2026 State of Digital Analytics: Benchmarks, analysis, and recommendations

Digital analytics in 2026 looks nothing like it did even a few years ago.

AI has become the front door to data. Products are no longer static experiences. Customer behavior is more fragmented, more dynamic, and less predictable than ever. Analytics can’t just explain what happened. It has to help teams decide what to do next.

The 2026 State of Digital Analytics is built on that reality. Drawing on 22+ billion user actions across eight industries, four regions, and a full year of behavioral data, the report shows how modern digital products are actually growing today and where traditional measurement models are breaking down.

Today’s post is a high-level look at the patterns that surfaced again and again, and why they matter for teams building products in 2026.

The 2026 State of Digital Analytics report goes deep across eight industries: AI, B2B, ecommerce, fintech, payments, media & entertainment, mobile gaming, and iGaming. Across each industry, performance is analyzed through four core lenses that define modern product growth:

The report pairs these lenses with regional comparisons and industry-specific recommendations so teams can understand not just how they compare, but why performance diverges and where to focus next.

What follows here is the connective tissue: the themes that cut through industries and regions.

Across the data, one unifying signal stood out. Growth has moved decisively inside the product.

Channels still matter, but they’re no longer the primary growth engine. The strongest performers are winning by reducing time to value, embedding workflows, and making the product itself the most reliable path to acquisition, engagement, and retention.

This shows up differently by market maturity. In emerging regions, growth often comes from expansion and access. In mature markets, it comes from efficiency, doing more for users with fewer steps, fewer clicks, and less friction.

In both cases, the common denominator is product behavior. Growth is earned through experience, not spend.

At the top of the funnel, the story is more nuanced than simple growth or decline.

In ecommerce, payments, and several consumer categories, acquisition volume in North America has flattened or pulled back. At the same time, LATAM is seeing significant expansion, often driven by mobile-first access and new digital infrastructure.

The takeaway is clear. Acquisition without activation no longer counts. The teams outperforming benchmarks are optimizing for qualified users who reach value quickly, not raw installs or signups.

Engagement data across industries is becoming increasingly polarized. In North America, for instance, AI products see fewer actions per user, which often correlates with higher task completion and faster outcomes. 

Meanwhile, AI and fintech products show that declining activity can signal success when automation replaces manual steps. Furthermore, media, mobile gaming, and iGaming see engagement spikes tied to live moments, mobile-first design, and real-time experiences, especially in emerging regions.

The implication is straightforward. Engagement isn’t about doing more. It’s about delivering value faster. Counting clicks or events without context misses the point. The metric that matters is value delivered per session.

Stickiness is where regional and product maturity differences become impossible to ignore.

Looking at fintech, payments, and media & entertainment, LATAM and APAC often lead in DAU to MAU ratios. Products in these regions are often embedded into everyday routines like payments, entertainment, or communication.

Stickiness is often lower in North America but paired with high efficiency. Users may log in less often because the product is doing more work in the background.

What this shows is simple. Habit is the real moat. Whether through daily touchpoints or invisible automation, the strongest products earn a regular place in users’ lives.

If there’s one metric that reliably predicts long-term success, it’s retention.

The data in ecommerce, payments, and mobile gaming sees early retention gaps are widening. Products that fail to deliver value quickly are losing users faster than they can replace them. Products that compress time to value see retention compound dramatically over time.

Retention isn’t something teams fix later with campaigns or reactivation flows. It’s designed, or lost, in the first experience. In a high-cost, high-competition environment, retention has become the most dependable growth lever available.

The biggest shift behind all of these trends is how analytics itself is being used. In 2026, analytics is no longer just a reporting layer. It’s an active system that helps teams:

AI-assisted and autonomous analytics are accelerating this shift, moving teams from dashboards to decisions and from observation to orchestration.

The complete 2026 State of Digital Analytics report delivers the benchmarks, insights, and recommendations teams need to build, measure, and scale better digital products.

Learn how top companies drive qualified acquisition, design for habit, and turn analytics into a competitive advantage. Download the full report and see where your product stands and where to focus next.