Web analytics data should be bundled together with other customer information not only to identify problems, but also to give a retailer clearer insights into its customers, says Steve Hawco, vice president of Lego Shop at Home.
“One of the most important things is how do you take data and information from other systems and piece them all together to give you a total view of the customer,” Hawco says. “Sometimes the web analytics data might give you hints about an activity that could be confirmed or denied through other systems.”
Hawco spoke Tuesday at the 2005 Internet Retailer Conference and Exhibition in Chicago.
Web analytics data also must be presented in an easy-to-understand format so that company management can zero in on a problem and quickly correct it, Hawco says. For example, a tally of site visits expressed as a seven figure number should be rounded off to millions.
“You really want to get your KPI (key performance indicators) to look like the front page of the Wall Street Journal—something you can quickly glance at on a daily basis and understand the pulse of your business,” he says.
A geographic breakdown of data also can highlight trends in an easy to understand manner. At Lego, daily KPI reports are sent out to 30 managers around the world and break out key indicators on a regional level. “Immediately, we have a good insight where the problem is, who needs to address it,” Hawco says.
Lego’s daily reports break out such variables as the source of orders (e-mail, shopping search, banners or organic), global statistics (daily unique visitors, carts started/updated, checkouts started, orders, revenue), and global KPIs (cart creation rate, checkout rate, checkout conversion rate, average order size, revenue per customer). It also lists the 10 most popular products in each region.
Lego’s KPI reports also can help it boost revenues at its retail stores, Hawco says. “We’re using the web site almost like a first-market indicator of how our products will sell in the retail chain,” he says.
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