Interpreting Ecommerce Analytics To Drive Growth

A client came to us frustrated. They had thousands of website visitors per day, yet their sales were flat. No matter how much they spent on ads or SEO, the revenue just wasn’t growing. The problem? Traffic isn’t the goal - conversions are. After diving into their analytics, we found several hidden conversion killers: A complicated checkout process – Too many steps and unnecessary fields were causing visitors to abandon their carts. Lack of trust signals – Customer reviews missing on cart page, unclear shipping and return policies, and missing security badges made potential buyers hesitate. Slow site speeds – A few-second delay was enough to make mobile users bounce before even seeing a product page. Weak calls to action – Generic "Buy Now" buttons weren’t compelling enough to drive action. Instead of just driving more traffic, we optimized their Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) strategy: ✔ Simplified the checkout process - fewer clicks, faster transactions. ✔ Improved customer testimonials and trust badges for credibility. ✔ Improved page load speeds, cutting bounce rates by 30%. ✔ Revamped CTAs with urgency and clear value propositions. The result? A 28% increase in sales - without spending a dollar more on traffic. More visitors don’t mean more revenue. Better user experience and conversion-focused strategies do. Does your ecommerce site have a traffic problem - or a conversion problem? #EcommerceGrowth #CRO #DigitalMarketing #ConversionOptimization #WebsiteOptimization #AbsoluteWeb

I've talked with hundreds of eCommerce brands in 2024, and they've all told me the same thing: they want to lower their customer acquisition costs (CAC). Sending server-side CAPI data to solve signal loss on Meta, Google, and TikTok is now a table-stakes commodity. The real opportunity is to leverage that data to lower CAC and drive business growth. Here are four examples of how 8-figure annual revenue brands have reduced their CAC by 20% or more by using custom data activation. ▶ 𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝟭: 𝗛𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱𝘀 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 $𝟵𝟮𝗠 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 More than half of this brand's prospecting ads were reaching existing customers because ad exclusions aren't reliable anymore. By adding custom logic to their data connection, they segmented new purchasers into a distinct data stream. Prospecting campaigns now reach new customers 75% of the time and with a 25% lower CAC. ▶ 𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝟮: 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 & 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 $𝟭𝟭𝗠 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 90% of this brand's orders are low-value sample packs, flooding their pixel with low-value customers and hurting high-value prospecting campaigns (with 5-10x higher lifetime value/LTV). By splitting full-value orders from sample pack orders, they segmented high-value customers into their own data stream. High-value prospecting campaigns now have a 35% lower CAC, with prospecting ad budgets scaling up 15X. ▶ 𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝟯: 𝗙𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 $𝟰𝟵𝗠 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 This brand carries thousands of unique product SKUs across four business units. Their ad reporting assumed all campaign purchases were for the intended business unit, leading to inaccurate media decisions. By adding product-specific logic, they segmented purchases by business unit. Native ad platform reports now break out purchases by business unit, enabling the business to scale up the right ads and lowering CAC by over 20% on key campaigns. ▶ 𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝟰: 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱𝘀 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 $𝟭𝟯𝗠 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 This brand runs a subscription business but also sells one-off products. Their ad pixels treated all purchases the same, despite new subscription starts having a 10X higher lifetime value. By adding segmented events for one-off orders, new subscription starts, and automated renewals, prospecting campaigns now focus on acquiring new subscribers, lowering CAC by 25%. ▶ 𝗦𝗨𝗠𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗬 It's not enough to send data server-side; you need to leverage that data to unlock growth and lower CAC. Custom data activation and strategy are Popsixle's specialties, setting us apart from basic data connectors and larger competitors who have too many customers to offer bespoke strategic services. If you know a brand that needs help lowering customer acquisition costs, drop me a DM or tag them in the comments below.

