E-commerce Analytics: Using Analytics to Improve E-commerce Sales

Let’s start with a familiar story.

You’re running an online store—maybe you’re selling niche coffee blends or unique, handcrafted furniture. Or maybe you're into fashion items—clothes, head bands, shoes, jewelries—all those kinda stuff. You put in endless hours perfecting your product branding and building a website that will help you get it to the right audience.

Orders start trickling in, and things seem good.

You get a few dozen orders, and then the orders double, and then it triples. You’re confident that you are going to keep growing at this same rate and trajectory.

But not too long away, you realize that you’ve hit a wall. Your sales plateau, and you’re left wondering why people aren’t adding more to their carts or why they abandon their orders halfway.

If this scenario sounds relatable, you’re not alone.

Many e-commerce owners hit this wall. It’s frustrating because, at first glance, it’s tough to know what’s going wrong and how to fix it. But it doesn't have to be if you can properly leverage e-commerce analytics.

This is a discussion about E-commerce analytics and how you can leverage it to power up your business.

What Is E-Commerce Analytics?

E-commerce can be a complex field full of different data points. Every click, view, and purchase leaves a trail that can reveal what’s working and what’s not. E-commerce analytics can be your guiding light, helping you make sense of these trails.

You can think of e-commerce analytics as a way of uncovering the “why” behind your business data. By examining the “why” behind data like visitor behavior, sales trends, and customer actions, you get the insight needed to answer burning business questions. You get to see not just who your customers are, but how they shop and why they decide to click “buy”—or not.

E-commerce analytics gives you a clear direction on where to look, what to look for and how to use what you find to improve your business outcomes.

While E-commerce analytics is a broad field, it all boils down to three key things::

• Customer Behavior Analytics: Think of this as getting inside the mind of your customer. What products catch their eye? Where do they spend the most time? Why do they abandon their carts? By tracking how visitors interact with your site, you start to see a clear picture of their shopping patterns. This data shows where customers drop off and what they’re drawn to, helping you create a more seamless shopping experience.
• Website Performance Metrics: Metrics like page load time, bounce rate, and session duration can reveal how well your website performs. When your website runs smoothly, it improves customer satisfaction and can boost conversion rates.
• Sales and Revenue Analysis: This is the heart of e-commerce analytics. Breaking down sales by product, category, or time period can help you identify bestsellers, understand seasonal trends, and manage stock levels. By knowing what sells and when, you can forecast demand more accurately and reduce the risk of overstocking or stockouts.

Together, these components form the foundation of e-commerce analytics. Each one provides a lens through which you can understand different parts of your online business. And with this knowledge, you’re not just guessing—you’re making informed decisions to build a better shopping experience for your customers.

Why Do You Need Ecommerce Analytics?

By showing you how visitors behave, what products sell best, and where potential customers drop off, e-commerce analytics transform guessing games into a clear path for growth.

Here’s why E-commerce analytics is important and how it can transform your business:

1. Creating Relevant Shopping Experiences: When you know what your customers are browsing, where they hesitate, and what items they purchase, you can tailor their journey. E-commerce analytics enables you to create personalized product recommendations, offer relevant discounts, and even adjust your marketing messages to fit different audiences. It’s about making every visitor feel like you’re speaking directly to them.

2. Optimized Marketing Campaigns for Higher ROI: Without data, marketing can feel like a gamble. With e-commerce analytics, you know exactly where to place your bets. Analytics reveals which channels (email, social media, search engines) and campaigns drive the highest conversions, and where you may be spending too much with little return. By identifying what works best and adjusting your focus and budget accordingly, you maximize ROI. It’s not just about knowing what’s working; it’s about constantly fine-tuning your marketing efforts for peak performance.

3. Optimizing Inventory and Supply Chain: One of the hidden strengths of e-commerce analytics is its ability to forecast demand. Instead of relying on intuition or seasonal guesses, you have data that tells you what products will be in demand and when. This means you can stock up on popular items and avoid tying up funds in inventory that won’t sell.

4. Improved Customer Retention and Reduced Churn: Winning new customers is exciting, but keeping them is even more valuable. Analytics enables you to monitor customer satisfaction, identify reasons for churn, and build strategies to keep them coming back. Tracking metrics like repeat purchase rate and customer lifetime value (CLV) can give you a clearer picture of what keeps customers loyal. Whether it’s loyalty programs, targeted re-engagement campaigns, or post-purchase follow-ups, e-commerce analytics guides you in nurturing long-term customer relationships.

E-commerce analytics isn’t just about crunching numbers; it’s about using those numbers to create a store experience that is more engaging, efficient, and profitable. It’s the difference between running a store that’s just “good enough” and a store that customers return to and recommend to others.

But which tools can you use to collect and make sense of your business data?

