Having an online shop does not yet guarantee success. Competition, which is growing every year, means that online sellers have to implement a variety of measures that allow them to develop their business. One of the key branches of online marketing is web analytics, which supports the shop’s operations on many levels.
Web analytics in e-commerce
According to the definition, web analytics is the analysis of traffic on a given website. It allows to collect data about website users and to draw useful and valuable conclusions. Its purpose is to estimate future traffic within the website with the use of historical data and to measure the effectiveness of marketing activities in accordance with the adopted strategy.
With the help of analytical tools, e-shop owners can investigate which of the actions they undertake brings the desired results and which areas require improvement. For sellers of products and services via the Internet, web analytics help in making the right decisions and developing shops.
Online shop development – why is it worth analysing data?
Web analytics is an aspect that should not be underestimated when running an online business. Skilful use of the potential inherent in data analysis allows you to achieve real benefits – especially in the form of increased profits.
Ongoing analysis of indicators in the online shop, such as conversion, rejection rate, number of abandoned shopping carts or the ratio of customers returning to new ones, will allow indicating the direction of business development.
1. Improving the conversion rate
One of the main tasks of Internet analytics is to improve the conversion rate, which determines the user’s performance of the desired action in an online shop – it is primarily the purchase. By analysing how visitors use the site, how much time they spend on it and why they give up shopping, we gain valuable information that allows us to detect problem areas and implement improvements. Such shop optimisation is intended to encourage customers to undertake specific interactions within the site, translating into increased revenue.
2. Defining the customer profile
One of the challenges faced by online shop owners is to identify the customer profile in the shop. Knowing it serves not only to improve the already mentioned conversion rate – it is also reflected in the reduction of the rejection rate and makes users willing to return to the shop. Various data sets collected within the website provide much information about potential customers, including their demographic data, the sources of visits or the devices on which they display the page. This, in turn, allows you to personalise offers, adjust the way you communicate or improve the functionality of your shop.
3. The evaluation of the profitability of activities
However, that is not all – the Internet analysis answers the question of whether the measures taken so far have had the intended effect, and thus whether their implementation has been cost-effective. The profitability of actions can be measured by reference to specific areas, such as Google Ads, SEO optimisation or banner ads. In this context, data analysis fosters shop development by maximising the effects and minimising the costs of site promotion.
4. Improving the sales offer
Analysing data in an online shop is an effective way of building its offer. Knowing the products or product categories that are most popular among customers, you can focus your activities on a specific area and develop it further.
Skilful use of knowledge about the users of the service leads to a better matching of sales offers to specific needs and expectations of customers.
5. Verification of business ideas
Another area in which web analysts support the development of the shop is the verification of business ideas in practice. The effectiveness of actions taken cannot be considered for sure – it should be remembered that each shop is different, and as a result, activities that work well in one may bring the opposite effect in the other. That is why A/B tests are widely used in the development of e-commerce, which allows us to verify whether the selected functionalities will work in practice and contribute to sales growth.
6. Staying ahead of the competition
Developing Internet business, especially in an era of enormous competition, is a task that requires an innovative approach. To move forward, we cannot lag – that is why it is necessary to follow the actions of competitors and invest in data analysis just as they do. Only in this way can we keep up with similar shops or overtake them.
E-commerce analysis – summary
Although Internet analytics plays a crucial role in the development of e-commerce, many Internet entrepreneurs are still unaware of the potential of analysing website statistics. Meanwhile, the gathering and analysis of data support the functioning of the website, contributing to the improvement of the achieved sales results. The key to success in data analysis is the ability to draw accurate conclusions from the available statements.