Five Metrics to Monitor on Your E-Commerce Store
Having an e-commerce store is one thing, having a successful one is another.
This isn’t to say that experiencing a low volume of sales in the first month of operation isn’t good. It only means that you need to monitor your progress and make changes to your marketing and sales strategy so that you can boost those sales month after month. Even the best in the business need to rely on analytics in order to understand how users are engaging with your site and marketing efforts, which is why every business needs to monitor these five metrics to succeed:
1. Bounce Rate
Bounce rate is often the first problem that businesses have. What it means is that a lot of users are visiting your home page and then clicking away or otherwise abandoning all other action. You can see your bounce rate on your Google Analytics page, which can easily be set up in an afternoon. Once it is set up, you can start tracking usage and use the information to locate problem areas. A high bounce rate, for example, can be fixed by improving the home page design and function.
2. Sales Conversion Rate
Sales conversion rate refers to the number of sales you make compared to the number of visitors that you receive. It is the next step after bounce rate, but can be more difficult to fix. Look again to your website to ensure it has all the trust factors, is easy to use, and that the product listings are attractive. You will then want to use these steps to improve your conversion rate, and follow up with great customer service and email correspondence that notifies users of personalized deals and suggestions moving forward.
3. Soft Sale Conversion Rate
The hard sale can be very expensive, which is where the concept of a soft sale comes into play. Essentially, your goal with marketing shouldn’t be to get the sale, but rather a sign-up and an email newsletter subscription. Once you have this, you can then start offering personalized ads, discounts, and secret events. It has been estimated that these personalized email marketing efforts see 40x the ROI than even social media advertising does.
4. Average Order Amount
Improve the amount each person buys, increase your business, it’s as simple as that. Offer discounts, combined deals, free postage over a certain amount, and other such tactics to improve the total value of each checkout.
5. Hiccups in the Checkout
The easiest way to improve the actual shopping experience of your store, and thus reduce the number of abandoned carts and dropped activity is to invest in a great e-commerce platform and then have it professionally set up and customized. Relying on Shopify developers’ knowledge, for example, can help you finally get the store you want, with the assurance of great user experience. They will help you create a site that does it all, and improve your sale conversion rate and order amount at the same time.
Tech and the digital world are not stagnant. You need to look at the new tech arising and see how it can be used to improve your e-commerce store and customer experience. Being in the forefront of using this new tech can help you beat your competition and enjoy ongoing success at the forefront of your field.