The Best E-Commerce Analytics Tool

We know e-commerce analytics can do a lot for your business, but how do you get started with it? Here are some of the best tools to help you get started with ecommerce analytics.

1. Seline

Seline is a minimalist web analytics tool that can give e-commerce store owners powerful insights without the clutter. Unlike more complex analytics tools like Google Analytics, Seline condenses essential metrics, offering actionable insights in a straightforward, easy-to-understand format. This simplicity is what makes it a top choice for e-commerce owners who value key insights over shiny and intricate dashboards.

It has all the essential features you’ll need to visualize the journey customers take, from landing on the website to making a purchase. For example, you can track how many visitors reach a product page, how they act on that product page, how many of them add the product to their cart, and what happens after they do so and how many finally complete a checkout. This way, Seline provides insights into where customers drop off, so you can identify areas to improve and maximize conversions.

Seline gives you a detailed look at where your traffic is coming from. With Selene, you can track your e-commerce marketing campaigns to see which sources are driving the most visits and, more importantly, which sources are bringing visitors that convert. This insight helps you fine-tune your campaigns, ensuring that your marketing dollars are focused on channels that yield the best returns.

You’ll love Seline not only for its simplicity but generally how efficient it is for ecommerce analytics. It’s lightweight and easy to deploy, making it fit seamlessly into any e-commerce setup without the need for a complicated setup process.

And yes, Seline is compliant with privacy standards that matter to you. It’s GDPR-compliant and doesn’t rely on cookies or collect personally identifiable information (PII).You can set up and use Seline completely free of charge until your ecommerce shop is big enough to start paying for more analytics resources.

2. Google Analytics

Despite its well documented flaws, Google Analytics is still a powerhouse in the world of web analytics. Known for its extensive range of data points and insights, Google Analytics covers almost every metric an e-commerce store could need, from user demographics to behavior flows, giving a comprehensive picture of your store’s performance. However, this depth comes at a cost. For those without prior experience, Google Analytics can feel overwhelming and complex, with a steep learning curve that may demand significant time and patience to master.

While Google Analytics is incredibly powerful, its broad scope means you’ll encounter data points you might never need in your e-commerce lifecycle. This abundance of data can sometimes make it challenging to find the specific insights you’re looking for, which is why simpler options like Seline might be preferable if you’re focused on actionable insights without the clutter.

That said, for experienced users or those who prefer a comprehensive analytics tool, Google Analytics remains an essential tool. It’s widely used, trusted, and provides insights across an unmatched range of data points, making it a valuable addition to any e-commerce analytics toolkit—especially if you’re comfortable navigating its complex features.

3. Heap

Heap is a valuable tool for e-commerce stores looking to dive deep into user behavior. It offers useful features like session replay, allowing you to "rewind" and experience your site from a user’s perspective. This replay feature lets you see exactly how users navigate, helping you uncover any friction points or areas for improvement. In an e-commerce context, it’s incredibly insightful, revealing the steps users take from product discovery to checkout, which can provide actionable insights for optimizing the shopping experience.

Another powerful feature you get with Heap is its heat mapping, which visually highlights where users engage most on your site. This puts a spotlight on high-traffic areas and dead zones giving you a quick, intuitive understanding of where users are drawn and where they’re disengaged. Combined with Heap's compatibility with various e-commerce CMS platforms, it’s an ideal solution for e-commerce stores of all types.

Heap doesn’t just stop at visual insights; it also captures a range of rich data points that offer in-depth analytics. With funnel insights, the analytics tool lets you set up self-defined funnels to monitor user journeys and conversion paths. This is especially helpful in tracking how users progress through each step of your engagement funnel, making it a great tool for anyone looking to understand user journeys and refine their site’s performance.

For e-commerce owners wanting to get a true sense of how customers interact with their site, Heap offers a unique and powerful set of tools worth exploring.

4. Kissmetrics

Kissmetrics is a widely used web analytics tool, especially popular among e-commerce sites. As an event-based analytics platform, it focuses on tracking specific user actions, making it ideal for e-commerce analytics. With Kissmetrics, you can measure metrics like conversion rates, user actions, the time between actions, and the total number of events a user completes on your site. This level of detail provides a granular view of customer behavior, allowing you to understand how users move from one action to another, such as from browsing to checkout.

Kissmetrics also integrates well with A/B testing tools and various e-commerce platforms, making it a versatile option for retailers. In terms of data visualization and reporting, it’s comparable to Google Analytics in some aspects, offering powerful insights but with a steep learning curve due to its complexity. Kissmetrics allows you to compile reports into customizable dashboards, streamlining data analysis and offering detailed data on page views, campaign performance, and traffic sources.

