Anna Kayfitz - Practical Ecommerce https://www.practicalecommerce.com/author/anna-kayfitz Independent analysis and strategy for online merchants Wed, 25 Jun 2025 09:59:18 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.4 Attribution Models for Ecommerce https://www.practicalecommerce.com/attribution-models-for-ecommerce Wed, 25 Jun 2025 10:00:05 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1554068 There's no perfect sales attribution platform or technique, but plenty of tools and tactics can help.

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]]> Multiple Stores, 1 Backend: Pros and Cons https://www.practicalecommerce.com/multiple-stores-1-backend-pros-and-cons Mon, 28 Apr 2025 09:00:03 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=1552255 Combining storefronts into a single backend centralizes the data and streamlines oversight. But it comes with costs.

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]]> Charts: Plastic Waste from Ecommerce Is Flooding the World https://www.practicalecommerce.com/charts-plastic-waste-from-ecommerce-is-flooding-the-world Tue, 10 Aug 2021 18:37:22 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=951266 In a seminal report titled "Amazon's Plastic Problem Revealed," Oceana, a nonprofit ocean-advocacy organization, described the amount of plastic packaging waste generated worldwide by ecommerce generally and Amazon specifically. "Amazon has a plastic problem," the report stated.

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]]> Charts: 2020 Cross-border Ecommerce Purchases by Country https://www.practicalecommerce.com/charts-2020-cross-border-ecommerce-purchases-by-country Tue, 08 Jun 2021 14:23:01 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=633319 Advances in technology and logistics have facilitated the growth of cross-border ecommerce sales.  We've analyzed data from 2020 for the total retail ecommerce purchases by country versus the amount of cross-border purchases and the percentage of cross-border to the total.

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]]> Charts: 2020 Global Ecommerce Sales https://www.practicalecommerce.com/charts-2020-global-ecommerce-sales Mon, 17 May 2021 11:46:41 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=497778 The Asia Pacific region generated roughly 62.6 percent of 2020 global ecommerce sales. North America was second at 19.1 percent, followed by Western Europe (13.0 percent), Central and Eastern Europe (2.4 percent), Latin America (2.1 percent), and the Middle East and Africa (1.1 percent).

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]]> Charts: U.S. Direct-to-consumer Sales 2018 to 2020 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/charts-u-s-direct-to-consumer-sales-2018-to-2020 Thu, 22 Apr 2021 14:22:15 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=376319 The growth in U.S. direct-to-consumer ecommerce sales continues, albeit at a slower rate. In 2018, year-over-year growth was 56.6 percent. In 2020, it was 24.3 percent.

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]]> Charts: Conversion Rates by Ad Channel https://www.practicalecommerce.com/charts-conversion-rates-by-ad-channel Tue, 26 Jan 2021 14:42:51 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=366974 Benchmarking digital marketing campaigns is a good way to track their effectiveness. Monitoring conversion rates will help optimize the creative, target market, placement, and channel. But a better indicator of marketing success is the cost per conversion.

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]]> Charts: Social Media’s Impact on Ecommerce Revenue https://www.practicalecommerce.com/charts-social-medias-impact-on-ecommerce-revenue Wed, 13 Jan 2021 13:07:59 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=366152 Social media's impact on global ecommerce revenue varies depending on the platform. Almost half of Pinterest users shop on the site. Pinterest users also generate the highest average order value, at $154, versus other social media channels. Less than 10 percent of Snapchat and Twitter users shop for goods or services on those sites.

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]]> Charts: Shopify’s Share of Global Websites, Ecommerce Sales https://www.practicalecommerce.com/charts-shopifys-share-of-global-websites-ecommerce-sales Tue, 15 Dec 2020 16:20:04 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=364896 Shopify launched in 2004 in Ottawa, Canada, when its founders were dissatisfied with existing platforms to sell their snowboarding gear.  Fast forward to 2020, and Shopify is a global brand. Total 2020 revenue will exceed $2 billion. Its common shares trade at roughly $1,000 each.

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]]> How to Name Product Categories https://www.practicalecommerce.com/how-to-name-product-categories Tue, 08 Dec 2020 13:42:57 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=357547 Category names on an ecommerce site have a huge impact on organic search rankings and on-site conversions. To determine the right names: Start by listing all categories on competitors' sites and marketplaces. Next, add additional category names that may apply to your products. Then determine the search volume for each term.

