Trust the data—but check the calendar

Understanding how shoppers use your web site means more than just implementing an analytics program and sitting back and watching the data flow in. Retailers have to pay attention to external factors as well, such as the calendar.

With Easter falling in April in 2006, as opposed to March in 2005, HaleGroves.com, a retailer of fruit and gift baskets, had to temper its view of the browser-to-buyer ratio when comparing data from those two months year-to-year, Paul Lazorisak, director of marketing for Hale Groves Inc., tells Internet Retailer.

“It’s important to step back and view visits in context,” Lazorisak says. “Some holidays fall on different weeks of the month each year and other periods are prone to high browser ratios. Data patterns provide insights and can make the difference between trusting your data and panicking.”