. Conversion metrics directly connect email to business outcomes. These are true success measures—everything else is supporting data helping explain why conversions happen or don't.

Open rate: What it actually measures

How opens are tracked

Klaviyo embeds invisible 1×1 pixel image in emails. When recipient's email client downloads images, Klaviyo records ""open."" This method has significant limitations: (1) If recipient doesn't load images (privacy settings), open isn't tracked even though they read email. (2) If email client auto-loads images in background, open is tracked even though recipient never actually read email. (3) Apple Mail Privacy Protection (iOS 15+) automatically loads all images on Apple's servers, tracking ""open"" regardless of whether recipient looked at email.

What open rate tells you

Open rate = (Unique opens ÷ Delivered emails) × 100. Example: 1,000 emails delivered, 380 unique opens = 38% open rate.

What this means: Approximately 38% of recipients either read your email or had email client load images automatically. This is rough engagement proxy but increasingly unreliable due to privacy features and automated image loading.

Open rate benchmarks (with caveats)

Pre-iOS 15 (before September 2021): 25-35% open rate was typical for engaged Shopify email lists. Under 20% indicated deliverability or subject line problems. Above 40% indicated very engaged list.

Post-iOS 15 (September 2021+): Apple Mail Privacy Protection artificially inflates opens by 5-15 percentage points. Many merchants saw ""open rates"" jump from 30% to 40-45% overnight without actual behavior change. Current benchmarks meaningless without knowing list's iOS Mail user percentage.

Implication: Open rate declining usefulness as success metric. Focus shifting to clicks and conversions (harder to fake, actually indicate engagement).

When to pay attention to opens

Scenario 1: Dramatic open rate drop. Campaign opens 38%, next campaign opens 18% to same segment. Investigate: Did subject line test fail badly? Deliverability issue sending emails to spam? Send time poor? Significant drop requires diagnosis.

Scenario 2: List segment comparison. VIP customers open at 45%, general list opens at 28%, unengaged segment opens at 8%. This relative comparison guides segmentation strategy—VIP segment deserves more campaigns, unengaged segment needs re-engagement or removal.

Scenario 3: Subject line testing. Test two subject lines: ""25% off this weekend"" (42% open) versus ""Last chance: Weekend sale"" (38% open). First outperformed by 4 percentage points—implement similar urgency framing in future campaigns.

Click rate: Better indicator than opens

How clicks are tracked

Klaviyo wraps all email links with tracking redirects. When recipient clicks, request hits Klaviyo's servers (records click) then redirects to destination URL. This tracking is reliable—clicks represent definite intentional action, unlike opens which can be automatic.

What click rate tells you

Click rate = (Unique clicks ÷ Delivered emails) × 100. Example: 1,000 emails delivered, 45 unique clicks = 4.5% click rate. Alternative metric: Click-to-open rate = (Unique clicks ÷ Unique opens) × 100. Same example with 380 opens: 45 ÷ 380 × 100 = 11.8% click-to-open rate.

What this means: 4.5% of recipients took action by clicking link in email. This indicates genuine interest—recipient opened email, read content, found something compelling, clicked through. Much stronger engagement signal than opens.

Click rate benchmarks

Typical ranges for Shopify stores: 2-4% click rate for promotional campaigns, 3-6% for flows (higher intent), 8-15% for highly targeted segments or compelling offers. Under 1% indicates weak call-to-action, unclear value proposition, or audience mismatch. Above 8% for general campaigns indicates very compelling offer or extremely engaged list.

Click-to-open rate benchmarks: 10-15% typical (meaning 10-15% of email openers clicked). Under 8% suggests email content didn't deliver on subject line promise or weak CTA. Above 20% indicates strong content-to-offer match.

Why clicks matter more than opens

Click is prerequisite for purchase. Customer can't buy without visiting your site, and email link click is primary path. High opens with low clicks means subject line succeeded (got opens) but email body failed (didn't motivate action). Conversely, lower opens with high click-to-open rate often generates more revenue than high opens with weak clicks—10,000 emails with 30% opens and 5% CTOR (150 clicks) beats 10,000 emails with 40% opens and 3% CTOR (120 clicks) despite ""worse"" open rate.

Conversion rate: The metric that actually matters

What conversion rate measures

Conversion rate = (Placed orders ÷ Delivered emails) × 100. Example: 1,000 emails delivered, 24 placed orders = 2.4% conversion rate. This is end-to-end email effectiveness: delivered email → opened → clicked → visited site → purchased.

Alternative: Conversion rate from clicks = (Placed orders ÷ Unique clicks) × 100. Same example with 45 clicks: 24 ÷ 45 × 100 = 53% conversion rate from clicks. This isolates site conversion performance separate from email engagement.

