Retail Social Media Engagement Rate Benchmarks (2026)
Engagement rate benchmarks for retailers, by category and platform.
Median engagement rate: 0.8%
Last updated · refreshed weekly from Submarine.ai data
| Category | Median eng. rate | YouTube | TikTok | Brands | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electronics, Media & E-commerce | 0.8% | 0.0% | 1.3% | 1.9% | 10+ |
| Fashion | 0.7% | 0.5% | 1.4% | 0.8% | 20+ |
| Grocery & Food Retail | 0.3% | 1.3% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 10+ |
| Home, Furniture, DIY & Garden | 1.2% | 0.4% | 0.9% | 1.3% | 10+ |
| Other Retail | 0.7% | 1.1% | 1.8% | 1.1% | 10+ |
| Sports Retailer | 1.4% | n/a | 1.0% | 0.8% | 6+ |
Methodology
Each row is a cohort: the tracked retail brands in one category. The Brands column is the sample size for that row. Medians are per-brand medians: we compute each brand's engagement rate (engagement divided by views over the trailing 30 days), then take the middle value across the brands in the cohort. Only official brand channels count.
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Frequently asked questions
What is a good engagement rate for retail brands on social media in 2026?
The median engagement rate for retail brands across YouTube, TikTok and Instagram is 0.8%, measured by Submarine.ai over the last 30 days. If your rate beats the median for your segment in the table on this page, you are doing better than half the brands we track.
How is engagement rate calculated?
Engagement rate is likes plus comments divided by views, on a brand's posts from the trailing 30 days. We compute it per brand, then take the median across the brands in each segment, so one viral brand cannot skew the figure.
Where does this data come from?
Submarine.ai tracks official brand channels on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram and computes these benchmarks from their posts. The page is updated weekly.