Data Strategies for Online Stores

The best ways to aggregate your data

From scattered data to a single source of truth

Big data has long been adopted in e-commerce. But in spite of the endless eulogies with regards to the supposed effectiveness of this new technology, we are still faced with a puzzling question: If big data forms the foundation upon which e-commerce decisions are built, why are some companies profitable while others are not?

One could assume that if all companies make equal use of big data, then they should all be equally successful. But many e-commerce companies do not use their data effectively. The reason for this is the shared obstacle presented by the challenge of collecting data in one place where it can be analyzed efficiently.

Without a central solution for organizing and using data, it’s practically impossible to create an accurate picture. That’s why we will now look at ways to rationalize your efforts.

Why are data-driven decisions often flawed?

Most e-commerce companies invest a lot of manpower into putting together solutions which let them use the data they collect. But when funnels include more than one marketing channel – Facebook ads, a landing page and email marketing, for example – it becomes exceptionally difficult to interpret each individual data set in a way that paints an accurate picture of the whole funnel. Additionally, this copy-paste approach is vulnerable to human error and unnecessarily consumes time and money.

Do you collect scattered marketing data across multiple channels and platforms?

Working with data scattered across different channels and platforms can be an overwhelming experience. Your sales data may be in Shopify, Magento, or some other e-commerce platform. Your online marketing data generated through paid ads may be distributed across Facebook, Google Ads and other platforms. Then you may have e-commerce data enriched with Google Analytics, data on customer relationship management platforms, data on email marketing platforms, and many other data sets.

Copying and pasting all of this data from native analysis platforms or dozens of CSV files can be a nightmare. The good news is that there is a smarter and simpler way to consolidate all of these data sets without wasting hours of your valuable time.

Thanks to prefabricated data connectors, you can transfer data from many different sources directly into Google Sheets, Excel or Google Data Studio. This lets you avoid the time-consuming process of consolidating data and switching between platforms so that you can concentrate on analyzing the data instead. The smart successor to e-commerce analysis enables you to bust open data silos and boost the productivity, efficiency, and flexibility of your company.

Automate your e-commerce dashboards

Once all of your data has been consolidated, the next step is to automate it. Instead of manually creating reports, you can set up your reports to update automatically while you concentrate your efforts on data analysis and creating value for your customers and target groups.

Automating the process not only saves you time and energy, it also minimizes the risk or errors. This helps you create a data-driven culture by reducing the effort linked to creating reports, letting your focus on analyses and insights.

But for the moment, we will put the topic of automation on hold. For now, we will look at some popular and effective methods for making sense of your e-commerce analyses.

In addition to conventional tabular calculations, there are also more advanced options for gathering your data together to form a single source of truth. Which option best fits your company depends on your expectations and the complexity of your data. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of the most important options available.

Tables – the data aggregation classic

Tabular calculations form the basis for all data analyses, as all figures are stored on spreadsheets in Excel or Google Sheets. There are many advantages which speak in favor of using tabular calculations for data aggregation.

The biggest advantage is the inherent simplicity. There is no learning curve, as most of your team members likely know how to use tables. They are also easy to use. You can simply copy data from anywhere and paste it into a table. Tabular calculations are also easy to analyze because they enable simple evaluations of data relating to products, means of interaction, and other important aspects. Collaboration is also a relevant point, as Google Sheets and Excel can generally be accessed from any computer.

But there are also disadvantages which can make tabular calculations a sub-optimal solution in some cases. We’ll discuss these in the next point.

What are the disadvantages of using tabular calculations for data aggregation?

The possibilities presented by tabular calculations are limited in their usefulness when it comes to reaching your goals. And these limitations can grow into serious issues in keeping with the growth of your online store and online marketing.

Firstly, the space in cells is limited, so that large amounts of data from different sources may not fit. Secondly, they are not equipped to handle complex queries. Tabular calculations are not ideal for managing historical data, as this will quickly exceed the capacity of tabular calculations. They are not automated, so you have to manually copy and paste data, which is slow and difficult.

How can you know if tabular calculations are the right option for you?

Taking the above-mentioned pros and cons into account, tabular calculations can be ideal for your brand if…

Your company is a micro or small enterprise.
You do not yet use broad multi-channel marketing.
Your marketing is limited to a handful of channels.
You do not yet need complex data queries.
You want a data aggregator which you can begin using immediately, without any learning curve or investment requirements.

