What to measure in an online shop? The 5 most important analytical tools

Every year, the global value of transactions made online is increasing - both in Poland and worldwide. So it should come as no surprise that more and more people are choosing to run an online shop. This trend applies to almost every industry, but to be successful, effective e-marketing is needed. The definition of this term turns out to be broad and encompasses all the activities that the creators of a brand or product undertake in order to popularise it online and reach more customers. What phenomena should be observed and what should be paid attention to when conducting an webshop ? Find out below!

Flow of visits, user activity and more - Mousestats

The tools available today make it possible to analyse the activity of internet users visiting a shop in great detail. It is even possible to record their visits to the site and then check where they directed their cursor. Some programmes, such as Mousestats, create heatmaps, similar to those displayed during televised football matches. The areas that the user paid the most attention to while visiting a shop site are highlighted in a different colour to the others. In this way, it is possible to find out what on the site generates the most interest among customers and what is being avoided. Based on this knowledge, we can then decide which elements need to be improved and which need to remain as they are.

SalesManago - Automated e-marketing

This tool provides a myriad of possibilities in terms of targeting, personalising content on pages or analysing the time spent by users within individual sub-pages, categories, etc. Not everyone knows that many stationary shops have "visitor counters" near their doors. These provide data on the number of visitors to a store and these statistics are then compared with the number of transactions made by customers. On the Internet, if you want to run an effective e-marketing , you can reach for far more powerful tools, such as SalesManago.

Google Analytics

The analytics system from the US giant provides a lot of interesting data on transactions made, but also on 'abandoned' products, i.e. products that the customer has added to the basket, but ultimately did not complete the purchase. Google Analytics can be synchronised with popular online shop platforms such as Magento or Shoper. Thanks to this tool, the owner of the website will check, among other things, on which devices internet users display it, and then develop it in such a way that it is as functional as possible, e.g. for tablet users.

Facebook Analytics oraz Facebook Pixel

It is not without reason that Facebook is said to know everything about us. The amount and scope of data collected by this portal is virtually limitless. This is why Facebook's analytical tools are so useful. They make it possible to find out exactly which users are interested in a shop's offers, click on links and read further articles. Statistics will include gender, age, location, interests and many, many other factors.

HotJar

Some of the options offered by this tool overlap with the functionalities described above. However, it is worth highlighting one more at this point, which has not been mentioned in the text so far. This is the ability to track at which point in the 'purchase funnel' users lose interest and leave the shop. Why is this so important? Because this information will allow you to rebuild your website and get rid of its weak points. Continuously improving the functionality of your shop is a priority for anyone wishing to run an effective shop. e-marketing .

Share of individual categories and products in sales

Whichever tools one decides to use, one of the most important issues will be to constantly analyse sales performance in terms of the profits made by individual products and categories. Just as in stationary shops, in online shops too, some goods allow the owner to enjoy a good margin, while others generate little profit or their sales balance is zero or even negative. Why is it worth continuing to offer them nevertheless? Because these products attract customers who then purchase other goods that are far more attractive to sell from the company's point of view. It is important to "position" them appropriately in the product range. It is worth citing techniques at this point, as they are sometimes used in stationary shops. For example, chewing gum, batteries or small confectionery items are placed at the checkout counters so that people waiting in line can reach for them to "top up" their purchases. Often, bakery products are displayed on the opposite corner of the shop, looking from the entrance. All this is done so that the customer going "just to buy bread rolls" goes through several different departments and has the opportunity to buy something else. The same is done in online shops, e.g. by offering bundled sales. However, to make this possible (and effective), it is necessary to know exactly which product is more profitable and which less. It will also be necessary to observe which pairs of products customers are most likely to buy.