How to compare email performance across stores fairly
A store with 200,000 subscribers will out-earn one with 8,000 every month. Compare rates, not totals, to see which stores really need help.
The Wizel Team
Email marketing strategist · · 1 min read
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Agencies and multi-brand owners face the same question every month: across all these stores, each with its own Klaviyo account, which ones are doing well? Ranking them by email revenue answers a different question. The biggest list wins, every time.
Compare rates, not totals
1 rule
compare rates, not totals, when stores differ in size
- Revenue per recipient, for campaigns and flows separately.
- Click rate, the cleaner engagement number now that Apple Mail inflates opens.
- Unsubscribe and spam complaint rates, to spot a store that's wearing its list out.
- Email's share of the store's total revenue, to see how much the business leans on email.
These put a candle shop with 5,000 subscribers and an apparel brand with 300,000 on the same footing.
Group stores before you rank them
Even rates don't compare cleanly across very different businesses. A store selling $400 furniture will usually have a lower placed order rate than one selling $30 snacks, and that doesn't mean its emails are worse. Compare each store with similar stores: same category, similar prices, similar list size. Better still, compare each store with its own last quarter.
Look for gaps, not just rankings
The most useful cross-store view is often a checklist rather than a league table. Which stores are missing an abandoned checkout flow? Which haven't sent a campaign in three weeks? Which have a spam complaint rate creeping toward 0.1%? Those gaps are quick wins, and they matter more than whether a store ranks fourth or fifth.
A league table tells you who's ahead. A list of gaps tells you what to fix on Monday.
Ask your own numbers in Wizel
Wizel connects each client's Klaviyo account in one workspace, so the chat can answer across all of them at once:
- “Compare campaign performance across all my stores.”
- “Rank my stores by revenue attribution.”
- “Which store is missing key automation flows?”
Frequently asked questions
What's the fairest metric for comparing email across stores?
Revenue per recipient, split into campaigns and flows. It accounts for list size. Pair it with click rate and unsubscribe rate, so a store that earns by over-sending doesn't look like a winner.
Should I compare clients with industry benchmarks?
Only as a loose sense check. Benchmarks blend very different businesses. A store's own trend, and how it compares with similar stores you manage, tells you more.
How often should an agency review performance across stores?
Monthly for reporting, with a weekly look at list health, like bounces and spam complaints, because those problems build quickly.
