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Card class: Non-Hero • Category: Email Marketing
The share of SMS sends that lead to a placed order, on a gauge. This is the bottom-line read on whether a paid channel is converting, and it is monitored so a real drop raises a flag.

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At a glance

The placed-order conversion rate from SMS sends across the selected period, shown as a gauge, computed as attributed conversions over SMS sends. A conversion is an order attributed to an SMS touch under Klaviyo’s default window of 5-day click plus 1-day view, single-touch (last-touch). This is the metric that decides whether the SMS programme earns its place: because every text costs money, the channel only pays when enough sends convert. SMS conversion rates typically run higher than email, since the audience is consent-based and high-intent, so a healthy SMS gauge is one of the strongest justifications for the per-message spend. This card is sensitivity-flagged, meaning Nerve Centre monitors it and a sustained drop against the recent baseline raises an alert on the activity feed, because a falling SMS conversion rate erodes channel ROI quickly when each send is billed.
What it countsSMS conversion rate for the period, attributed placed orders over SMS sends, expressed as a percentage on a gauge.
API endpoint + statistics fieldPOST /api/campaign-values-reports and POST /api/flow-values-reports scoped to the SMS channel, returning the conversion_rate statistic, derived from conversions over sends.
Attribution modelKlaviyo default: 5-day click plus 1-day view PLACED_ORDER, single-touch (last-touch). An order counts if a qualifying SMS touch fell inside that window.
Email vs SMS aggregationSMS channel only. Email conversions are tracked separately under Conversion Rate and never blended here.
Refunds / cancellationsNot deducted. Conversions are booked at order placement, so a later refund does not remove the conversion from this rate.
Chart typeGauge.
Time window30D vsP
Alert triggerSensitivity-flagged. A sustained downward step in SMS conversion against the recent baseline, which signals a real fall in SMS-driven purchasing and a hit to channel ROI.
Rolesowner, marketing

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Calculation

Calculated automatically from your Klaviyo data. See the At a glance summary above for what the metric tracks and the worked example below for a typical reading.

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Worked example

An illustrative skincare brand running SMS campaigns plus a welcome and abandoned-cart SMS flow. Reading the dashboard on 14 Apr 26 for the trailing 30 days (14 Mar 26 to 12 Apr 26), the SMS conversion gauge by week looks like this (illustrative figures):
WeekSMS sendsAttributed ordersSMS conversion rate
14-20 Mar 266,0001923.2%
21-27 Mar 266,1001953.2%
28 Mar-3 Apr 266,3001452.3%
4-12 Apr 266,2001983.2%
Week 3 conversion = 145 ÷ 6,300 = 2.3%
Drop vs the 3.2% baseline = 0.9 percentage points, roughly a 28% relative fall
On a cost-per-message channel, that fall directly lowers ROI for the week
Five observations:
  1. The gauge sits at a steady 3.2%, then week 3 drops to 2.3%. Because this card is sensitivity-flagged, a sustained move like this is the kind of deviation that raises a flag on the Nerve Centre activity feed rather than passing unnoticed.
  2. On SMS a conversion drop is a direct ROI hit. With each send billed, fewer conversions for the same volume means you paid the same to earn less. That cost link is why SMS conversion is watched more closely than its email equivalent.
  3. Localise before reacting: clicks or post-click? If SMS Clicks also dipped in week 3, the problem is upstream, fewer people tapped through. If clicks held but conversion fell, the problem is after the tap: a landing page, an out-of-stock item, or checkout friction.
  4. Mind the attribution window before diagnosing. Conversion follows Klaviyo’s 5-day click, 1-day view default. A send late in week 3 can still book orders into early week 4, so the right edge of the window can read low and fill in over the next few days. Rule out lag, and rule out any window change, before concluding performance dropped.
  5. The SMS conversion rate sitting above the email rate is normal and healthy. Consent-based, high-intent audiences convert better per send. A strong SMS gauge is part of what makes the channel worth its cost, so protect it: keep the list fresh through opt-ins and avoid over-sending a tiring audience.

