In ecommerce, a poorly selling product may have little to do with the product itself and more to do with a bad checkout page layout. Or, it might be the wrong product for one audience but the right one for another group of people.
It’s impossible to optimize the customer journey (and increase your rate of sales conversions) without understanding the many contributing factors that determine its shape. Ecommerce analytics tools give you this visibility, helping you make sense of millions of data points and update your approach in real time.
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What are ecommerce analytics tools?
Ecommerce analytics tools help you track and analyze customer behavior, website performance, sales data, and marketing efforts to paint a detailed picture of your ecommerce business’s health. These tools can range from basic plug-ins integrated into your ecommerce platform, a standalone platform like Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics, or specialized analytics services.
The right ecommerce analytics software for your purposes depends on what you want to improve. Your online store might need data about keyword rankings to improve organic website traffic, for example, or more insight into customer behavior and drop-off points to increase sales conversions.
When compiling ecommerce metrics, aim for a balance of quantitative data (like customer acquisition, bounce rates, and conversion rates) and qualitative data (like customer feedback and social media comments) to achieve a holistic perspective. Fortunately, many standalone ecommerce analytics tools do just that, curating a centralized, comprehensive view of your online business.
Top ecommerce analytics tools
- Shopify Analytics
- Google Analytics
- Optimizely
- Woopra
- Crazy Egg
- Adobe Analytics
- Mixpanel
- Triple Whale
The most powerful ecommerce analytics tool is the one your team uses regularly. The choice of tool often depends on the size of your business, the complexity of your data analysis needs, and the level of integration required with other business systems.
Here are a few of the most popular options:
Shopify Analytics
Shopify Analytics, Shopify’s built-in ecommerce analytics platform, features over 60 ready-made dashboards and reports and the ability to customize your own.
Discover how your store performs in the competitive landscape, track sales across marketing channels, manage inventory, and filter your findings according to behavior, customers, sales, marketing, and acquisition.
Pricing: Included with Shopify store plans, which range from $39 to $399 per month.
Google Analytics
One of the top ecommerce analytics tools, Google Analytics offers a comprehensive and detailed view of your website and customer behavior.
Often used with other analytics tools, Google Analytics specializes in user engagement and traffic attribution metrics, like bounce rate, sessions (as opposed to clicks, which are tracked through Google Ads), conversions, and customer lifetime value (CLV).
You can also use other Google offerings, like Google Search Console, to dial into more search-specific data, like search rankings, acquisition, and click-throughs.
Pricing: Standard version for small businesses and basic needs is free. Google Analytics 360 offers advanced analytics for large businesses, priced by specific requirements and scale.
Optimizely
Optimizely is one of the most popular ecommerce analytics tools for finessing your online shopping experience and content marketing strategy. The tool is primarily designed to help you plan, execute, and analyze your marketing campaigns. To do this, Optimizely combines A/B testing with customer data to determine the most effective flows across your site.
Instead of offering different levels of the same plan with escalating price points and features, Optimizely has six plans in three categories: content marketing, web experimentation, and monetization. Depending on the size of your business, you might opt for their free content management tools or a combination of plans to analyze data throughout the sales funnel.
Pricing: While some levels of data management and analysis are free, most are priced upon request.
Woopra
If you’re looking to better understand the nuances of your customer’s buying journey, Woopra might be helpful. It specializes in real-time customer analytics, mapping their trajectories across multiple channels at every stage in the sales funnel. Advanced customer segmentation and individual profiles allow you to build high-quality customer experiences.
Pricing: A basic version is free with up to 500,000 actions and 90 days of data. A pro account is $999/month for up to five million actions per month. For enterprise pricing, contact Woopra directly.
Crazy Egg
Crazy Egg puts a colorful spin on website optimization by using “confetti” (color-coded dots that represent clicks) and heat maps to illustrate how your customers interact with your site. The platform provides valuable insights into factors impacting your conversion rate, including 404 errors, website traffic sources, and product page design elements. In addition to traffic analysis and customer surveys, you can then test web design and CTAs with A/B testing.
Pricing: A standard plan is $49/month, a plus plan is $99/month, and an enterprise plan is $249/month.
Adobe Analytics
For enterprise businesses looking to make sense of large amounts of customer data, Adobe Analytics captures a broad portrait of the customer journey informed by customer demographics, behavior, and more. Adobe Analytics makes it possible to predict trends and invest smarter with omnichannel marketing and attribution reports at scale.
Pricing: Available on request for three tiers: Select, Prime, and Ultimate.
Mixpanel
A favorite of software-as-a-service (SaaS) company product managers, product analytics platform Mixpanel shows you precisely how users engage with your product. The tool tracks each click and scroll to highlight behavioral patterns and better predict customer retention and churn.
You can also track sales performance with funnel analysis. Mixpanel’s collaborative dashboard integrates seamlessly with productivity tools like Figma and Coda, making it easy to keep your teams aligned and informed.
Pricing: Starter subscription is free, with the growth tier plan at $20/month and the enterprise plan at $833/month.
Triple Whale
Triple Whale is a cutting-edge analytics tool and marketing automation software powered by AI. It helps you track your return on ad spend (ROAS) across marketing channels, enabling smarter budget allocation and decision-making to effectively target customers.
Gain a deeper understanding of your target audiences—or create custom audience profiles using your data—to create more impactful marketing strategies.
Pricing: Triple Whale offers a free basic dashboard with data summaries, benchmarks, and more for two users. Additional plans include growth ($1,290/year) pro ($1,990/year), and enterprise ($2,790/year).
Ecommerce analytics tools FAQ
How do you analyze data for an ecommerce website?
To analyze ecommerce data, access your analytics dashboard via the settings of your ecommerce platform, like Shopify, or a third-party API. This dashboard offers insights into your website and business, focusing on acquisition and user behavior, and may offer optimization advice.
What are ecommerce data analytics?
Ecommerce data analytics inform or capture various key performance indicators (ecommerce KPIs) for ecommerce companies. These key metrics include customer lifetime value, customer acquisition cost, shopping behavior metrics, and search engine optimization, among others.
Why should you analyze your ecommerce site?
Analyzing your ecommerce website has many benefits—chief among them an improved customer experience. Most ecommerce analytics tools provide actionable insights into your business strategy, allowing you to improve your site. Easy-to-use websites can lead to increased customer engagement, better customer retention, and a higher average order value.
What is the best tool for analyzing ecommerce analytics?
It depends. The best ecommerce analytics tools for your business may be different from what works for other ecommerce brands. When selecting a tool, consider the learning curve of the given software, your budget, and your primary business goals.
