The benchmarks: 1.24% median CVR, $391 median AOV. The 25th–75th percentile AOV range is $216–$730. Sports & Outdoors posts the lowest CVR of the 10 published industries — but Q2 2026 told a different story.
CVR gained +8.9% from Q1 to Q2. In the same period in 2025, the category fell −3.3%. That’s a 12.2 percentage point swing in the opposite direction. In the first half of 2026, the spring and early summer period delivered better than 2025.
Year-over-year, the CVR picture is more stable than most categories. Monthly CVR in H1 2026 tracked closely to H1 2025. May and June 2026 actually came in above their 2025 equivalents. Sports & Outdoors didn’t see the broad softening that appeared in categories like Beauty or Home & Garden.
On order value: the $391 median is fourth-highest in the dataset. AOV declined modestly from Q1 to Q2 (−1.4%), with a change that small registering as a mostly flat trajectory for 2026.
Sports & Outdoors has the lowest median CVR in the dataset — but in Q2 2026, it outperformed the Q1→Q2 2025 movement by the second-largest margin of any category. The headline number and the trend tell different stories.
The median Sports & Outdoors CVR in H1 2026 was 1.24%, the lowest of the 10 published industries.
The low median reflects the category’s purchase dynamic. Buying a new bike, a tent, or a set of skis involves more comparison, more deliberation, and a longer session-to-order cycle than a repeat-purchase category. Shoppers arrive, research, and often leave to compare elsewhere before returning. That behavior suppresses CVR relative to categories where intent is already established.
The low CVR also means that small improvements go a long way. Moving from 1.24% to 1.40% is a modest absolute change but represents a 13% lift in conversion — meaningful at any order volume.
The 1.24% median is the floor of the dataset — but it’s the right floor for the category. Benchmarking against the cross-industry median of 1.74% would set a target that doesn’t reflect how Sports & Outdoors shoppers actually behave.
The chart below shows monthly median CVR and bounce rate for active Sports & Outdoors stores in Shogun’s conversion tracking network.
The 18-month data shows two things clearly. First, CVR in H1 2026 was not materially worse than H1 2025. Most months are within a few tenths of a percent of their year-ago equivalents. May 2026 (1.55%) and June 2026 (1.62%) both came in above May 2025 (1.31%) and June 2025 (1.27%). Sports & Outdoors avoided the broad year-over-year CVR softening that appeared in other categories.
Second, December 2025 stands out at 2.34% — the highest single-month CVR in the 18-month window. Holiday gifting in this category converts at nearly twice the H1 2026 rate. Gift cards, gear, and equipment purchases for the holidays show a clear demand spike.
Bounce rates rose from the 38–41% range in early 2025 to 44–47% by late 2025 and into 2026. The increase is modest relative to categories like Beauty (which saw a 10–15 percentage point jump), but the directional trend is consistent.
Within H1 2026, the Q1→Q2 improvement is visible in the monthly data. Q1 months (January–March) averaged around 1.44% CVR. Q2 months (April–June) averaged around 1.55%. The Q2 period drove the gain.
The H1 2026 median AOV for Sports & Outdoors was $391, fourth-highest among the 10 published industries. This data set covers full-store Shopify order data, separate from the CVR cohort above.
The chart below tracks monthly median AOV for the 215 qualifying stores.
AOV climbed steadily from $316 in June 2025 to a peak of $388 in November 2025, likely driven by fall and early-winter equipment purchases. November was the highest single month in the 13-month window.
From December 2025 onward, AOV declined steadily. January 2026 ($334) marked the low point before a partial recovery through February–March ($353–$360). Q2 2026 trended down again, ending at $335 in June — modestly above June 2025 ($316), but well below the fall 2025 peak of $388.
The combination of rising CVR and declining AOV in Q2 2026 is worth noting. More people converted, but at slightly lower basket sizes.
On a matched same-store basis (n=113 stores active in both H1 2025 and H1 2026), median AOV grew from $325 to $346 — a +6.7% year-over-year increase. That is consistent with the direction the monthly data suggests: June 2025 was $316 and June 2026 came in at $335.
Sports & Outdoors tells a different story from most other categories in H1 2026. CVR held steady year-over-year and gained in Q2. AOV declined modestly from Q1 to Q2, in contrast with CVR. There is no broad deterioration here.
The most actionable insight from the data is timing. CVR gains happen in Q2. AOV gains happen in Q3–Q4. If you are optimizing for CVR, spring is when the opportunity opens. If you are optimizing for basket size, the fall pre-winter period is when customers are buying larger.
December 2025 is the reference point for what peak performance looks like in this category: 2.34% CVR, with AOV at $348. That’s not holiday-gift behavior at lower price points — it’s a customer base spending on gear for winter activities. Unlike categories like Home & Garden, where December AOV dropped sharply to $313 as shoppers shifted to gift items, Sports & Outdoors held its AOV within the year’s normal range. CVR spiked; basket size held.
If your Q2 CVR is below 1.24% but your Q3–Q4 AOV is strong, you may be right on pattern. Sports & Outdoors is a category where the timing of demand matters as much as the absolute level.
The $391 median covers a wide range of sub-markets. The P25-to-P75 span of $216–$730 represents a 3.4× spread — significant, though narrower than categories like Home & Garden or Beauty.
A store selling fitness accessories or athletic apparel operates differently from one selling bicycles, kayaks, or archery equipment. The former competes on replenishment and smaller transactions. The latter competes on considered purchases with long decision cycles and high basket sizes. Both land within “Sports & Outdoors.”
The 1.24% category median reflects the mix. If your store sells high-consideration equipment, your relevant CVR benchmark is likely below 1.24%. If you are in fitness accessories, it is likely above. The sub-market you compete in matters more than the category headline.
The $391 median and the 1.24% CVR are category-level figures. The range within the category is wide enough that your relevant benchmark may sit well above or below either number.
See the full H1 2026 data — and benchmarks across nine other ecommerce categories — in the Shogun Benchmark Reports.
View the CVR report | View the AOV report
