Whether you’re a start-up or a seasoned e-tailer, monitoring your e-commerce KPIs is essential for evaluating your e-commerce site’s performance and identifying areas for improvement. In this article, we reveal the top 30 e-commerce KPIs to monitor, so you can make the right decisions, at the right time, for your business!
William Thomson said “if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” And this obviously applies to your e-commerce business! The analysis of e-commerce KPIs is essential to identify the weaknesses and strengths of your e-commerce site , and to take corrective and strategic action.
E-commerce KPIs are like alarms that alert you to the health of your business, guiding and helping you to manage it. But which e-commerce KPIs should you analyze? Which are the most important? What do they mean, and how do you calculate them? Let’s find out together in this article!
What is an e-commerce KPI?
A Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is a metric, a figure or a measurable and quantifiable factor used to analyze your company’s performance. In e-commerce, KPIs are present at every level, and there are many to monitor. That’s why in this article we’re going to give you a few examples of e-commerce KPIs, segmenting them by area:
- Business (transactions/sales data): these KPIs focus on the financial and transactional aspects of your e-commerce business, including sales, number of orders and sales margin.
- Traffic: traffic KPIs, such as number of unique visitors, average session length or bounce rate, give you an overview of your site’s attractiveness and the effectiveness of your content.
- Acquisition: acquisition costs, conversion rates by channel, and profitability by channel are key performance indicators for measuring the effectiveness of your marketing and advertising campaigns.
- Conversion: conversion rate, cart abandonment rate and click-through rate are KPIs that help you understand how visitors interact with your site and what motivates them to make a purchase.
- Loyalty: loyalty KPIs, such as retention rate, purchase frequency and Net Promoter Score (NPS), tell you whether your customers are satisfied and ready to return.
- Logistics KPI: shipment lead time, late shipment rate, and inventory performance index are crucial measures for evaluating your supply chain efficiency and customer satisfaction.
E-commerce KPI calculations: business (transactions/sales data)
Overall sales: this is probably one of the most important indicators. It enables you to assess the health and development of your business from a financial point of view.
- Calculation: selling price x quantities sold.
Number of orders An essential e-commerce KPI, especially for online sales. It enables us to assess the number of orders placed by buyers over a given period, and to track their evolution (sales do not indicate the number of orders placed). This indicator should be correlated with the average basket!
Number of orders per sales channel : this e-commerce KPI shows which sales channel performs best.
Best sellers across all sales channels An interesting indicator for assessing which products perform best… but also those that perform a little less well! Ideal for implementing corrective actions and improving your marketing or advertising strategy!
Best sellers by sales channel This involves analyzing the performance of each product on each sales channel. It answers the question “Why does this product work better on this channel than on another?
Average basket The average basket, also known as “average value per order”, is a strategic e-commerce KPI that measures the average amount spent for each order placed on an e-commerce site.
- Calculation: (Sales ÷ number of transactions) x 100
Purchase cost The purchase cost is the price at which you bought a product (cost price). It must be compared with the selling price to obtain your margin!
Sales margin As mentioned above, the sales margin is the difference between your selling price and the cost of your products.
Note: a 50% margin is recommended, even if an e-commerce business is generally viable with a 30% margin.
When you sell on several sales channels at once – your online store and several marketplaces, for example – sales data can sometimes be more complicated to analyze, for the simple reason that they emanate from several sources (your store’s back office, the marketplaces, etc.).
Shippingbo therefore came up with a tool that would centralize all this data in a single dashboard, making analysis easier for merchants. This tool is none other than Shippingbo Analytics: a dashboard for kpi e-commerce that’s unique on the market!
E-commerce KPI category 2: traffic
Number of visitors per session: This indicator analyzes the number of people who visit your e-commerce site during a given period.
Number of new visitors per session: This differentiates between repeat and new visitors. In this way, you can deduce whether your visitors are loyal (loyalty) or whether you’re succeeding in recruiting new ones (acquisition strategy).
Number of visitors per channel: If you sell through several sales channels (omnichannel sales), it’s worth comparing the number of visitors per channel to see which channel attracts the most visitors.
Average session duration: This corresponds to the average time a visitor spends on your site. It’s the time elapsed between arrival on the site and departure (bounce). This metric can be used to answer the question “How long did visitors stay on my e-commerce site?
Good to know: The average session length for an e-commerce site is between 2 and 3 minutes.
Source of traffic: Through which acquisition channels did your visitors arrive?
All these e-commerce kpi are available from the Google Analytics tool.
E-commerce KPI category 3: acquisition
Cost of acquisition : The cost of acquisition is a KPI used to determine the amount spent to acquire a new customer.
Calculation: Total cost of marketing campaign ÷ number of conversions = cost per acquisition
Acquisition cost per channel: The acquisition cost is a measure used to determine the amount spent to acquire a new customer per sales channel.
