Analyzing Ecommerce Data For Effective Merchandising

What happens when you align product performance with sessions, conversion rate, advertising spend, stock on hand and sell-through date? You stop guessing and start making commercial decisions with real clarity. The best merchandise planners and marketers already know this: no metric in isolation tells the full story. The strongest teams are combining traditional planning metrics with ecommerce performance data to understand not just what is happening, but why. For DTC brands, bringing these data points together turns a messy performance picture into a simple set of actions: 🔍 1. Decide what to advertise more When a product has strong conversion, healthy margins and enough stock to support demand, but low sessions, it’s usually a sign that it needs more visibility. This is the sweet spot for scaling paid spend: the product already proves it can sell — it just needs more traffic. 💸 2. Identify what to mark down If you’re holding too much stock and the sell-through date is creeping up, yet conversion is weak even with steady sessions, discounting becomes a strategic lever. Markdowns help clear inventory without wasting ad spend on products the customer clearly isn’t choosing at full price. ✋ 3. Know when to pull back advertising High ad spend + plenty of sessions but poor conversion = a red flag. This is where you pause or reduce spend, diagnose the issue (price, positioning, creative, customer reviews), and redirect budget to products with stronger unit economics. Sometimes the best ROI comes from simply stopping the leak. When metrics live in silos, teams argue. When metrics connect, teams act. This is how modern DTC brands protect margin, improve cash flow and scale the right products at the right time.

Certainly, while wishlists have emerged as a valuable tool for gauging consumer interest, there are several other methods and metrics that e-commerce platforms can use to measure consumer interest: 1. Cart Abandonment Rate: Observing how many customers add products to their carts but don't complete the purchase can provide insights into potential hesitations or barriers. 2. Product Views: The number of times a product is viewed can indicate its popularity or interest level. 3. Time Spent on Page: Monitoring the average time consumers spend on product pages can hint at their level of interest. 4. Product Reviews and Ratings: A high number of reviews or ratings, even if mixed, can signify strong interest or engagement with a product. 5. Search Query Analysis: Observing which products or categories users are searching for on the platform can indicate trending interests. 6. Social Media Engagement: Shares, likes, comments, and mentions related to products can provide insights into consumer preferences. 7. Referral Traffic: Analyzing traffic from external sites or social media can show where the interest is coming from and which products are driving it. 8. Customer Surveys and Feedback: Directly asking customers about their preferences or interests can yield detailed insights. 9. Sales Data: A straightforward metric, but analyzing which products are selling the most can clearly indicate consumer interest. 10. Click-Through Rate (CTR): Observing how often people click on a product after seeing it in a recommendation or advertisement can be a strong indicator. 11. User-Generated Content: If consumers are posting pictures, videos, or blogs about a product, it showcases genuine interest and engagement. 12. Repeat Purchases: Products that are frequently repurchased can indicate high levels of satisfaction and interest. 13. Customer Service Inquiries: The number and nature of questions related to a product can offer insights into areas of curiosity or concern. 14. Heatmaps: Tools that show where users most frequently click, move, or hover on a page can help in understanding which products or sections grab their attention. 15. Newsletter and Email Open Rates: If consumers are frequently opening emails about specific products or categories, it can be an indication of their interest areas. 16. Retargeting Campaign Success: The conversion rate of retargeting campaigns can provide insights into the residual interest of consumers after their initial interaction. By leveraging a combination of these methods, brands can gain a comprehensive understanding of consumer interest, helping them to tailor their offerings and marketing strategies more effectively. #ecommerce #LinkedInNewsIndia

