How to Prepare eCommerce Data for Analysis

No one can argue with the fact that data drives the eCommerce sector. According to the most recent market research, there are more than 26 million eCommerce sites across the globe. However, data is only important if you understand how to use it and extract the right message from it. Converting data into vital information requires applying various sophisticated tools and methodologies to get the right information. 

eCommerce data analysis is one of the pillars holding the success of any business within the eCommerce sector. Before using data, you need to collect and analyze it through the process known as data analysis. Analyzing data enables you to gain valuable insights and prepares you for the decision-making process to propel your business to the next level. 

The mode in which you analyze your data mainly depends on your goals at the end of the process. The eCommerce sector generates a lot of data you may find difficult to analyze, so a special approach is needed to navigate the process. Obviously, there is no business that can work without the availability of customers. This means that a huge chunk of the data revolves around customers. 

Even though the process of analyzing the data can be difficult, sometimes requiring specialized tools like web accelerator software to appropriately handle large amounts of information, the benefits of eCommerce data analysis are worth it. Data analysis enables you to gain insights across all the corners of your eCommerce store. Before you start analyzing your eCommerce data, you need to prepare it beforehand to make the entire process smooth. 

Preparing eCommerce Data for Analysis

To get maximum benefits from your eCommerce data analysis, you need to prepare in advance before you dive into the process. Below are the tips you need to use when preparing for eCommerce data analysis to make your work easier once you get started with the process. 

Enhance Collaboration Among Your Team Members 

Creating collaborative grounds among your team members is crucial before you start the eCommerce data analysis process. You should work as a team and decide on the vision of the company’s progress. Ensure that all the departments across the business are working towards achieving a uniform goal in business. 

Once you have planned what you intend to achieve as a team, you need to plan for campaigns, strategic goals, and other objectives. Remember that collaboration is the only secret that can enable you to find the meaning existing in your eCommerce data. 

Evaluate the Types of Questions You Ask 

It’s critical to evaluate the type of questions that you intend to ask before airing them out. On the flip side, you should understand the questions you want to answer. Remember that eCommerce data analysis aims to uncover the hiding data details that can help solve certain problems across the business. 

For instance, you can consider questions such as when and why certain customers abandon their shopping carts instead of finalizing the purchasing process. Evaluate the percentage of new customers compared to the returning customers and identify some of the reasons why customers return. 

Democratize Data 

Collaboration should never stop at any point in your business. Once there is a lack of collaboration, you will find it extremely difficult to achieve your objectives in business. You need to make data quickly and easily accessible to every team member across all the company departments. This is what we call data democratization. 

The process involves connecting data from different sources and extracting it into different forms such as images, text, videos, and many more. When you outline your data sources in this manner, you will be working on the same page with all your team members. 

Clean the Data

Collecting huge amounts of data from different sources can be a terrible and overwhelming experience. Given that you are dealing with a large amount of data, you may realize that some of it are inaccurate while other values do not outline anything clearly. This is when you need to conduct data cleaning to help you ensure that you are only dealing with accurate values that are closely related to your company goals. 

When you analyze data without cleaning it, you are likely to end up with false conclusions that are likely to hinder your business progress. When doing data cleaning, you need to eliminate things such as duplicate data, empty fields, and any poorly formatted values. Note that textual data also needs cleaning to make your data analysis process easier. 

Integrate KPIs 

The key performance indicators of your business have a fundamental role to play during data eCommerce data analysis. The KPIs are essential, especially when you want to track and measure your campaigns as well as your business goals. When integrating the business KPIs, remember that there are different measuring methods. 

The method you choose to use when measuring these metrics entirely depends on your goals. Explore different KPIs and analyze how they can help your business strategies develop from one level to the next. 

Utilize a Data Analysis Platform

Currently, there are multiple ways of analyzing data. The method you choose depends on your data visualization needs and the nature of the data you are dealing with. Data analysis platforms work to ensure that you get the best out of your data and your respective data sources. The platform offers impeccable data insights as well as a clear marketing plan that you can keep in practice. 

Besides, the platforms can convert your data into visuals and interactives that are easy to read and understand such as flow charts, trend charts, and Sankey charts. However, this does not mean that the platform will achieve everything on your behalf. You have a major role to play and impact the accuracy of the results that will be generated at the end of the process. The goals you set and your business objectives can take you a long way. 

When you want to save most of your time during data analysis, you need to avoid making mistakes during preparation. Note that making simple mistakes is likely to affect the accuracy of the final data findings, thus affecting the entire data analysis process. Ensure that you are extremely keen and maintain a keen eye on details to enhance accuracy. 

Make use of AI and ML Technologies 

The technology sector is evolving every single day. It’s vital to involve technologies in your data preparation to enhance the accuracy of the results you obtain. Artificial intelligence and machine language have taken over the eCommerce sector, and they play an integral role in the success of eCommerce businesses. Remember that technology plays a key role in revolutionizing everything to do with data. 

Business owners can make proper use of machine learning and artificial intelligence to learn more about data patterns and trends, whether it’s by implementing AI video analytics technology to better understand valuable security data or analyzing specific revenue trends for your business Also, this is a good start, especially when you want to streamline your data before getting started with the analysis process. It integrates a taste of technology in your data which is vital in the final data output. 

Final Verdict 

eCommerce data analysis is not a simple process as it seems. This is a highly detailed process that requires you to maintain close contact with your data details to ensure that you have the right output. The findings you get at the end of the process mainly depend on how you have prepared your data. Ensure that you rely on reliable tools and technologies with a successful track record in matters concerning data analysis. 

Since businesses within the eCommerce sector generate huge chunks of data, it’s vital to have a robust data backup to make your work easier. The data output you get at the end contributes significantly to the continued development of your business. Also, it can help you spot challenges affecting your business’s general growth.