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37 comments (/blog/7365564-32-key-performance-indicators-kpis-for-ecommerce#comments)

32 Key Performance Indicators

(KPIs) for Ecommerce
by Mark Hayes (//twitter.com/allsop8184)
7 minute read

319 shares

PerformanceshouldinformbusinessdecisionsandKPIsshoulddriveactions.
Keyperformanceindicators(KPIs)arelikemilestonesontheroadtoonlineretailsuccess.
Monitoringthemwillhelpecommerceentrepreneursidentifyprogresstowardsales,marketing,
andcustomerservicegoals.
Aperformanceindicatorissimplyaquantifiablemeasurementordatapointusedtogauge
performancerelativetosomegoal.Asanexample,itmaybeagoalforsomeonlineretailers
toincreasesitetraffic50%inthenextyear.Relativetothisgoal,aperformanceindicator
mightbethenumberofuniquevisitorsthesitereceivesdailyorwhichtrafficsourcessend
visitors(payperclickadvertising,searchengineoptimization,brandordisplayadvertising,or
aYouTubevideo).
Forsomegoalstherecouldbemanyperformanceindicatorsoftentoomanysooften
peoplenarrowitdowntojusttwoorthreeimpactfuldatapointsknownaskeyperformance
indicators.KPIsarethosemeasurementsthatmostaccuratelyandsuccinctlyshowwhetheror
notabusinessinprogressingtowarditsgoal.

Setting Goals and Identiying KPIs

SelectingKPIsbeginswithclearlystatinggoalsandunderstandingwhatareasofbusiness
impactthosegoals.Ofcourse,KPIscanandshoulddifferforeachofanonlineretailer'sgoals,
whetherthosearerelatedtoboostingsales,streamliningmarketing,orimprovingcustomer
service.
HereareafewexamplesofgoalsandassociatedKPIs:
GOAL1Boostsales10%inthenextquarter.KPIsincludedailysales,conversionrate
(http://www.shopify.com/blog/67007529elementsyouneedtoconversiontest),sitetraffic.
GOAL2Increaseconversionrate2%inthenextyear.KPIsincludeconversionrate,
shoppingcartabandonmentrate,associatedshippingratetrends,competitivepricetrends.
GOAL3Growsitetraffic20percentinthenextyear.KPIsincludesitetraffic,traffic
sources,promotionalclickthroughrates,socialshares,bouncerates.
GOAL4Reducecustomerservicecallsbyhalfinthenext6months.KPIsinclude
servicecallclassification,identifyofpagevisitedimmediatelybeforethecall,eventthat
leadtothecall.
Itshouldbeeasytoseethattherearemanyperformanceindicators,andthevalueofthose
indicatorsisdirectlytiedtothegoalprogressmeasured.Monitoringwhichpagesomeone
visitedbeforeinitiatingacustomerservicecallmakessenseasaKPIforGOAL4sinceit
couldhelpidentifyareasofconfusionthatwhencorrectedwouldreducecustomerservice
calls,butthatsameperformanceindicatorwouldbealmostuselessforGOAL3.
WiththeideathatKPIsshoulddifferbasedonthegoalbeingmeasured,it'spossibleto
considerasetofcommonperformanceindicatorsforecommerce.Hereare32common
ecommercekeyperformanceindicators.Justrememberthattheperformanceindicatorslisted
belowisinnowayexhaustive.