🌐 Behind Every Click is a Story I Let the Data Tell It. 📊✨ In a world where e-commerce brands pour thousands into campaigns and still struggle with cart abandonment, product returns, and low retention, the real question isn’t “What happened?” , it’s “Why did it happen?” and “How do we fix it?” 🔎 That’s where data comes in. 📈 And this is where Power BI becomes more than just a dashboard, it becomes a lens for clarity. Over the past few weeks, I built a full-scale, interactive e-commerce performance dashboard, touching every point from marketing campaigns to customer satisfaction. The goal? Make sense of the chaos. Turn complexity into simplicity. Drive action. 🧠 Here’s What I Discovered: ✅ Marketing Channels Instagram drove the most engagement, but Email had the best ROI. Billboard Ads, though expensive, performed poorly — proof that visibility ≠ value. ✅ Cart Abandonment Patterns Over 15% of carts were abandoned. The biggest culprit? Cash on Delivery (COD) users. Fashion orders also had the highest failure and return rates — a clear sign to revisit fulfillment strategies. ✅ Customer Insights That Matter Females aged 35–44 were power buyers across categories Credit Card and PayPal users had smoother journeys. ✅ Returns & Dissatisfaction Top reasons for returns: 📦 “Item Not As Described” 💔 “Arrived Damaged” These aren’t just logistics issues — they’re missed chances to improve product listings and supply chain quality. 🚀 What This Dashboard Achieved: Instead of just dropping charts, I focused on building a narrative: 📌 A story of behavioral trends 📌 A story of missed revenue opportunities 📌 A story that guides business decisions with confidence Power BI didn’t just help me visualize — it helped me strategize. 💡 Final Takeaway Your data is always talking. But without the right tools and the right mindset, it just looks like noise. 📣 This project reminded me why I love data analysis — not just for the numbers, but for the stories they unlock and the decisions they inspire. Let’s connect if you’re building something cool in the analytics space — I’m always open to swapping insights and perspectives. Thanks to Jude Raji for your Help #Datafam #PowerBI #EcommerceAnalytics #MarketingROI #CustomerExperience #DataStorytelling #BusinessIntelligence #DashboardDesign #DataDrivenDecisions #DataStrategy #DataVIZ

Most “sales dashboards” are just prettier spreadsheets. This one by Gandes Goldestan is a control panel for decisions. 🔍 Highlighting this Merchandise Sales Overview built in Tableau. Here’s what stands out: 1️⃣ Category tiles that tell a story in 3 seconds Across the top-left you get Clothing, Ornaments, and Other with:  • Revenue for the current scope  • % vs. last December  • A mini 12-month trend You don’t have to dig— you instantly see which category is sliding and which is stable. 2️⃣ Location + product view that actually plays nice On the right, a map shows where revenue is concentrated while the “Top Products by Revenue” bar list shows what is driving that revenue. Perfect combo for questions like: “What are people buying in this region, and which SKUs should we feature more?” 3️⃣ Row-level context without clutter The transaction history table gives:  • Order ID, type, date, revenue  • A clear satisfaction indicator for each order You can jump from “sales are down” to “which orders and experiences are causing it?” without leaving the page. 4️⃣ Customer voice front and center The customer rating widget (3.8 ⭐ with distribution by star level) anchors the whole thing in reality: revenue means less if satisfaction is tanking. This makes it way easier for a manager to say, “𝘞𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴, 𝘸𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴.” 5️⃣ Smart demographic breakdown “Revenue by Gender & Age Group” shows who is actually buying, so marketing and merchandising can align on which segments to push and which to grow. Dashboards like this do what every retail team needs:  • Tell you what’s happening now  • Show you who and where it’s happening  • Hint at what to do next Awesome work, Gandes Goldestan—clean design, clear hierarchy, and built for action, not just aesthetics. #Tableau #DataVisualization #RetailAnalytics #MerchandisePlanning #AnalyticsDesign

