Klaviyo Unveils Q1 Commerce Trends Report
Consumer spending rose in Q1, but shoppers are paying more and buying less fInds data
BOSTON — April 9 2026 — Today Klaviyo released its Q1 2026 Commerce Trends Report, drawing on the shopping and marketing activity of 10,000 leading brands and retailers. The report found GMV grew 9% year over year in Q1, product prices surged while cart sizes shrank as shoppers spent more per order while taking less home. Brands that leaned into text messaging and personalization pulled ahead.
Text is the growth channel — by a widening margin
Text had a standout Q1. GMV from text messages grew 17.5% year over year, outpacing email and every other channel for both new and repeat buyers. For repeat shoppers, growth topped 20%.
Text has now become a real experience channel for consumers and what Q1 reflects is a maturation in how consumers use it. The brands capitalizing on that trust with personalized, timely messaging rather than broad promotions are the ones turning that relationship into revenue.
“Building real relationships with customers at scale is one of the hardest things to get right now in retail, said Shannon Jörgenfelt, Senior Manager of Tatcha. “We’ve seen real success by leaning into text and investing in our SMS program is one of our top priorities in 2026.”
Shoppers are buying with more intention — and fewer items
Average order value rose just 1.7% in the US, but that number conceals two forces pulling in opposite directions: product prices up 8.7%, units per transaction down 6.4%. Shoppers are spending more but taking less home — a pattern consistent across the US, UK, Australia, and New Zealand. Product views per ordered product also climbed across verticals, a sign that the path to purchase is getting longer.
Personalization is paying off in revenue
Revenue per session from personalized experiences more than doubled between December 2025 and March 2026 — rising from $1.12 to $2.64.
"The first few months of the year always feel like a reset after the holidays. People slow down, spend less, and take more time deciding where their money goes. This year, the broader headwinds made that even more clear. What we saw in Klaviyo’s data is people comparing more, taking longer to make decisions, and being much more intentional about where they spend, said Jamie Domenici, Chief Marketing Officer, Klaviyo. ‘The brands that stood out got closer to their customers and used their data to show up in ways that actually felt relevant. The ones still relying heavily on acquisition saw pretty quickly how expensive that gets.”
Acquisition is getting more expensive
New buyer discount rates rose a full percentage point in Q1, from 9.8% to 10.8%, while repeat buyer discounts nudged down from 12.1% to 11.7%. Brands are spending more to win first-time customers and pulling back on promotions for the ones they’ve already earned. Under rising product cost pressure, that makes the economics of retention — and of owning direct channels — considerably more valuable.
Methodology
This analysis examines same-site shopping and marketing activity across a stable cohort of top GMV-producing Klaviyo customers during Q1 2026, compared to the same period in 2025. All data is anonymized and aggregated. Text insights are global and reflect Klaviyo customers sending text in both 2025 and 2026. All financial figures are in USD. All data is approximate, unaudited, and subject to adjustment.
About Klaviyo
Klaviyo (CLAY-vee-oh) is an autonomous B2C CRM that powers more valuable customer experiences. We unify a flexible, scalable data platform, intelligence that gets smarter with every interaction, and action across Marketing and Service to help businesses turn real-time customer data into personalization at scale. High-growth enterprises like Mattel, TaylorMade, Glossier, Liquid Death, Daily Harvest and more than 193,000 other paying customers leverage Klaviyo’s actionable infrastructure and our more than 350 integrations to deliver measurable outcomes through faster, higher-quality experiences.