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Sibling cards merchants should reference together

SMS Conversion is the bottom-of-funnel ROI read for the channel. Pair it with these:
CardWhy pair it with SMS Conversion
Conversion RateThe email counterpart. Comparing the two shows the per-send purchasing power of each channel.
SMS ClicksThe step before conversion. A conversion dip with falling clicks is upstream; with steady clicks it is after the tap.
SMS OverviewThe cockpit view. See conversion in the context of sends, clicks, and revenue for the full programme picture.
Revenue per RecipientThe value view. Conversion counts orders; revenue per recipient weights them by basket, so the two separate frequency from value.
SMS SendsThe volume and spend line. Conversion per send judges whether that spend is converting.

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Reconciling against Klaviyo

Where to look in Klaviyo:
  • Klaviyo → Analytics → Performance, with the channel set to SMS, then the conversion-rate metric over time.
  • Klaviyo → Campaigns and Klaviyo → Flows, filtered to SMS, then a specific message’s analytics, where attributed orders and conversion rate are shown per send.
  • Klaviyo → Account → Settings, then the conversion-tracking and attribution settings, to confirm the active attribution window.
Why our number may legitimately differ:
ReasonDirection of divergence
Attribution window. Klaviyo’s default is 5-day click plus 1-day view. If the window was changed mid-period, our historical figures may not match a live view recomputed on the new window.Drift on changed-window accounts.
Attribution lag. A late-window send books conversions into a later period. Snapshots taken at different times see different totals for the most recent days.The latest part of the window reads low until orders finish attributing.
Time zone. Vortex IQ buckets by UTC day; Klaviyo uses your account time zone. Orders near midnight can fall into a different period.Either direction, usually marginal.
Refunds. Conversions are booked at order placement and not reversed on refund, on both sides. A net-of-refund view will read lower than either.None between systems; both read gross.
Campaign vs flow scope. A campaign-only Klaviyo view will not match our blended SMS campaign-plus-flow conversion rate.Either direction.

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Known limitations / merchant FAQs

What counts as an SMS conversion? A placed order attributed to an SMS touch under the account’s attribution window, by default 5-day click plus 1-day view. If a recipient tapped your text and ordered within five days (or the touch otherwise qualified inside the view window), Klaviyo books the conversion. It is single-touch last-touch, so each order counts once. Why is this card monitored more closely than some others? Because it is sensitivity-flagged. SMS is a paid channel, so a sustained drop in conversion is a direct ROI loss, not just a soft week. Nerve Centre watches it and flags a real deviation on the activity feed so you can act before the cost mounts. My conversion dropped, how do I find the cause? Localise it. If SMS clicks fell too, fewer people tapped through, so the problem is upstream in the message or offer. If clicks held but conversion fell, the problem is after the tap: a landing page, an out-of-stock product, or checkout friction. Also rule out attribution lag and any window change, both of which move the gauge mechanically. Why is my SMS conversion higher than my email conversion? Because SMS is consent-based and high-intent. People who opt in to texts are a more engaged, self-selected audience, so they convert better per send. A higher SMS gauge is normal and is part of what justifies the per-message cost. Does a refund lower this number? No. Conversions are counted at order placement and are not reversed on refund or cancellation. A strong conversion week can still sit alongside high refunds. For a net view, read this with revenue and your store’s refund reporting. Why does the most recent part of the window look weak? Attribution lag. The click window runs up to five days, so a recent send can still book orders after the snapshot. The newest days often fill in over the following days, so give them time before concluding the rate fell.

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Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre

SMS Conversion is one of hundreds of KPI pulses Vortex IQ tracks across Klaviyo and 70+ other ecommerce connectors. Nerve Centre runs the detection layer; Vortex Mind investigates the cause when something moves; Ask Viq lets you interrogate any number in plain English. Start for free or book a demo to see this metric running on your own data.