eCommerce Glossary Flashcards
Average order value (AOV)
A metric which measures the average amount a shopper spends on a transaction on an e-commerce site.
How is AOV Calculated?
Calculation - total revenue in x time period, divided by total orders in x time period.
What is AOV also called?
Basket Size
How can AOV be increased?
By offering more products bundled together, ‘upselling’ or ‘cross-selling’ to other related products.
What is Bounce Rate?
A metric that measures the percentage of visitors who enter a site and leave without taking further action
How is Bounce Rate Calculated?
Calculation - total amount of one-page visits % total amount of total amount of overall visits to website/webpage within x timeframe.
What is Bundling?
an eCommerce technique that combines multiple products together, usually at a lower price than if the items were to be sold individually
How is bundling useful?
Bundling can be an effective way to increase average order value. (AOV)
What are Buyer personas
Profiles of typical eCommerce site shoppers
What information is held about buyer personas?
Shopper’s goals, motivations, buying habits, and pain points.
How are buyer personas useful?
Personas enables eCommerce sites to offer more tailored products, propositions and pricing
What is a Call to action (CTA)?
A call to action is a message or line of copy that intends to persuade the website shopper to immediately take a specific action.
What is a CTA in the context of an e-commerce site?
In the context of an eCommerce site, for example, a CTA could be ‘buy now’ or ‘add to cart’.
What is Cart abandonment rate?
The ratio of shoppers who add items to their cart but abandon the web page before they check out.
How is Cart abandonment rate calculated?
Calculation - number of completed transactions % overall number of shopping carts created.
What do cart abandonment rates show us?
Can often point to issues around payment acceptance, or, more straightforwardly, a surprise at the product or delivery price!
What is the checkout process?
The various steps a customer takes when completing a purchase online.
What steps are in the checkout process?
Call to action (CTA) - ‘buy now’ CTA, reviewing an order, adding in billing and delivery information, as well as payment details.
What are the most effective checkout processes?
Those that require the least amount of effort on behalf of the customer.
What is an anonymous checkout?
A checkout process in which a user may complete a transaction without creating an account.
What is a content management system
Software that allows you to edit, manage, and publish content on your eCommerce site
What is usually held on in the content management system?
store’s product catalogue, digital content or imagery
What is conversion rate?
Conversion rate refers to the percentage of visitors to an eCommerce site who complete a purchase
What could a low conversion rate indicate?
1) eCommerce site has a product or proposition that is not attractive to the potential customer (for example, high delivery costs), 2) a site that is hard to navigate, 3) or a payment set up that is not working.
Conversion rate optimisation (CRO)?
The process of optimising an eCommerce site in order to increase the likelihood of visitors completing a purchase.
What kinds of CRO Strategies can there be?
CRO strategies can be both quantitative and qualitative, and can include things like testing different landing pages, changing content like images or copy – or even prices.
What is Cross-selling?
an eCommerce tactic that involves recommending related or additional items to the shopper based on the initial item they are buying.
What is the aim of Cross-selling?
The aim is to increase the average order value. A good example is Amazon’s ‘frequently bought together’ section on its product pages.
What is customer acquisition?
the process of attracting new customers to your business – also called driving website ‘traffic’.
How can customers be acquired?
Tools or ‘channels’ to drive traffic include Google Ads, Facebook ads and email.
What is Customer journey?
the path and sequence of interactions customers go through when visiting a website.
What is customer journey mapping?
A visual representation of every interaction a customer has with an eCommerce site – including customer service and delivery
What is Customer lifetime value (CLV)?
The estimated total worth of a customer to a business over the entirety of their relationship (i.e expected profit a company can hope to gain from a customer.)
What is Customer retention?
the process of retaining your existing customers by encouraging those who have purchased before to return again.
What is a discount code?
an eCommerce sales tactic used to incentivise purchases, attract new customers or encourage repeat shoppers. Most eCommerce platforms include this capability.
What is Product discovery?
a shopper arriving on an eCommerce site and discovering a product they want to buy.
Why does product discovery matter?
eCommerce sites should make it as easy as possible for customers to find what they are looking for.
What is Dropshipping?
an eCommerce fulfilment method whereby the eCommerce store does not own the stock or inventory it sells. Instead, the store partners with a third-party manufacturer who will then ship items once they have been purchased by a customer.
What is fulfillment?
the process of getting an eCommerce order delivered to a customer’s door.
What does fulfillment require?
It involves managing the inventory (stock), picking and packing products, and shipping them direct to the customers.
Where does fulfillment take place?
Fulfilment can be undertaken in-house or through a third-party company.
What are Landing pages?
A standalone eCommerce page that potential customers can ‘land’ on when they click through from marketing that is specifically designed to encourage the shopper to take a particular action when they arrive, such as reading about a special offer or more detail about the product.
What is a marketplace?
An online platform through which third-party retailers can sell their products.
How does a marketplace work?
All transactions are processed by the marketplace operator but delivered and fulfilled by the participating sellers. Example include eBay, Amazon and Etsy.
What is Online value proposition (OVP)?
what helps to persuade customers to buy from a particular eCommerce site instead of a competitor
Examples of OVP?
Free or fast shipping, extended returns compared to competitors or the widest product range.
What is On-site navigation?
All the steps a customer must take in order to find what they’re looking for on an eCommerce website.
What is a Payment gateway?
is the technology that processes credit card payments on eCommerce sites (e.g paypal, stripe).
What does a payment gateway offer?
the secure encryption of payment, as well as screenings for security purposes. It also gets approval from the credit card or bank and calculates tax costs like VAT.
What do cloud-based e-commerce platforms do?
provide packages that include all the functionality required for eCommerce sites to allow customers to access the software and for the organisations to store their eCommerce data
Examples of cloud based e-commerce platforms?
Shopify and BigCommerce
Benefit of cloud based e-commerce platforms?
Remove the requirement for on-site hosting expertise. far easier to manage, and they allow businesses to focus more on the ‘nuts and bolts’ of eCommerce, such as product selection or marketing.
What is the product description?
The product description is the words used – ‘copy’ that explains more about a product and its features.
What is the aim of the product description?
he aim is to inform and persuade the customer to buy.
What is a Product listings page?
also known as a category page – lists multiple products within the same category. For example, this could be ‘women’s tee-shirts’ or ‘men’s hoodies’.
What are Ratings and reviews?
consumer testimonials written by past customers who have purchased and used, or had experience with, the product on an eCommerce site and are usually accompanied by a rating
Why are ratings and reviews important?
The majority of customers will check online reviews and ratings before making a purchase.
What is Segmentation?
the practice of dividing potential customers into different groups based on different characteristics and traits
What can different segments include?
Different segments can include 1) demographics (eg based on age or gender), 2) behaviours (eg past purchases or abandonment) or 3) psychographics (beliefs or values).
What is the Shopping cart or basket?
the name given to the eCommerce functionality that enables shoppers to select products, review what they selected, make changes or add extra items and purchase.
What is Social commerce?
the ability to make a purchase through a third-party social media platform such as Facebook or Instagram.
What is User Experience (UX?)
the label given to the task of providing a simple, logical, and enjoyable shopping experience to customers that will result in a sale
What does UX include?
easy-to-use menus and product pages, working payment options, and a design that doesn’t overshadow the eCommerce site experience.