Calculation: marketing expenditure for a channel ÷ number of customers won through that channel
Profitability by channel: Profitability by channel represents the cost of acquisition vs. the return on investment.
General acquisition cost: Corresponds to the average expense incurred to obtain a new customer. This metric helps you define your return on investment!
Calculation: expenditure across all channels ÷ number of customers won across all channels
Category 4 of e-commerce KPIs: conversion
Conversion rate: This indicates the percentage of visitors to your site who have been converted into potential leads.
Calculation: expenditure across all channels ÷ number of customers won across all channels
A good conversion rate is around 3%, but higher is even better!
Bounce rate: This rate corresponds to the percentage of visitors who consulted a single page of your e-commerce site and made no further interaction. It answers the question “Did visitors leave my site immediately?
Between 20 and 40% average bounce rate for an e-commerce site
Cart abandonment rate: The cart abandonment rate evaluates the proportion of visits for which a visitor has placed one or more products in his/her cart without finalizing the order.
Calculation: (Number of orders placed ÷ Number of shopping carts abandoned) × 100
Good to know: A good cart abandonment rate for an e-commerce site is between 60% and 70%.
Click-through rate: The click-through rate represents the ratio between the number of clicks and page impressions.
Calculation: (Number of clicks ÷ Number of impressions) × 100
Category 5 of e-commerce KPIs: customer loyalty
Churn rate : The churn rate measures the loss of customers.
Calculation: number of customers lost ÷ total number of customers over a given period.
Returns rate: This is the percentage of total order returns over total orders for a given period.
Calculation: (Number of returns ÷ Number of orders) × 100
Purchase frequency: This indicator represents the frequency with which customers return to make new purchases in your store. This is an essential indicator, since repeat customers generate 40% of the annual revenues of a typical e-commerce store.
Calculation: (Total number of orders / Number of unique customers) x100
Net Promoter Score: The NPS (or Net Promoter Score) is an indicator for measuring customer recommendation of a brand. In concrete terms, it identifies the percentage of promoters, people with neutral feelings and detractors towards the brand.
Customer reviews are often collected by means of a questionnaire with a rating scale from 0 to 10.
Retention rate: The retention rate (also known as the loyalty rate) corresponds to the percentage of customers acquired over a certain period who came back to buy.
Calculation: (Number of revenue customers ÷ Total number of customers over the period) × 100
Customer lifetime value: Customer lifetime value (CLV) is the sum of the benefits that each customer is expected to bring to your business over the lifetime of the relationship. Although it’s difficult to estimate accurately, it will help you understand your return on investment (ROI).
Calculation: (Average basket) x (Annual purchase frequency) x (Average customer retention time in years)
E-commerce KPI category 6: logistics
Shipping Time: This is the time announced by the merchant to ship the product to the consumer. The shorter this time, the more satisfied your customers will be.
Late Shipment Rate: The late shipment rate corresponds to all orders for which shipment confirmation is made after the estimated shipment date. It is calculated in relation to the total number of orders placed over a given period (10 or 30 days for Amazon).
InventoryIndex: In short, this is a merchant’s ability to keep stock up to date at all times, to avoid overselling products that are no longer in stock.
In general, pay close attention to your logistics kpi. Although invisible to the consumer, logistics play a key role in their satisfaction. What’s more, if you also sell on marketplaces, be aware that poor logistics indicators (e.g. excessively long preparation and dispatch times) will be penalized by the latter, with the most extreme punishment being the closure of your account.
TOP 6 essential e-commerce performance indicators
When it comes to e-commerce, tracking the right key performance indicators (KPIs) can make all the difference between a successful strategy and one that’s struggling to get off the ground. Here are the top 6 essential KPIs that every e-merchant should be monitoring to successfully manage their business.
- Percentage of shopping cart abandonment
The shopping cart abandonment percentage is crucial to understanding when and why potential customers leave your purchasing process without finalizing their order. A careful analysis of the buying tunnel can reveal several avenues for improvement.
Firstly, a smooth, intuitive online shopping experience is essential. If users encounter obstacles or unexpected complexity, the temptation to abandon their shopping cart increases. It’s also important to ensure that all essential information, including delivery costs and times, is communicated clearly and early on in the purchasing process. Transparency at this level can prevent abandonment due to unpleasant surprises or hidden charges.
Offering a wide range of delivery options also meets a strong expectation on the part of consumers, who may have specific preferences or delivery constraints. Finally, offering a variety of payment options is another way to minimize cart abandonment. Allowing customers to choose from several secure payment methods eliminates a potential barrier to finalizing the purchase.
- Percentage of visits converted into purchases
The conversion rate on an e-commerce site is a crucial indicator, illustrating the ratio of visitors who decide to buy to all visitors. Ideally, reaching or exceeding a rate of 3% is a sign of an effective strategy, although the ultimate goal is always to aim higher. To improve this rate, several strategies can be put in place.
