Top five metrics ecommerce companies must look at

For any ecommerce business, performance tracking is a key component to running a successful operation. Often companies will have a business intelligence (BI) tool to get a concise overview of different metrics.

However, there’s a lot of data to sift through and some metrics are more valuable than others. Our Head of BI, Alastair Sneddon, shares some of the most important ones to measure for building on your success.

Conversion rates

Arguably the most important metric to measure, and also the most obvious, conversion rates indicate the amount of people who make a purchase after viewing your website and products. You wouldn’t believe the amount of ecommerce brands who neglect to look at the data that’s right in front of them.

If your conversion rates are low, something’s probably going wrong with how you present yourself to customers. Whether it’s poor website design or confusing copy, there’s a variety of reasons you might not be connecting with your consumers which could lead to a loss of sales.

By measuring conversion rates, you can more easily determine why orders aren’t flowing through and develop a strategy to fix the problem.

Devices used

Mobile first is a mantra that many have heard, but few brands actually follow. By 2024, ecommerce sales made through mobile devices are expected to exceed £100bn. That’s an enormous market to capture, and one handy metric you can measure is how many of your visitors are using mobile devices versus laptops or desktops.

This is especially helpful if you feel you’ve been neglecting mobile optimisation of your website; if your store is getting a lot of traffic on mobile but few conversions, it’s a sign that you should do some work to boost your website’s UX on other devices.

Cart abandonment

Getting someone to add an item to their shopping cart is only half the battle. You also need to make sure they go through with their purchase, and one metric you can measure using a BI tool is how many people are interested in an item but not interested in - or forget about - buying it.

There’s a lot of different reasons someone might abandon their cart. 35% of consumers do so because the shop asks them to create an account, but sometimes it’s as simple as them getting distracted and forgetting. In the latter case, you should invest in some SMS or email reminders to let people know if they haven’t checked out.

Equally, there could be a lack of payment options or a confusing layout which turns people away. Whatever the reason, tracking metrics is a great way to discover what you need to do to patch the issue.

Bounce rates

This is a metric which can tie directly into measuring your conversion rates for a more accurate picture of why people aren’t resonating with your website. Bounce rates show you how many people left your site after viewing just one page, so it’s something you should make sure to keep an eye on.

Checking bounce rates is a great way to fix broken or poorly optimised pages; if there’s one experiencing a lot of bounces, you can immediately start work on a solution. It could be that your copy is poorly written, or there’s no clear journey to different pages.

It could also be a matter of poor advertising; is it a landing page with off-site ads linking towards it? Perhaps your ads are targeting the wrong audience, or don’t make it clear enough what potential visitors should expect.

Social media engagement

Knowing your audience is key to any business, but especially if you’re fully online. You need to build relationships with your customers and without an in-person experience, that can be difficult.

Social media is a great way to interact with your consumers, and it’s another metric you can measure with BI. With nearly a third of online shoppers saying they’d be likely to make a purchase through social media, it’s important to check which networks your customers are most likely to use and how much engagement your posts are getting.

If you’re looking for a tool to help you measure your ecommerce business’ metrics and performance, Patchworks BI provides your company with a broad insight into your data and can help you multiply your growth.

For more information on Patchworks BI, read here.

References:

https://thecircularboard.com/mobile-commerce-statistics/

https://savemycent.com/social-commerce-statistics/

https://influencermarketinghub.com/social-commerce-stats/