BlogEmail MarketingKlaviyo vs. Attentive: Which Platform Delivers Better ROI for E-commerce?

Klaviyo vs. Attentive: Which Platform Delivers Better ROI for E-commerce?

April 1, 2025
Email Marketing
7 min read
Klaviyo vs. Attentive: Which Platform Delivers Better ROI for E-commerce?

Looking for the best platform for your e-commerce marketing? Here’s a quick breakdown:

  • Klaviyo: A multi-channel marketing platform excelling in email and SMS marketing, offering over 300 integrations, advanced segmentation, and predictive analytics. Ideal for businesses needing a centralized, data-driven solution.
  • Attentive: Specializes in SMS marketing with automated setup, advanced compliance tools, and strong customer support. Best for enterprise-level businesses focused on mobile-first strategies.

Quick Comparison

Feature Klaviyo Attentive
Primary Strength Email & SMS marketing SMS marketing
Integrations 300+ 100+
Segmentation Unlimited conditions Up to 3 simultaneous
Customer Support Variable Consistent, high-quality
Pricing Clear, contact-based Custom, enterprise-focused

Key Takeaway: Klaviyo is perfect for small to medium-sized businesses seeking multi-channel solutions, while Attentive is better for enterprise-level SMS marketing. Choose based on your marketing goals.

Klaviyo vs Attentive: Our 2024 eCommerce Email and SMS …

Klaviyo

Email Marketing Tools

Email Automation Systems

Klaviyo’s Flow Builder allows users to create complex, multi-step campaigns using real-time branching logic. This feature supports intricate decision trees and tailored customer journeys.

Attentive introduced its email automation in July 2022. While it supports basic automated campaigns, the platform’s limited integrations make it difficult to create more advanced sequences.

Customer Targeting Options

Effective segmentation is key to running campaigns that boost ROI. Here’s how Klaviyo and Attentive compare in this area:

Feature Klaviyo Attentive
Data Processing Real-time Non-real-time
Segmentation Conditions Unlimited Up to 3 simultaneous
Customer Profile Detailed Basic
Predictive Analytics Advanced Limited

Klaviyo uses a wide range of data – including demographics, e-commerce activity, lifetime value, and predictive analytics – to create comprehensive customer profiles. On the other hand, Attentive relies on engagement-based segmentation, using data like campaign interactions, basic demographics, and browsing or purchase behavior.

Email Performance and Design

Klaviyo has focused heavily on improving email deliverability, achieving strong performance metrics. Its "Smart Sending" feature helps manage email frequency to avoid overwhelming recipients.

Both platforms include drag-and-drop builders and templates, but Klaviyo offers more advanced tools for crafting engaging emails. Its AI-powered Content Generation suite includes features like a subject line assistant, SMS assistant, and personalized product feeds.

Attentive’s design tools, while functional, are more basic. They emphasize essential templates and simple personalization options, making them a better fit for businesses with straightforward email marketing needs. These differences in email tools pave the way for further comparisons in SMS capabilities.

SMS Marketing Tools

SMS Rules and Setup

Attentive’s SMS platform offers a streamlined setup process with built-in compliance features, making it easy for businesses to get started. In contrast, Klaviyo requires manual steps like selecting countries and setting up sender numbers. Attentive simplifies this with automated guidance and pre-configured options, saving time and effort.

Comparison of SMS Setup Features

Feature Klaviyo Attentive
Setup Process Manual configuration Automated guidance
Compliance Tools Basic Advanced
Sending Partners Limited network Extensive network
Customer Support Standard Premium onboarding
Enterprise Features Limited Advanced

The ease of setup and robust compliance tools can directly impact how efficiently campaigns run and the overall return on investment (ROI).

SMS Performance Tracking

Attentive stands out with its detailed SMS analytics and performance monitoring tools. For example, in 2024, Rebecca Minkoff used Attentive’s 2-in-1 sign-up units integrated with Shopify to attract mobile shoppers as both SMS and email subscribers. The brand surpassed its quarterly subscriber goal in less than a month, growing its subscriber list by 98.7% compared to the previous year.

Oak Essentials also saw impressive results using Attentive’s SMS tools:

  • Campaign messages: 25% average conversion rate
  • Browse abandonment reminders: 33% average conversion rate
  • Cart abandonment messages: 73% average conversion rate

In comparison, Klaviyo offers only basic SMS tracking metrics, lacking the depth provided by Attentive’s analytics. This level of performance tracking is crucial for businesses looking to optimize their campaigns and improve results.

Email and SMS Combined

Both platforms bring unique strengths when combining email and SMS marketing. Klaviyo offers seamless cross-channel tracking, A/B testing, and integration with over 350 platforms, making it a strong choice for businesses that prioritize multi-channel strategies. On the other hand, Attentive focuses heavily on SMS, making it ideal for mobile-first campaigns.

