Last summer, as physical businesses began to reopen, analysts predicted one of the largest summer slumps we'd ever seen.
And, when analyzing over 130,000 businesses, we certainly saw dips in engagement and conversion that affected some industries more than others.
This year, we've seen a lot more of the economy open back up. But, unfortunately, businesses have still worried about which direction they're going due to the rising costs of inflation and continued economic uncertainties. At this point, many business owners could be asking, "How do I stack up to others in my industry?"
To help you, we collected data from more than 150,000 businesses to see how web traffic, conversions, and inbound leads were trending up or down MoM and YoY in July.
Here's what we learned:
Editor's Note: These insights are based on data aggregated from 150,000+ HubSpot customers globally between July 2021 and July 2022. Note: Because the data is aggregated from HubSpot customers’ businesses, please keep in mind that the performance of individual businesses, including HubSpot’s, might differ based on their own markets, customer base, industry, geography, stage, and/or other factors.
Overall Outlook
While some businesses are seeing heavier dips in traffic MoM and YoY, they're still increasing performance YoY when it comes to Inbound Leads and Web Conversions. This shows that while we might be seeing signs of online seasonality, business could still be increasing from 2021 when COVID-19 still played a major role in economic uncertainty.
Next, let's dive into some more specific metrics.
Inbound Leads
Overall inbound leads were down 1.68% MoM, but up 14.04% YoY in July. So while companies might be seeing a bit of seasonality, they might not need to call it a summer slump just yet.
Noted in the chart below, three MoM and YoY increases worth noting were in Financial Activities (12.4% MoM and 23.22% YoY), Leisure and Hospitality (11.46% MoM and 20.41% YoY), and Education and Health Services (8.27% MoM and 9.26% YoY)
While Leisure and Hospitality's growth is not too surprising given the opening of economies and the summer months, there seems to be a lot more interest in Financial Activities as well as Education and Health Services.
But where do these leads come from? Two common areas businesses gain conversions and contacts from are their website and email marketing strategies. So, let's dive in and see how different industries compared in July.
Website Traffic and Conversion Rate Trends
Across industries, July web traffic was down 5.2% month over month (MOM) and 11.44% year over year (YOY). This trend was seen across all industries.
While it isn't uncommon to see lower web traffic in the summer (a theme we saw last year), the 11.44% annual drop across all industries is quite interesting as more and more people are connected to the internet, have web-enabled mobile devices, and even have multiple social media accounts. Although this dip could be due to even more time outside of the house than in 2020 and 2021, we'll have to continue watching these themes to gain more context.
While you don't necessarily need to panic if your traffic is dipping this summer, you should still take steps to optimize the web content and URLs you have. Here's a data-driven report on how web managers around the U.S. track and optimize site traffic.
The good news? Overall contact conversion rates were up 3.76% MOM and 8.89% YOY in July. While this is good news for those involved in web conversion optimization, you should still take this data with a grain of salt as conversion rates can go up when traffic dips down.
Two industries that did not see a monthly increase in contact conversion rates were:
- Technology, Information, and Media: down 1.45% MOM
- Trade, Transportation, and Utilities: down 2.49% MOM
These data points aren't super shocking as these industries have been historically susceptible to summer slumps and economic uncertainty. If you're a marketer in one of these spaces, it's important to continue aiming for the highest traffic possible, while still taking dips during the summer with a grain of salt.
Email Engagement Data Trends
Although more and more marketers are leveraging email marketing each day, inbox clutter might be getting lighter for subscribers this summer.
In July, most industries sent 5.61% fewer emails than in the previous month. But, in the scheme of things, email seems like a more active channel with 19.26% more sends year over year.
| Email Send Changes by Industry |
||
| Industry |
MOM |
YOY |
| Construction |
5.89% increase |
24.57% increase |
| Education and Health Services |
4.27% decrease |
7.25% increase |
| Financial Activities |
0.11% increase |
28.74% increase |
| Leisure and Hospitality |
1.8% increase |
12.87% increase |
| Manufacturing |
9.25% decrease |
21.69% increase |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) |
5.69% decrease |
11.9% increase |
| Professional and Business Services |
13.59% decrease |
14.48% increase |
| Technology, Information and Media |
8.38% decrease |
1.77% decrease |
| Trade, Transportation and Utilities |
7.95% decrease |
1.49% decrease |
Along with the number of emails sent MoM, nearly all industries saw a MoM open rate decrease in July, Leisure and Hospitality (up 1.42% MoM), Manufacturing (up 2.6% MoM), and Professional and Business Services (up 1.51% MoM).
This data could demonstrate that businesses are increasingly investing in email, but are adapting to send fewer emails during summer when engagement could be lower.
If you're noticing dips in summer engagement and aiming to create an email cadence that works for your brand, without encouraging unsubscribes, check out this guide.
For email data and best practices directly from email marketers, read this post with even more original HubSpot Research.
More Resources and Research
Want to learn even more about the latest marketing trends, themes, challenges, and opportunities? Check out our State of Marketing Report below, plus this post which offers you a few of the major highlights we found from more than 1000 marketers.