All product managers like metrics that helps them quickly diagnose any traction problems with their product. And while there are many metrics that can do this job, Session Duration is one metric that stands out for its simplicity.
And it’s a universal metric that provides unique insights, regardless of the business type. Be it a B2B Saas product, B2C Saas product or even an E-commerce product; session duration can provide ready insights to fix issues with business traction. And with the assistance of standard web analytics tools (like Google Analytics), this metric is always available at fingertips as per the chosen time frames.
In the sections below, we will take a detailed overview of Session Duration as a product traction metric. We will also see the acceptable session duration for various business types, along with some real time examples of how some prominent web products, look at maximising session duration.
Definition of Session Duration as a Traction Metric
Session Duration measures the average amount of time a user spends in a single session on a website or app. It’s a key indicator of user engagement, reflecting how much value users derive from their interaction with your platform. This metric is also know by other terms like Average Session Time, Time on Platform etc.
Focus of Session Duration as a Traction metric
This metric focuses on the following 3 aspects. They are
Engagement: It shows how effectively your content or product keeps users interested.
Usability: Conversely, it also highlights areas where users might encounter difficulties, leading to shorter sessions. If session duration is spiking after a recent release, you might need to investigate for any issues hindering the normal traction experience of users.
Retention Potential: But on the whole, longer session durations often indicate higher user satisfaction and loyalty.
Actual Use-Cases of Session Duration as a traction Metric
Though useful a standard metric across multiple teams, Session Duration is especially useful for Product Managers and Digital Marketing managers in the following contexts.
Evaluating content performance on a website.
Assessing the effectiveness of onboarding flows in apps.
Understanding the impact of new features or changes on user engagement.
Identifying friction points where users drop off too quickly.
Formula and Example of Session Duration
Session Duration is usually expressed in Minutes and Seconds (MM:SS). For example 5:32 or 8:15 per session.
Session Duration (Avg.)=Total Time Spent by All Users / Total Number of Sessions
Let’s now calculate this Metric using a sample scenario.
Example Scenario: Imagine an e-commerce platform with the following stats on user activity.
Total time spent across all sessions in a day: 10,000 minutes
Number of sessions that day: 2,000
Therefor, Average Session Duration = 10,000 minutes / 2,000 sessions = 5 minutes per session. This indicates that users spend an average of 5 minutes per visit, which is a useful benchmark for further optimization.
Good Session Duration Across Various Business Types
While the average session duration can vary widely based on industry and customer profile, below are generalised guidelines for B2B Saas, B2C Saas and E-commerce businesses.
Note: These guidelines are illustrative. Actual targets for session duration should be contextualized based on specific business goals, industry standards, and historical performance.
Business Type | Business Stage | Avg Session Duration | Rationale |
B2B SaaS Business | Initial Stage | 4-8 minutes. | Users explore features or educational content like webinars and demos. |
B2B SaaS Business | Mature Stage | 8-12 minutes. | Longer engagement is driven by deeper feature usage or problem-solving sessions. |
B2C SaaS Business | Initial Stage | 3-6 minutes. | Users focus on getting familiar with the product, particularly consumer-centric tools. |
B2C SaaS Business | Mature Stage | 6-10 minutes. | Session duration and retention improves as users find value in regular usage or content. |
E-commerce Business | Initial Stage | 2-5 minutes. | Shoppers browse quickly or abandon carts. |
E-commerce Business | Mature Stage | 5-8 minutes* | Optimized experiences keep users browsing for more products, exploring reviews, or making purchases. |
Note*: For certain e-commerce categories the following variations can be seen in Session Duration
Fashion: Higher session times are observed (6-10 mins) as users take time to browse styles and color combinations.
Electronics: Slightly lower session duration (4-7 mins) as most users can compare specs quickly.
Travel: Usually higher session duration (8-12 mins) as this spend category relies on heavy research for decisions.
Real-Life Examples of Web Products maximising Session Duration
Since Session Duration or the time users spend with the product, has a strong co-relation with long term product success, all SaaS companies look to maximise session duration. Let’s look at some of the popular examples below
YouTube: A key focus for the platform is maximizing session durations. For example, YouTube's algorithm promotes videos that extend watch time.
Amazon: Optimizes its session durations through features like tailored product recommendations and in-depth product details.
HubSpot: A B2B SaaS company tracks session duration on its educational content to gauge user interest in marketing tools.
Duolingo (B2C SaaS): Monitors session durations to understand how long users engage with lessons and adjust gamified features accordingly.
Session Duration as a metric, combined with others like Bounce Rate and Page Views per Session, provides a holistic understanding of user behaviour. If you want us to take a deeper dive into these related metrics, please drop us a note.
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