Conversion rate benchmarks

Campaign conversions: 0.5-1.5% typical for promotional campaigns to general list, 1.5-3% for segmented campaigns to engaged customers, 3-5%+ for highly targeted campaigns to VIP customers. Under 0.3% indicates fundamental offer or audience mismatch. Above 4% for general campaigns indicates exceptional offer-market fit.

Flow conversions: 3-8% for abandoned cart flows (very high intent), 1-3% for welcome series (new subscriber orientation), 2-5% for post-purchase flows (cross-sell). Flows typically convert 3-5x higher than campaigns due to behavioral triggering.

Why conversion rate is king

Conversion rate directly measures revenue impact. Email generating 1.5% conversions with $80 AOV produces $1.20 revenue per recipient. Email generating 0.8% conversions with same AOV produces $0.64 per recipient—nearly half despite potentially similar opens/clicks. Business success comes from conversions, not engagement vanity metrics.

Revenue per recipient: The ultimate metric

What RPR measures

Revenue per recipient = Total attributed revenue ÷ Total recipients. Example: Campaign to 5,000 recipients generates $3,200 attributed revenue = $0.64 revenue per recipient. This accounts for both conversion rate AND average order value, making it most comprehensive single metric.

Why RPR beats all other metrics

Two campaigns to same-size audiences: Campaign A: 35% opens, 4% clicks, 1.2% conversion, $65 AOV = $0.78 RPR. Campaign B: 28% opens, 3% clicks, 1.8% conversion, $95 AOV = $1.71 RPR. Campaign B generated 2.2x more revenue despite ""worse"" opens and clicks. RPR captures full business impact, while engagement metrics miss the story.

RPR benchmarks by email type

Promotional campaigns: $0.15-0.40 RPR typical for general list campaigns, $0.40-0.80 for segmented campaigns, $0.80-1.50 for VIP segments. Under $0.10 indicates poor offer or audience targeting. Above $1.00 for general campaigns indicates exceptional performance.

Abandoned cart flows: $2.00-4.00 RPR typical (high intent, high AOV). Under $1.50 suggests optimization opportunities. Above $5.00 indicates high-ticket products or excellent optimization.

Welcome series: $0.40-1.00 RPR typical for first 30 days of subscriber lifecycle. Under $0.25 suggests weak welcome offer or poor subscriber quality. Above $1.50 indicates strong immediate monetization.

Secondary metrics worth monitoring

Unsubscribe rate

What it measures: (Unsubscribes ÷ Delivered emails) × 100. Typical: 0.1-0.3% per campaign. Above 0.5% signals audience fatigue, over-sending, or message-audience mismatch. Occasional 0.4% campaign is fine; sustained 0.5%+ across multiple campaigns requires investigation.

Why it matters: List is your email program's asset. High unsubscribe rates shrink asset over time. If growing list 2% monthly but losing 2% monthly to unsubscribes, you're on treadmill going nowhere.

List growth rate

What it measures: (New subscribers - Unsubscribes) ÷ Total list size × 100 per month. Healthy: 3-7% monthly for growth-stage stores, 1-3% for established stores. Negative growth (unsubscribes exceed signups) indicates serious program problems.

Why it matters: Email revenue scales with list size (more subscribers = more revenue at same conversion rates). Flat or shrinking lists limit email channel growth even with perfect optimization.

Placement rate (deliverability)

What it measures: Percentage of emails reaching inbox (not spam folder). Klaviyo doesn't directly measure this—requires third-party tools like Mail Genius or 250ok. Healthy: 95%+ inbox placement. Under 90% indicates deliverability problems requiring immediate attention (authentication, content, engagement issues).

Why it matters: Emails in spam folders might as well not be sent. 35% ""open rate"" is actually 18% if only half your emails reach inbox. Poor deliverability invalidates all other metrics.

Metrics that mislead or distract

Total clicks (versus unique clicks)

Klaviyo shows both ""total clicks"" (every click, including same person clicking multiple times) and ""unique clicks"" (number of people who clicked at least once). Total clicks creates false precision—someone clicking unsubscribe link, then contact link, then product link shows as ""3 clicks"" but is single person. Always use unique clicks for analysis.

Predicted gender or age (demographic data)

Klaviyo estimates demographics based on names and behavior. This data is highly inaccurate (30-40% error rates) and rarely actionable. Testing ""25-34 year olds"" segment using predicted age wastes time—behavioral segments (purchase history, engagement) are far more reliable.

Activity timeline heatmaps

Klaviyo shows when during day/week emails are opened. These visualizations seem insightful but rarely inform strategy—Klaviyo's send-time optimization handles timing automatically and outperforms manual analysis. Reviewing heatmaps is interesting but low-value use of time.