32 Key Performance Indicators

Sales Key Performance Indicators:
Hourly,daily,weekly,monthly,quarterly,andannualsales
Averageordersize(sometimescalledaveragemarketbasket)
Averagemargin
Conversionrate
Shoppingcartabandonmentrate

Newcustomerordersversusreturningcustomersales
Costofgoodssold
Totalavailablemarketrelativetoaretailer'sshareofmarket
Productaffinity(whichproductsarepurchasedtogether)
Productrelationship(whichproductsareviewedconsecutively)
Inventorylevels
Competitivepricing

Marketing Key Performance Indicators:

Sitetraffic
Uniquevisitorsversusreturningvisitors
Timeonsite
Pageviewspervisit
Trafficsource
Daypartmonitoring(whensitevisitorscome)
Newslettersubscribers
Textingsubscribers
Chatsessionsinitiated
Facebook,Twitter,orPinterestfollowersorfans
Payperclicktrafficvolume
Blogtraffic
Numberandqualityofproductreviews
Brandordisplayadvertisingclickthroughrates
Affiliateperformancerates

Customer Service Key Performance Indicators:

Customerserviceemailcount
Customerservicephonecallcount
Customerservicechatcount

Averageresolutiontime
Concernclassification
OnceyouhavesetgoalsandselectedKPIs,monitoringthoseindicatorsshouldbecomean
everydayexercise.Andmostimportantly:Performanceshouldinformbusinessdecisions,
andyoushoulduseKPIstodriveactions.

319 shares

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37 comments
Wes Coughlin
February212013,12:26pm

Youmention"monitoringthoseindicatorsshouldbecomeaneverydayexercise."
Isthereanyonlinesoftwaretohelpquicklymonitorthesefigures?Acomboofgoogle
analytics,Sumall,Mailchimp,andsocialonaonepagedashboardwouldbecool.

Wendy Guerin
February212013,01:50pm

WescheckoutCyfeforthedashboard.

Lars Groth-Rasmussen
February212013,03:00pm

YoucanalsotryoutQlikview,theyhaveafullfreeversion
http://www.qlikview.com/us/explore/experience/freedownloadandifyoucombineit
withaSalesforce.comdeveloperversionhttp://developer.force.com/youwouldgeta
fantasticoverview.DoShopifyconsidercollaboratingwithcompaniesliketheseinthe
future??

Julie Henderson
February212013,03:15pm

NicelistofKPIs.Iliketheideaofdefiningagoalfirstthenchoosingtheappropriate
metricsthatworktowardhittingthatgoal.

Annie Hawkins
February212013,05:08pm

HiWes,goodquestion!YoushouldcheckoutDomo.Theycareaboutmakingiteasy
toseeallthedatayoucareaboutinonebeautifuldashboard.Theyalsohavea
solutionforretailers:http://www.domo.com/solutions/retail

Jason Greenberg
February252013,01:42pm

HiWes,youshouldtakealookatSocialAnnextheiranalyticsincludedemographics,
SocialROI,audiencelikesandinterest,andmorethatupdatedaily
http://bit.ly/VccB1t.Theirservicesalsoincludetoolsthatwillhelpboostandtrackallof
theKPIslistedabove.
ThanksforthepostMark!

Kris
February262013,12:20am

Westhereisgeckoboard:)

Website Design Company

February272013,05:07am

Thisblogisveryinformative..thanksforsharingyourviews

Gooddens
March012013,12:57pm

thisisnicelistofkpitocheckthepeormanceofshoppingsites.

Suana William
March082013,06:31am

KPIsarebreadandbutterofsuccessfulecommerceconsultancyforsure.Thisarticle
explainsreallywellhowtogoaboutchoosingandsettingupyourownsetofKPIsto
track.Iespeciallylikethepartaboutfindingyourownbaseline.

Dave Huss
March112013,02:30pm

NicelistofKPIs,andyesitisimportanttotrackthemonaregularbasisforsure.
OneKPIthatyoudidntmentionthatIuseoften(especiallywhendoingpaidtrafficlike
Adwords)isprofitpervisitor.
ProfitPerVisitor=AverageOrderValue*AverageMargin*ConversionRate
ThatKPImakesitreallyeasytoprojectifbuyingtrafficthroughAdwordsorother
sourceswouldbeprofitablebecauseyoucandirectlycompareittocostperclicks.