Stop guessing which discounts to test. Your data already knows. Most brands test discount tiers without looking at what customers already buy naturally. This can potentially be a big mistake. Here’s how to analyze your data so you can test the right discount tiers: Step 1: Pull your data Look at how many customers buy 1 vs 2 vs 3 vs 4+ items. Don't assume it's a smooth dropoff. Step 2: Rate each tier by signal strength • 10%+ buying that quantity = test it • 3-10% = worth testing • 1-3% = probably not worth it (and maybe risky) • Under 1% = skip it Let’s take the example of a wallet brand we helped with analyzing their data: • 88% buy 1 wallet • 4% buy 2 wallets • 7% buy 3 wallets People were skipping 2 and jumping straight to 3. When we dug deeper into those 3-wallet orders: • 50% bought same wallet in 3 colors • 30% bought for family ("dad + 2 sons") • The rest were gifts or small retailers A lot of brands would test a 2-pack discount first. But… Only 4% naturally buy 2 wallets. If you discount 2-packs, you risk pulling those 7% who buy 3-packs down to 2-packs. You might actually lose money. This pattern shows up in a lot of different industries. • Socks: 1 pair or 3+ pairs, rarely 2 • Wine: 1 bottle or 6-pack, not 2-3 • Books: 1 book or vacation stack of 3+ TLDR: Check where demand naturally clusters in YOUR data. Let your actual customer behavior show you which discount tiers deserve tests and which ones are likely not worth testing.

A few months ago, a marketing team at an e-commerce platform was struggling with customer churn despite running aggressive discount campaigns. The assumption was that offering more discounts would improve retention, but after SQL-driven analysis, the real issue turned out to be low repeat purchase rates among first-time buyers. Reducing Customer Churn with Data Analytics 1️⃣ Identifying At-Risk Customers We analyzed repeat purchase behavior to find the drop-off point. SELECT customer_id, COUNT(order_id) AS total_orders, MIN(order_date) AS first_order_date, MAX(order_date) AS last_order_date, DATEDIFF(day, MAX(order_date), GETDATE()) AS days_since_last_order FROM orders GROUP BY customer_id HAVING COUNT(order_id) = 1 AND DATEDIFF(day, MAX(order_date), GETDATE()) > 30; 🔹 Insight: A large percentage of first-time buyers never returned after their initial purchase. 2️⃣ Finding the Root Cause of Low Repeat Purchases We compared product categories and delivery experiences of repeat vs. non-repeat customers. SELECT product_category, COUNT(DISTINCT CASE WHEN repeat_purchase = 1 THEN customer_id END) AS repeat_customers, COUNT(DISTINCT CASE WHEN repeat_purchase = 0 THEN customer_id END) AS churned_customers, AVG(delivery_time) AS avg_delivery_days, AVG(customer_rating) AS avg_rating FROM orders JOIN customer_feedback ON orders.order_id = customer_feedback.order_id GROUP BY product_category ORDER BY churned_customers DESC; 🔹 Insight: Customers who purchased from low-rated categories (e.g., fragile items, late deliveries) were less likely to return. 3️⃣ Improving Customer Retention with Targeted Offers Instead of random discounts, we personalized retention campaigns based on customer behavior. SELECT customer_id, CASE WHEN last_order_category = 'electronics' AND days_since_last_order > 30 THEN 'Offer 10% discount on accessories' WHEN last_order_category = 'fashion' AND days_since_last_order > 45 THEN 'Send personalized style recommendations' ELSE 'No action needed' END AS retention_strategy FROM customer_behavior; 🔹 Insight: Instead of blanket discounts, category-specific retention strategies performed better. Challenges Faced One-time buyers made up a large chunk of new customers, leading to low retention. Poor delivery experiences negatively impacted repeat purchase rates. Generic discounting strategies weren’t increasing loyalty. Business Impact ✔ 12% increase in repeat purchases by improving category-based retention strategies. ✔ Better allocation of discount budgets, leading to a higher ROI on marketing spend. ✔ Enhanced customer experience, reducing negative reviews and churn. Key Takeaway: Not all churn is due to pricing—delivery quality, product experience, and personalized engagement play a bigger role in long-term customer retention. Have you tackled churn problems with data? Let’s discuss!

