E-COMMERCE ANALYTICS 101: A GUIDE TO USING METRICS TO LEVERAGE THE POWER OF DATA TO GROW ONLINE BUSINESS REVENUE
Shoppers are choosing to spend their money through e-commerce rather than physically going out and driving around to store after store, hoping they may find what they want. Most brick-and-mortar stores no longer receive the foot traffic they once had and can no longer afford to keep vast selections in stock.
Major clothing brands are exploring non-traditional locations to get products in-store. Recently, Target, one of the few brick-and-mortar franchises opening more store locations, is now selling clothing from the iconic brand Levi’s. Once easily found in department stores all over, the brand relies heavily on e-commerce. Hoping to ramp up in-store sales and further its availability, Levi’s decided to partner with Target.
“Strategic partnerships like Levi’s continue to drive preference for Target, and guests turn to Target for the very best national brands alongside more than 45 incredible owned brands,” said Jill Sando, executive vice president and chief merchandising officer of Target. “Since offering our guests Levi’s Red Tab label for the first time more than two years ago, paired with our unmatched owned brand offerings, we’ve established Target as a go-to place for denim. With more must-have, quality styles available in more stores across the country in 2022, we’re thrilled to offer a dose of inspiration and joy through our growing Levi’s assortment at an incredible value.”
One of the reasons why Target has survived online stores like the powerhouse Amazon is that the company embraces e-commerce. Target’s website is optimized and provides shoppers with a great experience. Additionally, Target offers an e-commerce service, same-day delivery. Shoppers can go online, select items available at a nearby target location, make the purchase, and have their items delivered to their home, in most cases, within one hour’s time.
The battle for retail dominance no longer lies in in-store sales. E-commerce reigns supreme simply because it’s more convenient, saves money, and offers a better selection of products and brands. Every e-commerce store, whether established or just beginning, realizes they are not competing against brick-and-mortar stores.
The competition is the powerhouse e-commerce websites that have been perfecting their customer’s journey since the beginning of e-commerce. An e-commerce business needs to utilize data to track and drive online sales to compete in the industry.
The Power of the E-commerce Consumer
In e-commerce, direct-to-consumer (DTC), and business-to-consumer (B2C), consumers have the power. Product reviews from friends and TikTok celebrities influence younger demographics’ shopping habits, while older demographics peruse online stores searching for the best price.
Nearly 60 percent of working-age consumers purchase a product online every week. The e-commerce industry was worth $4.9 trillion in 2021 and is projected to reach $7.4 trillion by 2025.
The amount of e-commerce stores available to consumers presents sales challenges for online stores, as consumers need a particular reason to buy from one online store over another. That’s why e-commerce websites must deliver the best shopping experience possible, which can only be achieved through analyzing data.
Analytics are the driving forces that enable an e-commerce business to dive deep into facts, figures, historical data, and forecasts to make the best marketing decisions.
E-commerce Analytics
Before data can be analyzed, every e-commerce business needs to implement traffic systems, sales funnels, and email marketing. These tactics increase consumer visits to online stores. After proving successful, it’s time to convert those visits into sales through analytics.
E-commerce analytics is the process of gathering all the data from an online store’s website, organizing the information to understand consumer trends and behaviors, and utilizing them to drive sales.
Businesses have various obstacles beyond their competition, including streamlining the customer experience, abandoned shopping carts, conversion rates, attracting ideal customers, and retaining customers.
E-commerce Metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPI)
Tracking metrics and creating a Key Performance Indicators (KPI) Dashboard makes navigating sources easier. The tools allow e-commerce business owners to develop better decision-making insights by monitoring their online store performance, products, marketing, and customers.
Also, by using metrics to track gross profits, average order value (AOV), and refunded orders, businesses can identify causes for poor revenue, a low AOV, and refunds. There will be trial and error initially, but learning what needs to be fixed is the best way to zero in on approaches to increase online sales and AOV while reducing refunds.
In addition to using a KPI dashboard, metrics like customer lifetime value (CLTV) and customer acquisition cost (CAC) can help compare and predict the lifetime value and the cost of acquiring new customers. These metrics are beneficial in determining if specific customers are worth targeting.
Every e-commerce store is unique and requires an individualized approach to targeting customers. There is a multitude of metrics available to drive online sales. Finding the right direction takes time, and while it can be overwhelming initially, the work will pay off.
Call in a Professional
POLA Marketing’s data-driven methods can relieve e-commerce business owners from the time-consuming work of using analytics to track data. Our team can create an individualized approach that increases customers’ experience and online sales for the furtherance of any e-commerce store.
For more information, contact us at (https://polamarketing.com/contact/).
