As an e-commerce business owner, getting the right ecommerce reports from your marketing agency is critical. You need visibility into your campaigns and website analytics to make data-driven decisions.
But with so many metrics and reports to choose from, how do you know which ones really matter?
Here are 5 must-have ecommerce reports you should request from your agency or in-house marketing team:
1. Meta Ads Report
With over 2.91 billion monthly active users, Facebook offers massive reach for e-commerce brands. Make sure your Facebook ads report provides insight into:
- Cost per click (CPC): This shows how much you pay each time someone clicks your ad. The average CPC across industries is $1.72.
- Click-through rate (CTR): This metric reveals how compelling your ads are. For Facebook, a CTR of 0.9% or higher is considered above average.
- Cost per acquisition (CPA): This indicates how much you spend to acquire a new customer. Calculate CPA by dividing cost by conversions.
CPA = Total ad spend / Total conversions
- Return on ad spend (ROAS): Calculate ROAS by dividing revenue from conversions by total ad spend. Aim for at least a 3:1 ROAS.
ROAS = Revenue from conversions / Total ad spend
- Conversion rate: This shows how many ad clicks convert into a purchase. The average ecommerce conversion rate is 2.35%.
Monitoring this data will help you double down on winning creatives and audiences while cutting losers. You’ll be able to optimise campaigns to decrease CPC and CPA costs over time.
Let’s say you’re running a Facebook ads campaign promoting a new collection of sunglasses for an e-commerce store. Your Facebook ads report shows:
CPC: $0.58- CTR: 2.1%
- CPA: $12.75
- ROAS: 3.4
- Conversion rate: 1.8%
This data indicates your ads are performing well at a low CPC and you’re earning over 3X return on ad spend. However, you may want to test new creatives or audiences to improve the CTR and conversion rate further.
2. Google Ads Ecommerce Report
Google handles over 63,000 searches per second, making it a top source of traffic and customers. Important Google Ads metrics include:
- Impressions: This shows how often your ads are displayed. Monitor for position and ad fatigue.
- Clicks: The number of times your ads are clicked. Higher is better.
- CTR: Divide clicks by impressions to calculate the click-through rate. The average CTR is 1.91%.
- Cost per click (CPC): How much you pay each time your ad is clicked. The average CPC is $2.32.
- Conversions: The number of goals completed, like email sign-ups or purchases.
- Conversion rate: The percentage of clicks that convert. The average is around 2.35%.
- CPA: Calculate cost per acquisition by dividing spend by conversions, like:
CPA = Total ad spend / Total conversions
Analysing this data will help you optimise keywords, bids, ad copy, and landing pages to decrease CPC and increase conversions over time.
Let’s say you launched a Google shopping campaign last month for an e-commerce store selling fitness apparel. Your Google Ads ecommerce reports reveal:
- Impressions: 125,000
- Clicks: 2,300
- CTR: 1.84%
- CPC: $1.67
- Conversions: 210
- Conversion rate: 9.1%
- CPA: $24.65
The high conversion rate and CPA under $25 show your Google ads are effective. However, the CTR is slightly below average, suggesting an opportunity to optimise ad copy and landing pages.
3. Website Metrics Report
While ads drive traffic, your website metrics reveal on-site engagement and conversions. Important metrics include:
- Sessions: This shows the number of visits or sessions. Higher indicates more traffic.
- Bounce rate: The percentage of visits that leave without viewing another page. Below 50% is good.
- Pages per session: More pages per visit signals engagement. 3+ pages is positive.
- Conversion rate: The percentage of visits that purchase. 2-3% is average for ecommerce.
- Average order value (AOV): Track how much the average order totals. Higher AOVs boost revenue.
Monitoring these metrics will help you identify issues hurting conversion rates, like high bounce rates. You can make changes to improve user experience.
If your latest website report shows:
- Sessions: 16,400
- Bounce rate: 55%
- Pages/session: 2.1
- Conversion rate: 1.2%
- AOV: $86
While traffic is solid, the high bounce rate is concerning. Low pages per session also indicates visitors aren’t engaging with site content. Improving landing pages and top exit pages could help reduce bounce rates.
4. Google Analytics Report
Google Analytics provides deeper intelligence into how customers engage with your site. Key reports to request include:
- Traffic sources: See where your visitors come from – direct, organic search, referral sites, email, social, etc.
- Landing pages: Determine your most popular entry pages.
- Exit pages: Find those with high bounce rates.
- Geographics: See where your customers are located.
- Device types: Track desktop vs. mobile vs. tablet traffic.
- Conversion funnels: See drop-off rates at each checkout step.
- Shopping behaviour: Analyse product views, adds to cart, and purchases.
For example, if your checkout funnel report shows a 50% drop-off from cart to purchase, you can focus on streamlining checkout.
Your Google Analytics ecommerce reports reveal:
- 60% traffic from organic search
- Top landing page is /category/tees
- Top exit page is /cart
- 65% of traffic from US
- 55% from mobile
- 12% of product views add to cart
- 75% cart to purchase drop-off
This shows you should focus on reducing cart abandonment, which is likely highest on mobile. Also, enhancing product pages could increase cart rates.
5. Email Marketing Report
Email generates $42 for every $1 spent, making it a must for e-commerce brands. Ensure your report covers:
- Emails sent and delivered: See overall program volume.
- Open rate: Measure email engagement. 30%+ is excellent.
- Click-through rate (CTR): Track links clicked. 2-3% is good.
- Bounce rate: The percentage of undeliverable emails. Below 2% is ideal.
- Unsubscribes: Monitor opt-outs to maintain list quality.
- Revenue: See sales directly attributed to email campaigns.
- Conversion rate: Calculate sales divided by emails sent. 2-5% is average.
Use this data to segment better, improve subject lines, send more personalised content, and boost conversions.
If your email marketing report shows:
- Emails sent: 342,000
- Open rate: 18%
- CTR: 2.5%
- Bounce rate: 1.2%
- Unsubscribes: 1,200
- Revenue: $75,000
- Conversion rate: 4.1%
While your program is healthy overall, the open and click-through rates are a bit below average benchmarks. Testing new email copy and content could help improve engagement and conversion rates.
The Bottom Line
As an e-commerce business owner, you need clear visibility into your marketing initiatives and website analytics. Having custom e-commerce reports tailored to your goals is crucial for making smart decisions.
Be sure to request the 5 ecommerce reports outlined above. With these in hand, you’ll gain the insights needed to identify issues, capitalise on successes, and fuel business growth.
Looking for an e-commerce agency that makes sure these reports don’t affect you? Contact Sellspell now.