Using industry benchmarks is essential for gauging success and identifying areas for improvement when publishing and managing digital catalogs. Benchmarks allow businesses to measure their performance against others in their industry, ensuring they stay competitive and deliver excellent customer experiences. Benchmarking has many different types and purposes. Shopify’s article explains how benchmarks can be categorized depending on their aims.
We’ll examine the findings from Publitas’s second industry benchmarks report for Q2 2024. The report offers a detailed look at how different industries perform with digital catalogs. We’ll also provide five actionable tips on how to set up benchmarks for your digital catalogs, helping you improve engagement and business outcomes.
Q2 2024 Digital Catalog Industry Benchmarks by Sector
Below is a table summarizing the key metrics from the Q2 2024 report. These benchmarks show how industries perform regarding catalog engagement, mobile use, and bounce rates.
| Industry | Avg. Publication Size (pages) | Read Percentage | Avg. Engagement Time/Publication (mins) | Avg. Engagement Time/Page (secs) | Bounce Rate | Mobile Share |
| Beauty | 24 | 61.90% | 3.0 | 11.8 | 25.80% | 90.70% |
| Consumer Goods | 62 | 52.20% | 5.5 | 10.2 | 26.40% | 78.30% |
| DIY/Equipment | 52 | 21.80% | 3.3 | 17.6 | 46.90% | 78.20% |
| Electronics | 24 | 52.60% | 3.8 | 18.0 | 32.50% | 44.20% |
| Fashion/Apparel | 64 | 37.50% | 4.9 | 12.2 | 25.30% | 77.10% |
| Food & Beverages | 28 | 83.30% | 4.1 | 10.6 | 23.00% | 78.50% |
| Home & Living | 46 | 29.70% | 2.8 | 12.4 | 44.80% | 80.10% |
| Manufacturing & Distributing | 43 | 30.50% | 4.8 | 21.9 | 54.40% | 25.70% |
| Sports & Outdoor | 62 | 60.00% | 6.3 | 10.1 | 25.90% | 62.90% |
| Wholesale | 27 | 60.10% | 3.2 | 11.9 | 40.80% | 60.30% |
Key Takeaways from the Industry Benchmarks Report
1. Engagement Time Varies Widely by Industry
One of the most striking takeaways from the data is the variation in engagement time. Industries like Sports & Outdoor and Consumer Goods see high engagement times per publication (6.3 and 5.5 minutes, respectively), while others, like Home & Living and Beauty, fall on the lower end (2.8 and 3.0 minutes). This shows that industries catering to product-heavy catalogs or technical specifications tend to capture longer customer attention.
2. Mobile is Dominant Across Most Industries
The share of mobile usage is remarkably high across almost all industries, with Beauty leading the way at a mobile share of 90.7%. As consumers increasingly engage with content on the go, optimizing digital catalogs for mobile is a must.
3. Bounce Rates Highlight Areas for Improvement
High bounce rates in sectors like Manufacturing & Distributing (54.4%) and DIY/Equipment (46.9%) suggest potential user experience challenges. A high bounce rate often indicates that the catalog didn’t immediately engage users or that the content didn’t meet their expectations.
Optimizing the catalog’s design for better readability and faster load times will improve high bounce rates and enhance user experience. The first few pages should feature engaging, relevant content and interactive elements like a search bar, videos, or clickable product links to keep users engaged longer.
4. Best Overall Performing Industry
Based on the Q2 2024 industry benchmarks, the Food & Beverages sector is the best overall performer. This industry outpaces others in several key metrics, boasting the highest read percentage at 83.3% and a bounce rate of only 23%, one of the lowest across all industries. Additionally, its average engagement time per page is strong at 10.6 seconds.
Here’s how industries stack up in specific categories:
- Read Percentage: Food & Beverages leads with 83.3%, indicating that users are highly engaged with these publications.
- Engagement Time per Publication: Sports & Outdoor takes the top spot with 6.3 minutes, suggesting that these catalogs are particularly compelling.
- Engagement Time per Page: Manufacturing & Distributing has the longest time at 21.9 seconds per page, showing in-depth user interaction with each page.
- Bounce Rate: Food & Beverages excels with the lowest bounce rate at 23%, meaning users are more likely to engage with additional pages after opening.
- Mobile Share: Beauty wins in this category with an impressive 90.7%, showing a high level of mobile engagement.
Why Industry Benchmarks are Essential for Digital Catalogs
Industry benchmarks offer businesses critical insights into how their digital catalogs perform compared to competitors. With this data, you can:
- Identify Strengths: Determine what’s working well by comparing your engagement metrics against industry benchmarks.
- Spot Weaknesses: Pinpoint areas that need improvement, such as high bounce rates or low read percentages.
- Set Realistic Goals: Use industry benchmark data to set attainable goals for future catalog iterations.
- Adapt to Trends: Track shifts in consumer behavior and adjust your digital strategy accordingly.
- Drive Better Results: Continuous benchmarking helps optimize catalogs for increased engagement, leading to more traffic and, ultimately, higher sales.
5 Tips for Setting Up Benchmarking for Your Digital Catalogs
Now that you understand the value of industry benchmarks, here are five tips to help you establish an effective benchmarking process for your digital catalogs:
- Define Clear Objectives: Decide what you want to achieve before diving into the numbers. Whether it’s increasing engagement, reducing bounce rates, or boosting mobile interactions, having clear goals will guide your benchmarking process and focus your analysis.
- Choose the Right Metrics: Ensure you’re focusing on metrics that matter most to your business. For example, if mobile traffic is critical, keep an eye on mobile share and engagement times. If reducing bounce rates is a priority, track user interactions closely.
- Compare Against Relevant Industry Data: It’s important to compare your digital catalog’s performance against industry benchmarks relevant to your sector. Performance expectations vary widely by industry, and comparing different sectors can give misleading insights.
- Use Benchmarking Tools: Leverage tools like Google Analytics, Publitas, or other digital catalog platforms to track key metrics automatically. These tools can help streamline the process and provide detailed insights on performance over time.
- Regularly Review and Adjust: Benchmarking is not a one-time process. Regularly reviewing performance metrics allows you to make data-driven adjustments. Continuous improvement is key to staying competitive as customer preferences and technology evolve.
Harnessing Industry Benchmarks for Digital Catalog Success
Benchmarking using industry benchmarks is a powerful tool for assessing the performance of your digital catalogs. By understanding how your catalogs stack up against industry standards, you can make informed decisions to improve user experience, increase engagement, and optimize your marketing efforts. Use the data from Publitas’ Q2 2024 report as a starting point, and apply the tips outlined above to create a comprehensive benchmarking strategy for your digital publications.
If you are looking to improve the performance of your catalogs our experienced team can help you set up effective benchmarking and data tracking.