Example:
Yousellwidgetswithaverageordervalueof$200
Youraveragemarginis50%
Yourconversionrateis1%
$200*0.5*0.01=$1.00ProfitPerVisitor
Thatmeansyoucouldpayupto$1.00perclickinAdwordsandexpecttomakea
positiveROI
Mypostheregoesintomoredetailaboutit:
http://ecommercedouble.com/simple2minutetesttodetermineifadwordswillbe
profitableforyou/

e commerce web solution

March132013,01:23am

Thanksfortheidea.Formakingecommercesuccessful,keepingthiskeyperformance
indicatorsinmindisimportant.

ABC's of Ecommerce
March162013,09:24am

Goodlistbutyouhaveforgottenoneveryimportantperformanceindicatorthe
refundrate.Ifyouhavemanysalesbutyourrefundrateishigh,thenthereisnothing
goodaboutthosesalesonlyloses.
Youcanreadmoreaboutthisandhowtoloweryourrefundrateandincreaseyour
conversionrateinthe6thchapterofmyebook,availableathttp://www.abcof
ecommerce.com

Bernie Smith
March182013,03:24am

KeyPerformanceIndicatorsaremostimportantfactorofonlinebusinessandplay
mostimportantroleindecisionmakingprocessforincreasingmarketstrategyand
performance.

suhana
April092013,07:12am

HI
Todayicameacrossthisamazingnewwebsitenamednupinch.comireallythink
youguysshouldcheckitout..
Link:http://bit.ly/XczfI3

shazzid
June062013,01:25am

hi
iwanttoknowsomeKPIexamplesforAccountsdepartment.cananybodyprovideme
that?

Eco
September192013,06:12pm

Juststartingmygoalsformybusinessandputtingtogethermyvisionforthenext5
yearsandyourpostwasveryinformative.Thankyou.

Oluwatosin
September262013,08:43am

Quiteeducating.PleasecanihavetheKPIsinaConsructionCompany?

Apalife.com
September292013,11:56am

Cansomeonehelpme?WhatformulaiscaculatingtheKPIofEcommerce.OrWhat
formuladoesIgotaKPIsEcommerce.

Debashish Gupta
October182013,03:45am

Veryvaluableinformationinthisblog.Thankyouverymuch.

Meena
October252013,09:11am

Veryinformativeblog.ThankyouforlistingKPIsforDigitalcommerce

Sreeram
December182013,07:14am

HiWes,youcanalsocheckouthttp://ubiq.cototrackEcommercemetrics

Daniel
February092014,03:53pm

Iamaverysmallinboundmarketingagencyandmeasurementplusanalysisseems
socriticalforallmyclientsbutitsmyjobtoshowthemwhyandhow.Ioftenhaveto
usethephrase,Ifyoucantmeasureit,youcantmanageit.Youwereveryclearin
thisposthowimportantitistopayattentiontoanalytics.Iamlearninghowtoseparate
thekeyKPIsfrommoreuselessreportswhichseemstobeexpandingallthetime.IfI
hadoneitemofvaluethatIcouldoffertoyourreaders,itstolearnwhicharethe5to
10reportsandkeyperformanceindicatorsthatmaketheirdecisionmakingprocess
smoother.Yourblogpostsseemtobe,andshouldbeofgreathelpinthisarea.
Educationiseverything.

ashraf siddiqui
February102014,07:06am

iwouldliketoknowaboutLogisticssupplychaindistributionandtransportKPI

RLS-911
March292014,07:56pm

Greatblogwithgood,clearinformation.Iamjuststartingoutresearchinghowto
effectivelyandsuccessfullyconducteCommerce.Withinthepast2weeksIregistered
adomainnameandsecuredawebsitehost.Ihaveamarketingandbusinessdegree
andamlookingtowardsonlineeCommerceasawayexpandbusinessandrevenue.
Thankstothosewhoincludedinformationallinksintheirposts.Ivelookedatthem
andtheyarehelpful.GladIhappeneduponthisblog.

