What are the essential ecommerce KPIs? This is a question that all business owners and marketers who are selling online need to answer. Knowing which KPIs to track will allow you to measure your success and improve your ecommerce strategy.
In this post, we'll discuss the most important ecommerce key performance indicators and how to track them. By understanding and tracking these metrics, you'll be able to make data-driven decisions that will help your business grow. Let's get started!
What Are Ecommerce KPI Metrics?
There are a number of different ecommerce metrics that businesses use to measure the performance of their online operations, but some of the most important ones are known as key performance indicators (KPIs). KPIs provide insights into how well a company is achieving its goals and objectives and can be used to track progress over time.
Some common ecommerce KPIs include measuring website traffic, conversion rate, average order value, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty rate. By monitoring these metrics regularly, businesses can identify trends and make changes to their strategies to improve results.
While different businesses will have different goals for their ecommerce operations, some KPIs are universally important. Website traffic is a good indicator of how well your marketing efforts are performing, for example, while the conversion rate tells you how effectively your website is converting visitors into customers.
Customer satisfaction is also crucial, as it can have a major impact on whether or not customers will return to make additional purchases in the future. By tracking these and other KPIs, businesses can better understand their ecommerce performance and make the necessary changes to earn higher revenue.
Top Ecommerce KPIs
We have touched on a few important ecommerce KPIs in the previous section. Let’s now discuss the ones that every online business must include in everyday operations in more detail.
- Conversion rate —the percentage of visitors to your site who take action, such as making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter. A low conversion rate could indicate that your site is not user-friendly or that you are not offering what potential customers are looking for.
- Bounce rate — the percentage of visitors who leave your site after viewing only one page. A high bounce rate could indicate that your site is not relevant to what users are searching for or that it is not user-friendly. In the latter case, hiring a UX specialist can help solve the issue.
- Average order value —the average amount that each customer spends on the items you sell. A low average order value could indicate that you are not selling high-priced items or that your prices are too high.
- Customer lifetime value —the total amount of money that a customer is expected to spend on your site over the course of their lifetime. It indicates that customers are loyal and will continue to make purchases in the future.
- Cost per acquisition —the amount of money that you spend to acquire each new customer. A high cost per acquisition could indicate that your marketing efforts are not effective or that your items are too expensive.
- Repeat purchase rate —the percentage of customers who make a second purchase on your site. A high repeat purchase rate indicates that customers are satisfied with their purchases and are likely to return.
These are just a few of the most important KPIs for ecommerce businesses. Tracking these metrics will give you a good overview of how your venture is performing and if there is room for improvement.
Financial KPIs for Ecommerce
Let's now focus on financial key performance indicators for online businesses. By understanding and tracking these numbers, you'll be in a much better position to make strategic decisions that will help your business.
Some essential financial KPIs for ecommerce operations include:
- Gross margin — the difference between the revenue generated from sales and the cost of goods sold (COGS). It's a good indicator of how profitable your business is.
- Churn rate — the percentage of customers who cancel or stop using your product or service within a given period. It's important to track this number to determine whether or not your business is sustainable.
- Revenue — the top-line number that represents all the money coming in from sales.
- COGS — the direct costs associated with creating your product/service.
- Gross margin — the difference between revenue and COGS that tells you how much profit you're making on each sale.
- Operating expenses —the remaining costs associated with running your business, such as marketing, renting/purchasing a server, etc.
- Net income — the bottom line number which tells you how profitable your business is.
The above ecommerce KPI benchmarks provide a strong foundation for ecommerce businesses to build upon. By tracking these numbers on a regular basis, you can make better decisions about where to allocate your resources and how to grow your online store.
B2B Ecommerce KPIs
There are a few key KPIs that are particularly important for businesses operating in the B2B ecommerce space. By tracking them, businesses can gain insights into their overall performance and identify areas in need of improvement.
The main KPIs relevant for B2B ecommerce businesses are:
- Conversion rate —a measure of how many visitors to your website or online store actually make a purchase. This is an important KPI to track as it can give you an indication of how effective your website or store is at converting visitors into customers.
- Average order value —another item on this ecommerce KPIs list represents the average amount that customers spend when they make a purchase on your website or store. This KPI can be used to measure the overall health of your business and to identify trends in customer spending.
- Gross merchandise value —the total value of all goods and services sold through your website or store. This KPI can be used to measure the overall growth of your business.
- Customer lifetime value —a measure of the total value that a customer is expected to generate over the course of their relationship with your business. It can help you identify your most valuable customers and focus your marketing efforts on retaining them.
- Total number of orders —a measure of the total number of orders placed on your website or store. This KPI can be used to measure the overall growth of your business.
- Repeat purchase rate — a measure of how often customers make repeat purchases on your website or store. This KPI can be used to measure customer loyalty and engagement.
- Churn rate —a measure of how many customers stop doing business with you over a given period. This ecommerce KPI dashboard item can indicate whether your business is losing customers.
Conclusion
The bottom line is that there are many different key performance indicators to track when running an ecommerce business. By keeping a close eye on these metrics, you can identify areas where your business could be doing better and make the necessary changes to improve your results.
Ecommerce KPI FAQs
What is a KPI in ecommerce?
A key performance indicator (KPI) is a metric businesses use to evaluate their success. In ecommerce, some common KPIs include online revenue, number of orders placed, average order value, conversion rate, and customer lifetime value.
Each business will have different KPIs that are important to them, depending on their specific goals and strategies. It's important to track these metrics regularly and analyze what's working and what needs improvement. By doing so, businesses can make data-driven decisions that will help them achieve their desired results.
What are the best KPIs for ecommerce?
There's no unique answer to this question since the best KPIs for ecommerce will vary depending on the specific business and its goals. However, some common ecommerce KPIs include things like website conversion rate, average order value, customer lifetime value, and return on investment (ROI).
It's important to track these and other key metrics regularly so that you can identify trends and make adjustments to your business strategy as needed. For example, if you notice that your website conversion rate is trending downwards, you might need to revamp your marketing efforts or adjust your product pricing strategy.
What are some typical KPIs that an online retailer might use?
There is a variety of KPIs for an ecommerce business. One important KPI would be website visits, which can be measured through web analytics tools. This metric could help retailers track how well their marketing campaigns perform and whether they attract new customers.
What are the key performance indicators?
The key performance indicators (KPIs) vary depending on the company, but some of the most common ones are revenue, profits, customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, and social media reach.
Each company has its own set of KPIs that it monitors to gauge its success. For example, a company might focus on increasing revenue and profits while another might focus on improving customer satisfaction ratings.
What is the most important KPI for ecommerce?
There's no one definitive answer to this question — it depends on the specific circumstances and goals of each individual ecommerce business. However, there are some general KPIs that most businesses should track to measure success and progress.
Some good KPIs to keep an eye on include:
- Revenue growth
- Sales conversion rate
- Average order value
- Shopping cart abandonment rate
- Customer satisfaction
- Traffic sources (referral, organic, paid, social, etc.).
Which ecommerce KPIs are most important for your business will vary depending on your specific goals and needs.