Drowning in dashboards? You're not alone. Ecommerce teams usually aren't short on data. What's missing is a clear picture of what that data actually means. In other words, knowing what KIND of data you're sitting on. That's what drives better targeting and scalable growth. I've worked with dozens of ecommerce teams who were data-rich but insight-poor. But once we broke the data down into four clear types, performance started compounding. Here's how each type works and how they fit together: 1️⃣ First-party data ↳ The backbone of lifecycle marketing - Behavior you observe directly - site activity, purchases, email engagement. - Most accurate, privacy-compliant and foundational for retention. - Works for abandoned cart flows, custom segments, triggered emails. 2️⃣ Zero-party data ↳ Gold for personalization - Info customers intentionally share (quizzes, surveys, preference centers). - Reveals intent and helps tailor experiences. - Works for dynamic product recs, personalized SMS, on-site experiences. 3️⃣ Second-party data ↳ An underutilized growth lever - Trusted data shared from partners, like list swaps or co-marketing insights. - Adds reach without sacrificing context or quality. - Works for cross-promos, joint launches, collaborative campaigns. 4️⃣ Third-party data ↳ A fading legacy tactic - Aggregated info from data brokers (usually cookie-based). - Broad but increasingly limited in precision and shelf-life. - Works for paid ads (while they still work). When you know the data types,  You stop guessing and start layering. Layer them well (and connect customer identity across them), and you'll unlock high-quality personalization. That's when performance starts to compound. Where are you in this process currently? ♻️ Share this to help someone who's swimming in data but seeing no results. Follow me, Francesco Gatti, for more ecommerce data insights.

🛒 How Basket Analysis Can Drive eCommerce Growth: A Bangladeshi Scenario As eCommerce continues to grow rapidly in Bangladesh, businesses are dealing with more and more customer data. One of the most valuable and often overlooked ways to make sense of that data is through basket analysis. Whether you’re working at a platform like Daraz, Chaldal, Pickaboo, or even running your own online shop, basket analysis can help uncover what products people are buying together. These insights can help you make smarter decisions when it comes to marketing, product placement, bundling, and personalized offers. 🔍 What is Basket Analysis? Basket analysis (also known as market basket analysis) is a method used to find associations between products based on customer purchase history. For example: - What do people usually buy with rice? - Are customers who buy smartphones also buying covers or screen protectors? - Are snack items more popular during weekends? By identifying patterns like these, eCommerce platforms can: - Increase average order value - Run more effective cross-sell campaigns - Deliver personalized recommendations - Make better inventory decisions 🧺 Real-Life Example: A Case Based on Chaldal While analyzing data from Chaldal, one of Bangladesh’s largest online grocery platforms, we noticed something interesting. Many customers in areas like Dhanmondi and Mirpur were buying instant noodles and tomato ketchup together, especially during the evening. This pattern suggested a common need: quick dinner solutions, likely for students or working professionals. Based on this insight, we tested a few simple strategies: - Introduced a combo offer with noodles and ketchup - Showed both products in the “Frequently Bought Together” section - Ran targeted push notifications in the evening with a message like “Need a quick dinner? Grab our Noodles + Ketchup combo now!” The early results were promising: - Better product visibility - More engagement during evening hours - A small bump in basket size for repeat users We’re still monitoring the data, but it’s a great example of how even small insights can be turned into smart decisions. 💡 Final Thoughts You don’t need AI or complex tools to start using basket analysis. A simple SQL query or spreadsheet analysis can help you uncover product relationships that lead to real business value. #eCommerce #BasketAnalysis #DataAnalytics #DigitalBangladesh #CustomerInsights #BusinessGrowth #SQLforBusiness #OnlineGrocery #MarketingStrategy #StartupBangladesh

💪 I just spent 10 hours writing a new article for the Simmer blog, and it was worth every minute. Path analysis in #GA4 is powerful in theory… but almost unusable in practice. So I rebuilt the user journeys of Google’s Merchandise Store using #R and #BigQuery. In the article, I walk through the full process step by step, and introduce a new approach that combines path analysis + funnel analysis to surface insights GA4 can’t show you. Most importantly, I focus on the business impact, not just pretty charts. Here are the questions we answer: 1. Where do users drop off most frequently? 2. What are the most common entry points? 3. Which landing pages behave like “dead ends”? 4. How far do users typically progress through the purchase funnel? 5. How do promotion views affect conversions? 6. What happens after users sign in? If you work in digital analytics, UX, ecommerce, or CRO, this is for you, and the full R code is included. Link to the article in the comments. #Rstats #DigitalAnalytics #DataScience #Ecommerce #UX #MarketingAnalytics