Yatin Bhatia
May292014,01:02pm

Ijustsawthisconversation..greatlistofKPI..Butifwelookatallofthem,theseare
highfrequencyandimpactdecisionsandneedsasystemthatembedproperlyinthe
decisioncycle.Systemsthatcanengineerdecisionsnotjustsharethenumbersand
leaveusaloneinthelastmile..
Iknowsomesystemsthatdoitverywell..Anyoneinterestedcancallmeat(510)517
3347.Illbehappytohelp..

Mark D
June222014,06:21pm

Arethereecommerce&retailindustrybenchmarkssocomparetheKPIsformy
companyagainst?Wherecanwefindthem?

Grant Crowell
July162014,05:11pm

Greatlist,althoughwhatsmissingarevideoKPIs!Onlinevideohassomedistinctive
KPIsofitsownbothforYouTubeandprofessionalonlinevideoplayers.

Carlo Alberto Dall'Amico

July222014,06:00am

InreplytoWes,letmesuggestoureCommerceanalyticsplatform:Wunderdata.com
WeprovideyouwithacloudBIsolutiontotrackandanalyzenearlyeverything
mentionedintheabovelist.
InreplytoMarkD:alongthelineofthispostwerecentlyresearchedonwhatarethe
essentialKPIsforonlineshops/eCommerce.Weprovideaframeworktochoose
whichKPIstotrack,definetheKPIsthemselves,andgivebenchmarks(whendatais
availableandwhenitmakesense)
heresthefullarticle:http://wunderdata.com/keyperformanceindicatorskpi
ecommerce/

anuj veer
July262014,08:11am

quiteinformativeniceblog.

PETER B.L BORLO

August312014,08:57pm

thisisanilluminatinglecture.however,itwouldmoregladdeningifucancomeupwith
KIPsinPUBLICTRANSPORTATIONINTHEDEVELOPINGCOUNTRIESOF
AFRICA.THANKS.

Sean
October272014,02:48pm

WesandothersImlatetotheparty,butyoucouldcheckoutSpringMetrics.
(www.springmetrics.com).Theyhaveaneasytoreadanalyticsdashboardwhich
coversthemostimportantKPIs.
TheimportantthingistoidentifytheKPIswhicharecentraltoyouruniquebusiness.
Conversionratemightnotbehighonthelist,butAOVmightbe.

Isha Sharma

September132015,01:34am

Hello!
Greatarticleandadvicefromeveryone.Iamintheprocessofstaringmyecommerce
businessandwonderingwhatshouldbemyGoalfor1styearorwhichKPIIshouldbe
focussingon(ifanyinparticular).Wouldlovetohearsomethoughtsfromthepersonal
experiences.Thanks.

J.Nuno
November152015,01:55pm

BeenusingCyfeandrealyitsallinonesollution!!!
http://www.cyfe.com/r/135656

Romain Caisse
February052016,04:14am

Greatarticle.Thanksforputtingthistogether.Lookingforwardtomoreofthis.Ifound
aninterestingarticleregardingecommercehereyoucanfindithttp://goo.gl/kmhLsm

Melvin Finner
March162016,05:17pm

HellWebdevelopers,designersandfellowEntrepreneurs
Idliketogetsomeinputonmynewshopifywebsitewww.r3sportsapparel.comand
seewhatyourthoughtsmaybeasfarasanyadviceyoucanoffer.Imnewtothe
wholeecommercethingandwouldreallylovetogetsomeinputfromanyonethats
willingtogiveit.
Thanks.

Khalid Ahmad Shah

April042016,04:52am

HiTeam,
Implanningtostartmyonlineshoppingportal.andImalonewhowillbedoingit.
Isitpossibleforasinglepersontostartatthestartingphase.
AndImonaverytightbudget,soifyouguyscansuggestanestimatedbudgetplan.
Thankyou

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