Let’s take a look at another kind of data aggregation

The advantages of data visualization tools

Data visualization tools, such as Google Data Studio, go beyond tabular calculations and organize your data visually. This helps your team members maintain a quick and clear overview of performance across all channels.

The advantages of data visualization tools are manyfold. Firstly, they are perfect for quickly delivering comprehensive insights. Thanks to automated dashboards, you do not need to copy and paste data before you can visualize it. Important information is prominently displayed, letting you access key insights in just a few clicks. Visuals are also easy to understand and are ideally suited to presenting data to your management team. Let’s be honest, most people in management are not data analysts.

What are the disadvantages of data visualization?

The birds-eye view which you get with data visualization tools and their undisputed usability can be disadvantageous in some contexts.

The over-simplification of data can result in your overlooking insights which are hidden in nuances. Only “important” data makes its way into visuals, while data which is considered to be “less important” may not be included in analyses. You are also undoubtedly dependent on specific tools to interpret data, to a certain degree. In other words, you do not interact with the raw data, so you cannot draw your own conclusions.

Is data visualization the right solution for your online store?

Data visualization tools can be a superb addition to your data analytics. They are especially useful for situations in which you need insights quickly and do not have the time to carefully study data yourself. That makes data visualization tools a good choice for businesses which…

want to learn how to use data in decision-making.
do not have a specialized data analysis team, but still want to use data insights.
want to extend their existing tabular calculations or other raw data solutions with a tool which analyzes the whole picture.

Finally, data warehouses provide a third option for data aggregation. Here we can see what they have to offer.

Data warehouses for e-commerce analysts

Data warehouses provide a central location for all of your company’s data – both new and historical. The biggest advantage of data warehouses is that they present a complete data aggregation solution. They store all data from all sources. There are no limitations on the volume of data which can be stored. You have immediate access to the data, and the possibility of making fast, data-driven decisions. They provide enough space for all your historical data, so they are better suited to predicting future trends based on a long history of past data trends.

What are the disadvantages of data warehouses?

The potential disadvantages of data warehouses are primarily linked to the investments required. Setting up a data warehouse can be expensive, with costs being much higher than those of the solutions explained above. They also require knowledge of SQL, so there is a steep learning curve. Setting up a data warehouse is a complicated IT project which takes time.

Are data warehouses right for you?

Data warehouses can help you to rapidly scale up your company. But they require time and financial investment, as well knowledge of SQL. For this reason, data warehouses are best suited to companies which…

are ready to grow.
multiple marketing channels across which they want to track data.
want to take a 100 percent data-first approach to making business decisions.

Does setting up a data warehouse have to be complicated and expensive?

Alright, you got us! We may not have been entirely honest in the last two points. But there are good reasons for that, with the main one being that we don’t like to blow our own horn. But it is important for you to know that there is a way to set up a data warehouse for e-commerce without having to endure the high costs and complex programming mentioned above. We know all about it, because we created it.

You want to understand your customers’ needs, generate traffic, and optimize your marketing budget? Then Fire Analytics is the solution for you. Our smart, proactive cockpit brings internal and external data sources together and creates visuals adapted to target groups. You decide which data should be included and benefit from almost unlimited customization options which lets you tailor the service to your specific needs.

Does it sound too good to be true? Actually, it just gets better, because integrated search engine optimization tools help ensure that your website or online store is found, highlight weak areas, and recommend solutions to match.

Curious? Then read the last bit and get in touch with us to discuss the next step!

Creating a single source of e-commerce data truth pays off…

… …if you can automate the process. Using data to support e-commerce decisions and strategies will give your growth wings. The challenge, for most companies, lies in transferring all your data sets to a single reporting tool to enable fast and easy analysis.

The typical copy-paste method is tedious, time-intensive, and prone to error. Your investment in a data aggregator automates the process and keeps all data up to date. This lets you use your data the way it’s meant to be used: To help you make founded, strategic decisions and grow your e-commerce year by year.

To create a competitive customer experience, you must account for e-commerce analyses for the full customer lifetime value. These insights will show you the direction to go for an optimized customer experience, from customer acquisition to conversion, relationship-building, and customer loyalty.

Digital Analytics with Fire8

Simplify Data Aggregation

Are you ready to harness the power of all your marketing metrics in one place and simplify your e-commerce analysis? Then get in touch with Fire8 and together we will determine which of these data aggregation methods will deliver the best results for you!