A unique feature of Kissmetrics is its pay-as-you-go billing model, which can be both an advantage and a drawback. For e-commerce sites with low event activity, this model is cost-effective. However, if your site has high user engagement with frequent event triggers, costs can add up quickly.

For e-commerce businesses looking for in-depth event-based tracking and detailed reporting, Kissmetrics is a solid choice, though it requires some experience to navigate effectively.

5. Glew.io

Glew is a robust web analytics tool tailored specifically for e-commerce businesses. With an impressive range of features, it collates and visualizes critical data points that provide deep insights into your store’s performance. Glew plays well with other analytics tools like Google Analytics, allowing you to consolidate your e-commerce data into one source of actionable insight. This integration makes it easier to track all relevant metrics from one dashboard, giving you a clear, streamlined view of your store’s performance.

Glew’s dashboard is designed in a way that you can configure to capture all key e-commerce data, from sales snapshots and product performance to KPIs and sales goals. It allows you to build custom dashboards and visualizations that align with your business’s unique needs. For instance, you can track metrics around your sales goals, monitor how well you’re progressing, and see what’s contributing to or hindering your growth.

Another valuable feature for e-commerce you get with Glew is its customer segmentation capabilities. Glew offers a detailed breakdown of your audience by demographics, behaviors, and actions, helping you understand exactly who your customers are, where they’re coming from, and which products or actions they engage with most. This level of segmentation gives you actionable insights to refine marketing strategies and improve customer experience.

Overall, Glew is a powerful choice for e-commerce analytics. With its in-depth reporting, sales tracking, and segmentation, it goes beyond basic analytics, offering e-commerce businesses an edge in understanding and optimizing their store performance.

6. Looker Studio

Looker Studio, formerly known as Google Data Studio, is a powerful data visualization tool widely popular in analytics due to its extensive data points and range of integrations. It works seamlessly with platforms like Facebook Ads, Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, Microsoft SQL Server, and Shopify, making it a versatile choice for pulling data from multiple sources. This capability allows e-commerce businesses to compile data from different channels, providing a unified view that enhances data analysis and visual clarity.

Although Looker Studio is not specifically designed for e-commerce, it excels within the e-commerce ecosystem due to its strong data visualization capabilities. You'll be hard-pressed to find another tool that can offer as much detailed insights and vast amounts of data as Looker. Looker Studio’s drag-and-drop dashboard builder makes it accessible in some ways, but getting the most out of it requires a solid understanding of data processing and visualization techniques, which can pose a learning curve for beginners.

For those who invest the time to master it, Looker Studio can be an invaluable tool for interpreting data and tracking performance across various e-commerce channels. Despite its complexity, it remains a top choice for e-commerce analytics, thanks to its flexibility, integration options, and ability to create highly customized visualizations.

7. Hotjar

Hotjar may not be a traditional e-commerce analytics tool, but it holds a vital place in the e-commerce ecosystem as a user experience optimization platform. In e-commerce, user experience is a critical factor in shaping business outcomes, influencing metrics like revenue, cart additions, and checkout conversions. Hotjar enables you to visualize exactly how users navigate and interact with your online store, helping you understand what drives their actions.

Hotjar’s features, like heatmaps and session recordings, offer a unique view of your customers behavior. With heatmaps, you can see which areas of your site users engage with most, while session recordings allow you to “watch” a user’s journey across pages. The survey and feedback tools provide further insight into how users perceive your website experience. All these tools contribute valuable data points for refining e-commerce strategies, highlighting where customers may be dropping off or becoming disengaged.

Hotjar also integrates seamlessly with Google Analytics, Slack, Jira, HubSpot, Trello, and Optimizely, blending customer experience data with broader business insights. This cross-platform connectivity helps e-commerce businesses quickly capture and act on user experience feedback, complementing traditional metrics with direct customer sentiment.

Start Your E-Commerce Analytics Journey with Seline

Starting out with e-commerce analytics doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Seline Analytics offers an ideal starting point for new e-commerce businesses, presenting essential metrics in a simple, efficient, and minimalist design.

With Seline, you get the data you need to make informed decisions, drive growth, and optimize your store’s performance—all without the complexity that can come with other analytics platforms.

For those just beginning, Seline provides a powerful, cost-effective solution that’s free to use until your business attracts higher traffic.

As your store grows, Seline’s flexible pricing allows you to pay based on the traffic your store receives, ensuring you only pay for what you need.

You can also pair Seline seamlessly with other types of web analytics tools like Glew and Hotjar without issues. This will give you a robust toolkit to capture both high-level insights and granular, behavior-driven data.

If you’re looking for an intuitive, scalable analytics solution that will grow with your e-commerce store, Seline is the perfect place to start. Sign up today and discover how easy it is to turn insights into impactful business decisions.