In online retail, every click leaves a trace, but what is done with it? Surprisingly, many online retailers still prefer gut feeling over metrics. Without clear reporting and data utilisation, an online store operates like a physical shop without a door counter or cash register information. Not ideal.

The value of data lies not in its quantity but in its usability

Good analytics is not about having a hundred dashboards. It means you know how to combine the right information and make decisions from it. And at this point, it’s also crucial to understand the origin of data.

• First-party data is your own: purchase history, visitor data, email lists, conversions. It’s the most accurate and valuable.

• Third-party data comes from outside sources – like paid advertising channels (e.g. Meta, Google Ads) that tell in their own way what happened. Emphasising in their own way.

The problem? They never completely agree with each other.

One truth isn't found from a single source

Why is reporting overlooked? Often the reason is clear: the tools exist, but they're not used. Or they're used incorrectly. Google Analytics, Shopify reports, click metrics, conversion tracking – all collect information, but the data remains unused. Reasons might include lack of resources, skills deficit, or simply that no value has been assigned to the data. If you're interested in understanding data-driven business insights, you can read more about it here.

Practically speaking, Google Analytics, Facebook Ads, and Shopify can provide entirely different perspectives on the same sales event. Each channel attributes sales in a different way:

• Facebook takes credit if a customer saw an ad and made a purchase within 7 days.

• Google gives credit to the last click.

• Shopify shows direct sales but not always the original contact.

The result: one sale, three different truths. If you don't compare and scrutinise these different sources critically, you're misleading yourself.

What should a smart online retailer do?

• Cross-check data. Don’t blindly trust advertising platform figures. Compare conversion data with the online store and analytics.

• Use first-party data correctly. Customer lists, segmentation, and purchase paths should be built around it, as you won’t lose it even if cookies “die.”

• Ask the right questions. What actually brought customers to the store? What stayed just at the click level? How to get the customer to return, not just convert once?

A smart online retailer cross-references data from different sources. A good practice is to build a cohesive analytics reporting model that combines different views into one whole. It can conveniently collect all relevant metrics of interest, such as which payment methods are most used at checkout, or which traffic source is the most profitable (highest average purchase or most conversions)? Server-side tracking helps with this, improving data accuracy and privacy levels.

Well-executed reporting reveals leaks and areas of growth

Good online retail reporting is not a numerical novel. It's a concise view of the essentials: sales per channel, customer acquisition cost, conversion rate, and stock turnover. When these are known in real time, you can impact and optimise: stop a campaign in time, reprice a favourite product, refine the customer journey to be even more convincing.

Competitive advantage in online retail comes from accurate measurement

Utilising analytics is not a technical project but a continuous process of building competitive advantage. When you know where customers come from, what they do, and why they don’t buy, you can dynamically adjust offerings, websites, and marketing. And when you base it on your own data, combine it with external data, and dare to look at inconsistencies, a clearer picture emerges of where you are and where you should go.

Analytics helps identify, for instance:

• Where in the purchase process the customer drops off

• Which campaign brings the most value (not just clicks)

• Which product draws eyes but not conversions

When analytics is integrated into everyday life, it creates the ability to react in time, not days or months later.

Online retail doesn’t grow by gut feeling. It grows with knowledge.

• Which campaign brought the most value, not just clicks?

• At which point in the purchase process do people disappear, and why?

• What do customers buy on their second visit, and how were they encouraged to return?

• What is the most used payment method and is there, for example, a higher return rate associated with a particular payment method?

If your reporting remains an Excel exercise, it's time to upgrade the tools. Automate. Visualise. Set the key KPIs (metrics and goals) for your online store and make them a daily language. Data doesn’t have to be perfect – it needs to be usable. 

Online retail doesn’t grow by gut feeling. It grows with knowledge. And it's on this foundation that results are built.