Creating your metric dashboard

Weekly campaign review (5 minutes)

For each campaign sent this week, check three metrics only: (1) Click rate (engagement quality), (2) Conversion rate (business outcome), (3) Revenue per recipient (comprehensive impact). Compare to campaign's 90-day averages for those metrics. If all three are within 20% of averages, campaign succeeded. If any metric is -30% below average, investigate what differed (subject line, offer, audience, timing).

Monthly flow review (10 minutes)

For each active flow, check: (1) Total revenue attributed this month versus last month (growing, flat, or declining?), (2) Conversion rate versus 90-day average (optimizing or degrading?), (3) Revenue per recipient versus 90-day average (maintaining efficiency?). Flows should show stable or slowly improving metrics. Declining flow performance signals deliverability issues, offer fatigue, or competitive pressure.

Monthly list health (5 minutes)

Check: (1) Net list growth (new subscribers - unsubscribes), (2) Average campaign unsubscribe rate this month, (3) Engaged subscriber percentage (opened email in last 90 days ÷ total list). Healthy list shows positive net growth, unsubscribe rates under 0.3%, and engaged percentage above 40%. Concerning trends: shrinking list, average unsubscribe rates above 0.4%, engaged percentage declining month-over-month.

Benchmark traps to avoid

Trap 1: Industry average obsession

Articles claiming ""e-commerce email open rates average 32%"" create false benchmarks. Your relevant benchmark is your historical performance, not aggregated industry average. If your engaged list opens at 38%, that's your baseline. Compare future campaigns to your 38%, not generic 32%. Your audience, brand, products, and sending patterns create unique benchmarks.

Trap 2: Metric competition with irrelevant comparison

Merchants see competitor or friend's email program achieving 45% opens and feel inadequate about their 32% opens. But if your 32% opens generate $0.85 RPR and competitor's 45% opens generate $0.40 RPR, your program is more than twice as profitable per email. Revenue matters; engagement vanity doesn't.

Trap 3: Optimizing metrics instead of revenue

Merchant focuses entire email strategy on increasing open rates from 30% to 35%. Achieves goal through clickbait subject lines and aggressive sending. Open rate increases, but conversion rate drops (clickbait attracted wrong clicks), revenue per recipient falls 25%, and unsubscribes double. ""Successful"" metric optimization destroyed business outcomes. Always optimize for revenue, not intermediate metrics.

Advanced: Metric segmentation

Campaign performance by list tenure

Analyze metrics by how long subscribers have been on list: 0-30 days (new), 31-90 days (warming), 91-365 days (established), 365+ days (long-term). Typical pattern: New subscribers show highest engagement (45% opens, 6% clicks) but lowest conversion (0.8%—still learning about brand). Established subscribers show moderate engagement (32% opens, 4% clicks) but highest conversion (2.3%—trust established). Long-term subscribers show lower engagement (25% opens, 2.5% clicks) and moderate conversion (1.5%—habitual buyers or fatigued).

This segmentation reveals subscriber lifecycle: invest in engaging new subscribers, optimize conversion for established subscribers, and re-engage or sunset long-term low-performers.

Campaign performance by acquisition source

Compare metrics for subscribers from different sources: popup signups, checkout signups, purchased then subscribed, social media signups. Typical pattern: Purchased-then-subscribed shows highest everything (engaged customers self-selected to subscribe). Popup signups show moderate engagement. Social media signups often show low engagement (incentivized signups attract discount-seekers). This analysis guides acquisition strategy—focus growth on channels delivering engaged, converting subscribers, not just volume.

Klaviyo Email Metrics Explained

Of Klaviyo's 15+ email metrics, three drive business outcomes: Click rate (engagement quality), conversion rate (purchase effectiveness), and revenue per recipient (comprehensive impact). Opens are increasingly unreliable due to privacy features. Clicks indicate genuine interest. Conversions and RPR directly measure business value.

Priority metric hierarchy: (1) Revenue per recipient—single metric capturing full business impact. (2) Conversion rate—measures email-to-purchase effectiveness. (3) Click rate—engagement quality indicator. (4) Open rate—rough engagement proxy, increasingly unreliable. Everything else is diagnostic or deliverability health check.

Benchmarks: Create personal benchmarks from your 90-day historical performance rather than generic industry averages. Your audience, brand, and products create unique baselines. Compare new campaigns to your history, not aggregated external data.

Avoid: Optimizing engagement metrics (opens, clicks) at expense of business outcomes (conversions, revenue). Metric competition with others. Tracking everything equally rather than focusing on revenue-correlated metrics. Remember: Email program success is measured in dollars, not percentages.