Most eCommerce brands obsess over revenue and ROAS. But the real game is in the metrics no one talks about. Here are 10 overlooked KPIs that actually drive growth (and how to optimize them): ~~ 1. LTV:CAC Ratio (The Ultimate Health Check) LTV:CAC = Customer Lifetime Value ÷ Customer Acquisition Cost 1:1 = You’re bleeding money 3:1 = Healthy 5:1+ = Printing cash If you’re below 3:1, either: ✅ Lower CAC (better targeting, UGC ads, referrals) ✅ Increase LTV (subscriptions, upsells, memberships) == 2. 90-Day Repurchase Rate If a customer doesn’t buy again within 90 days, they probably won’t. Fix it by: • Winback campaigns with targeted incentives • Selling bundles that create habits • Building a loyalty program that rewards repeat buyers == 3. Contribution Margin (What’s Actually Left?) CM = Revenue – (COGS + Shipping + Discounts + Ad Spend) If your CM is under 30%, you’re scaling a business that won’t survive. Get margins up by: • Cutting discount dependency • Negotiating lower fulfillment costs • Adding Onward shipping protection == 4. Subscription Churn Rate (The Silent Killer) High churn = your brand is a leaky bucket Fix it by: • Adding pause & skip options via SMS (Skio for example) • Add more delivery options and product variety • Sending an email 7 days before renewal reminding them potential lost perks == 5. Time to Second Purchase (T2P) Track how long it takes for a customer to place their second order—then cut that time in half. Tactics to speed it up: • AI-based Email/SMS flows with hyper-targeted recommendations • Exclusive discounts for second-time buyers • Reorder reminders based on average usage time == 6. Gross Margin per Order (The Scaling Checkpoint) At scale, 40%+ gross margins keep you profitable. If you're below that: • Increase prices (test 10% bumps) • Reduce discounting, do Cashback instead (@ Onward) • Negotiate better supplier terms (carrier rates, 3pl, etc) == 7. Refund & Return Rate A high return rate = a CAC multiplier. Fix it by: • Charging for returns (but offering free exchanges) • Clearer product descriptions & sizing charts • Post-purchase emails on how to use the product == 8. Organic vs. Paid Revenue Ratio If 60%+ of your sales come from paid ads, you’re in trouble. Brands with real staying power win on organic channels. The fix? • SEO & content marketing • Affiliate & referral programs • Retention tactics (VIP, loyalty, subscriptions) == 8. SKU Concentration Risk If 80%+ of your revenue comes from one product, you’re vulnerable. Great brands expand without overextending. Turn one-time buyers into multi-SKU customers with: • Bundles • Exclusive add-ons • Subscription perks == 9. % of Revenue from Returning Customers A healthy DTC brand makes 40%+ of revenue from repeat buyers. If you’re below that, focus on LTV levers: • VIP memberships • Personalized email/SMS offers • Post-purchase nurture flows Follow Josh Payne for deep dives on DTC, SaaS, and investing.

Here’s how a customer we work withincreased ROAS 99% with a data-led approach And how you can do the same for your brand by cutting fluff & focusing on the metrics that move the needle. These are the exact 5 steps they used: ↳ Track the right metrics They used PenPath’s Purchase Intent Rate (PIR) dashboard as a guiding metric. Instead of relying solely on ROAS or CVR, they analyzed customer buying signals: - Adding to cart - Begin Checkout - Site searches - Email signups ↳ Clean up campaign data Set up clean campaign naming conventions to make data analysis easy & actionable. Specifically making things segmented by prospecting, retargeting, and by product category. ↳ Optimize by funnel stage Measured PIR by source, medium, and campaign to understand baselines for each stage of the funnel to measure interest for each traffic source and by product categories. ↳ Focus on what’s working For TOF effort with high PIR, they scaled or kept them even when ROAS was not performing and cut the rest. For BOF, they cut any campaign with low ROAS or PIR. This is an over simplification but that was the general approach. ↳ Scale high-intent audiences Lastly, they used purchase intent data to created improved retargeting audiences on Google and Meta. The Results? ✅️ ROAS skyrocketed from 1.35x to 2.69x (+99.555) in three months ✅️ Ad spend increased by 243% --- with no wasted dollars Pro Tip: Map your customer journey with intent-driven metrics. Focus on actions that align with each stage of your funnel (TOF, MOF, BOF) to uncover where customers drop off—and where to double down on winning strategies. If you’re an ecommerce decision maker, what data have you used to scale ROAS as quickly as possible? #Dataanalysis #Ecommercetips #Adspend #Ecommercesolutions