Becoming a data-driven Shopify store owner

We would be far more data-driven going forward with our goals for [our Shopify store]. We would then use this data to work on areas of weakness. That should give us incremental improvements as we go forward.

That’s what Sam Fothergill, the director of Hinders Bait, said when I asked: “What would you do differently from now on in your Shopify store?”.

But what does it mean to be data-driven?

As a company selling online, you are gathering tons of data.

To be data-driven you should:

• check your analytics data at regular intervals
• measure site changes/campaign results based on data, instead of gut feelings
• “This gave us a 5% increase in AOV” instead of “The campaign was very successful!”

Once you know how to measure your visitors’ reaction to changes, make your final decisions based on data, too.

What are the benefits of being data-driven?

• By observing your data you keep to the pulse of your customers’ behavior
• You can make decisions from a position of higher certainty because you can answer the question “What should we change?” by inspecting the stats. No need for gut feelings and doubt.
• Consulting the historical performance data can help you expect results with a degree of certainty. That gives you a baseline to measure yourself against when setting new goals.

When do you need to become data-driven?

The earlier you start, the better! If starting from zero, you’ll have to use other people’s data (what others report works well for them) until you find something that works for you.

As soon as you have your pool of analytics data, pay less attention to the others and decide from your source of truth. What works for you may turn out to be the exception, not the rule. After all, your analytics data is a codified version of the behavior of your visitors reacting to your website. The insight you extract can’t get more targeted to your business :)

Can somebody else do it for me?

Yes, you could outsource it. You can skip the nitty-gritty details of filtering, gathering and analyzing data. External help will result in the form of dashboards and reports. They’ll answer some of your questions and pose new ones.

You still need the right habits (to consult the data) and the mindset that your data is the oracle you need to ask when you have questions. Otherwise the reports will be useless.

If you’ve read this far, you’ll like my guide to discovering missed revenue opportunities on your Shopify store!