For instance, APL achieved a 78x ROI with Attentive’s SMS-focused approach, with 25% of subscribers making three or more purchases. This strategy has proven particularly effective for luxury brands aiming to replicate high-end, in-store experiences on mobile devices. However, for businesses needing a broader multi-channel solution, Klaviyo’s integrated platform might be a better fit.

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Platform Integration and Data

E-commerce Platform Setup

Klaviyo connects seamlessly with over 350 pre-built integrations for e-commerce platforms, giving businesses direct access to both real-time and historical customer data. This setup makes it easier to create highly targeted marketing campaigns by leveraging detailed customer insights. On the other hand, Attentive relies on Zapier to extend its connectivity to popular e-commerce systems, though its integration options are less detailed in documentation. These integrations play a key role in enabling detailed performance tracking and testing.

Results Tracking Tools

Klaviyo offers advanced analytics to better understand customer behavior and campaign success. With customizable last-touch attribution tracking, marketers can identify the specific email or SMS message that led to a purchase, helping fine-tune ROI.

Testing and Results

The effectiveness of these integrations becomes clear through real-world testing. Here are some standout results:

  • Frances Valentine achieved a 21.8x ROI within eight weeks of switching to Klaviyo SMS, showcasing the power of automation.
  • Linksoul saw an 82% increase in flow revenue by using Klaviyo’s combined email and SMS solution.
  • Leonisa experienced a 45.6x ROI by adopting Klaviyo’s multi-channel marketing approach.

Klaviyo also provides peer benchmarks and detailed deliverability insights across email and SMS channels – features Attentive doesn’t currently offer. Additionally, Klaviyo’s combined tracking for email and SMS delivers more precise attribution data, while Attentive’s default attribution window may overstate SMS revenue.

Costs and Returns

Price Structure

Klaviyo uses a clear pricing model based on the number of contacts, combining email and SMS into one platform. On the other hand, Attentive follows a custom pricing approach tailored for enterprise-level SMS marketing, offering dedicated support. This setup caters to businesses of all sizes.

Small Business Value

Klaviyo’s pricing approach makes it an attractive option for smaller businesses. It provides small and medium-sized e-commerce companies with a comprehensive toolkit, including email, SMS, mobile push notifications, and web forms – all in one platform. By consolidating marketing channels, Klaviyo simplifies operations. Alex Case, Ecommerce Manager at Proozy, shared:

"We were already using Klaviyo for our email flows, so it was really easy to have everything in one spot. You don’t have to connect Klaviyo to another tool or to Shopify – it’s seamless. It just made a ton of sense to switch."

ROI Examples

Real-world results highlight Klaviyo’s impact on ROI. For example, Magnolia Boutique achieved the following:

  • 49% growth in SMS subscribers
  • 37% of total revenue attributed to Klaviyo
  • 8% of revenue generated specifically through SMS marketing

"We can manage every single piece of the customer’s life cycle. We’re able to target them in appropriate ways because of all the data that Klaviyo is able to collect and store."

Proozy also reported impressive outcomes:

  • 1,000% increase in revenue per SMS recipient
  • 2.7x boost in average revenue per recipient
  • Up to $0.70 revenue per recipient on targeted messages
  • 30% click-through rate for specialized segments

"Making sure that our customers are seeing the products that they actually want has been a game-changer. We finally realized what we could do with SMS – and Klaviyo helped to take us to the next level."

Metric Before Klaviyo After Klaviyo Improvement
Mass Text Revenue Per Recipient $0.06 $0.16 167% increase
Targeted Text Revenue Per Recipient N/A $0.70 –
SMS Subscriber Growth (Magnolia) Base +49% 49% increase
Overall Revenue Attribution (Magnolia) N/A 37% –

Conclusion

Platform Differences

Klaviyo and Attentive cater to different business needs. Klaviyo focuses on email and multi-channel marketing, while Attentive specializes in high-level SMS marketing with strong support during onboarding and ongoing management.

The main difference? Klaviyo offers an all-in-one platform for managing customer relationships across channels. Attentive is designed to optimize SMS marketing for larger-scale operations.

Best Uses

These distinctions make each platform better suited for specific scenarios:

  • Klaviyo works well for small to medium-sized businesses that:

    • Need advanced email marketing tools
    • Want a centralized platform for managing multiple channels
    • Rely on integrated data analytics
    • Prefer self-service options
  • Attentive is ideal for enterprise-level businesses that:

    • Focus heavily on SMS marketing
    • Require dedicated support
    • Aim to boost mobile engagement
    • Need advanced SMS features

ROI Results

Return on investment (ROI) depends on your marketing goals. Klaviyo tends to deliver better value for businesses seeking a multi-channel solution, while Attentive shines in SMS-specific ROI but offers less flexibility for other channels.

Your decision should reflect your priorities. If multi-channel marketing is your focus, Klaviyo might be the better choice. For businesses centered on enterprise-level SMS marketing, Attentive’s expertise and features are a stronger fit. Selecting the right platform ensures your marketing aligns with your business goals.

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