Average Touchpoints per Purchase by Industry – 2025 Report

The average number of touchpoints per purchase is 28.87, but this can vary widely by industry. We have compiled data from internal client sources in addition to third-party data providers to report the average number of touchpoints per sale by industry in 2025. As the data was readily available, we have also reported the average number of touchpoints per sale by the average value of the customers and the channel on which the touchpoint occurred. 

We define a touchpoint not just as an ad impression, email, or call, but as a genuine connection with the customer. This connection, while quantified differently by the outreach channel, generally means that the prospect’s pattern of thought was directed onto your marketing or sales message, and a conscious decision was made related to the outcome. 

Unlike passive impressions, a touchpoint requires a level of engagement or cognitive processing. For example, a thruplay on a Meta Ad is a touchpoint because the prospect actively watches and considers the message, even if they don’t respond. If you cold call a prospect and the call is ended before your message is conveyed, we do not consider a touchpoint to have occurred due to the lack of conscious decision by the prospect to act, either positively or negatively, after hearing your message. 

Average Touchpoints per Sale by Industry

In the table, see the average number of touchpoints needed to make a sale, aggregated by industry. 

This data presents us with three core ideas:

1. Transactional purchases that require minimal research (e.g., janitorial services, office supplies) require fewer touchpoints. 
2. Products and services requiring a level of trust and consultation before committing (e.g., business services, logistics) will typically involve more interactions. 
3. Industries with complex buying cycles, regulatory approvals, and multi-decision-maker involvement (e.g., industrial equipment, pharmaceuticals) require the most touchpoints. Touchpoints in this situation may mean the review of documentation, compliance checks, multiple stakeholder approvals, contract negotiations, procurement processes, technical evaluations, product demonstrations, regulatory submissions, risk assessments, and extended vendor due diligence before a final purchasing decision is made.

Average Touchpoints per Sale by Customer Value

This dataset segments the data by customer value instead of industry. Customer value correlated very closely with how complex the buying decision is, which is reflected in the data below. 

Average Touchpoints per Sale by Channel

Different types of touchpoints will influence a sale to a greater degree than others. Two in-person conversations may be enough to close a deal, but it may take 25 ad engagements to purchase online. 

The logical question here is: how did you compile this data when in any given sales cycle, touchpoints will occur across many channels? We compiled the data by tracking and attributing interactions across multiple channels using a combination of CRM data, marketing automation platforms, and multi-touch attribution models. By analyzing customer journeys, we identified patterns in engagement levels required to drive conversions. This approach allowed us to determine the average number of touchpoints per channel while accounting for overlapping interactions in the sales cycle.

Where this data gets complicated is in the nuance. In-person meetings may only happen on higher-value deals, which by definition require more touchpoints to close—not because the channel itself is inefficient, but because the sales process is inherently more complex. Conversely, social media ads selling trinkets for $20 may require fewer total touchpoints, not because the channel is highly persuasive, but because the purchase decision is driven by impulse rather than prolonged consideration.

Additionally, different channels do not operate in isolation. A buyer who first discovers a product through an ad may later engage with an email campaign, conduct their own research via organic search, and ultimately close the deal through a sales call. Each of these touchpoints plays a role, but their relative importance varies depending on the buyer’s intent, the purchase value, and the industry.

This is why attribution modeling matters. A high-touch channel like in-person meetings may have a lower frequency but a higher closing influence, while digital advertising may rely on sheer volume to nurture and convert leads over time. Understanding these nuances helps businesses prioritize the right mix of sales and marketing efforts based on their audience and product value.

Further Reading & Next Steps 

We invite you to read more of our marketing research & data analysis pieces. See below for some suggested starting points:

• All Data Analysis Pieces
• Customer Acquisition Cost by Industry
• Customer Acquisition Cost Trends

If you are looking to build a new source of qualified inbound leads for your business that require fewer touchpoints to close, consider reaching out to us. We develop comprehensive inbound marketing campaigns designed to consistently and predictably generate MQLs. Contact us here.