First and foremost, the location and visibility of calls to action (CTAs) are decisive: they must be intuitive and well-positioned to guide the visitor naturally towards purchase. Clarity and richness of information on product sheets are also essential; a well-informed visitor is a visitor more inclined to make a purchase. This includes detailed descriptions and quality visuals.
In addition, highlighting the benefits of your products and special offers can positively influence the decision to buy. Last but not least, the overall user experience (UX) on the site plays a key role: careful design and fluid navigation are major assets in converting visits into sales. Optimizing these different elements contributes directly to an increase in the conversion rate, turning visitors into loyal customers.
- Overall customer lifetime value
Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is essential for measuring the total revenue generated by a customer over the course of their relationship with your e-commerce store. It helps you understand the effectiveness of your loyalty and conversion strategies.
Since retaining a customer costs less than acquiring a new one, maximizing CLV is crucial to profitability. To calculate CLV, multiply average basket by annual purchase frequency and average customer retention time. A high CLV indicates a good return on your marketing investments, while a low CLV indicates the need to improve the engagement and value offered to customers to increase their financial contribution to your business.
- Average transaction amount per basket
The average amount of transactions per shopping cart, often referred to as the “average basket”, is a key performance indicator that reveals the average revenue generated by each transaction carried out on your e-commerce site. This KPI is essential for e-tailers, as it gives them a direct insight into the value of the purchases customers make when they visit their online store. Calculating the average basket is relatively simple: simply divide total sales by the number of transactions carried out over a given period.
The importance of this KPI lies in its potential to increase profitability without the need to increase the number of customers. For example, by encouraging customers to buy complementary products, or by offering them targeted promotions based on their basket value, it is possible to significantly increase the average transaction value.
Increasing the average basket can be achieved through a number of strategies, such as optimizing product recommendations, offering free delivery above a certain purchase amount, or implementing progressive discounts. These tactics not only encourage customers to add more products to their baskets, but also enhance the shopping experience, increasing customer satisfaction and, by extension, loyalty.
- Number of visitors
The number of visitors to your e-commerce site is a key indicator of the appeal and reach of your online store. At first glance, this figure may seem to provide a crude measure of your site’s popularity. However, when analyzed in depth and in correlation with other performance indicators, it reveals valuable insights into the effectiveness of your marketing strategies and the resonance of your brand with your target audience.
Understanding traffic volume helps you evaluate the impact of your advertising campaigns, SEO, social networking activities and other marketing initiatives designed to attract visitors. An increase in visitor numbers is often the first sign that a specific campaign or change to the site has been well received. Conversely, a sudden drop may signal a technical problem on the site, less engaging content, or the effect of seasonality affecting your industry.
However, it’s crucial not to consider this KPI in isolation. High traffic without a commensurate increase in conversions or improvement in other KPIs may indicate that visitors aren’t finding what they’re looking for, or that the user experience needs to be improved. It may also mean that although your site is attracting many visitors, they may not be your core target audience.
- Traffic sources
Traffic sources reveal the channels through which potential customers discover your site, be they search engines, social networks, email marketing campaigns, links from other sites, or even direct traffic. Analyzing these sources helps you identify the most effective channels, enabling you to adjust your marketing efforts to maximize ROI.
For example, strong traffic from search engines may indicate that your SEO strategy is bearing fruit, while significant traffic from social networks suggests that your content is engaging and actively shared by users. On the other hand, if certain traffic sources are underperforming, it may be time to review and optimize your channel-specific strategies.
What’s more, understanding the specifics of each traffic source enables you to personalize your messages and offers. For example, visitors coming from social networks may be more receptive to visual and interactive content, while those arriving via email marketing campaigns might be more interested in exclusive offers or detailed product information.
Track your e-commerce KPIs with Shippingbo
30 e-commerce KPIs to track may seem daunting at first. You’re probably wondering how it’s possible to effectively manage so much information without getting lost in a maze of complex data and software. The good news? There are solutions designed to simplify this task considerably, allowing you to devote more time to what really matters: growing your business.
One of these exceptional tools is Shippingbo Analytics. Designed with the e-commerce user in mind, Shippingbo Analytics stands out for its ability to centralize all your essential KPIs in one place. No more juggling different software or drowning in endless Excel spreadsheets. Shippingbo Analytics gives you a clear, precise overview of the health of your e-commerce business, facilitating analysis and decision-making.
What makes Shippingbo Analytics particularly attractive is its 100% free model. With no obligation whatsoever, this tool is accessible to all e-tailers, whatever their business size or budget. This means you can start harnessing the power of this analysis tool right away, without having to worry about additional costs.
With Shippingbo Analytics, you benefit from an intuitive interface that enables you to track the KPIs crucial to your business, from sales to conversion rates, customer loyalty and much more. The tool is designed to help you quickly identify trends, pinpoint areas for improvement and understand the impact of your marketing and logistics actions on your overall e-commerce performance.