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]]> 3 Ways to Scale Ecommerce with Data https://www.practicalecommerce.com/3-ways-to-scale-ecommerce-with-data Thu, 09 Jul 2020 13:06:55 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=353892 Scaling an ecommerce business requires insights into the market, consumers, and products. In this post, I'll address each aspect and how data can help.

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]]> Using Internal Data for New Products, New Customers https://www.practicalecommerce.com/using-internal-data-for-new-products-new-customers Thu, 11 Jun 2020 19:13:51 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=350795 Ecommerce merchants miss opportunities by not utilizing their data. New products, new customers, upsells, cross-sells — internal data can provide insights on all of them. In this post, I'll address data sources to help merchants grow their business.

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]]> How to Pace Monthly Ad Spend https://www.practicalecommerce.com/how-to-pace-monthly-ad-spend Fri, 08 May 2020 14:46:48 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=196238 Choosing marketing channels is only the first step in digital advertising. Equally important is assigning a budget and then managing the spend based on performance. In this post, I'll provide a framework.

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]]> How to Manage, Visualize KPIs for Ecommerce https://www.practicalecommerce.com/how-to-identify-visualize-kpis-for-ecommerce Sun, 26 Apr 2020 14:19:42 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=195161 This post will offer a framework for identifying, tracking, and visualizing key performance indicators. It applies to all company sizes — big and small. Start by establishing the most important metrics for your business.

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]]> The Keys to Successful Email Automation https://www.practicalecommerce.com/the-keys-to-successful-email-automation Wed, 11 Mar 2020 13:21:12 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=192600 Success in email marketing for ecommerce companies depends on a few prerequisites. A marketing automation tool is essential. Many email service providers offer automation features, as do enterprise automation platforms.

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]]> 6 Ways Geography Impacts Ecommerce Conversions https://www.practicalecommerce.com/6-ways-geography-impacts-ecommerce-conversions Wed, 26 Feb 2020 14:26:09 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=191288 Merchants are typically aware of the states or countries where their customers reside. Many variables can impact sales or performance by region. In this post, I'll address six of them.

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]]> 11 Key Metrics to Evaluate Potential Marketplaces https://www.practicalecommerce.com/11-key-metrics-to-evaluate-potential-marketplaces Thu, 30 Jan 2020 15:14:17 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=190394 There are dozens of worthwhile marketplaces worldwide. Amazon, Walmart, eBay, and Etsy are examples. What follows are tips for using data to identify (and optimize) marketplaces to sell your products.

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]]> 7 Ways Big Data Will Impact Ecommerce in 2020 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/7-ways-big-data-will-impact-ecommerce-in-2020 Wed, 08 Jan 2020 15:40:50 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=188926 As ecommerce grows, so does the data that is stored. Only a fraction of that data is utilized, however. But data scientists are getting better at merging, standardizing, and analyzing. What follows are my data predictions for ecommerce for 2020.

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]]> What’s the Value of Social Media? https://www.practicalecommerce.com/whats-the-value-of-social-media Wed, 18 Dec 2019 15:54:32 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=187954 Ecommerce companies have different approaches to social media. Some view it as a way to generate brand awareness, such as with print and television ads. Others use it as a customer service portal for engagement. Regardless of the approach, a company that spends time or money on social media should measure the results.

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]]> 7 Ways to Analyze Black Friday, Cyber Monday Sales https://www.practicalecommerce.com/7-ways-to-analyze-black-friday-cyber-monday-sales Thu, 05 Dec 2019 14:59:07 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=187150 Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales are complete. Marketers should scrutinize the results for insights on future promotions. There are multiple approaches. In this post, I'll review seven ways to analyze the results from Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

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]]> Predicting Profits from Black Friday Promotions https://www.practicalecommerce.com/predicting-profits-from-black-friday-promotions Fri, 22 Nov 2019 15:46:52 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=186579 The Black Friday weekend is near. Many merchants will lower prices, add promotions, and compete in one of the biggest retail days of the year. By analyzing prior year results, merchants can estimate current-year sales and profits and the impact of promotions.

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]]> 5 Ways Data Science Drives Ecommerce Revenue https://www.practicalecommerce.com/5-ways-data-science-drives-ecommerce-revenue Tue, 05 Nov 2019 19:57:13 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=185686 Data science is the processing and analysis of large datasets — structured or unstructured.  Tweets from customers and prospects is an example of unstructured data. Here are five data-science uses to drive ecommerce sales.

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]]> 16 Business Intelligence Tools for Ecommerce https://www.practicalecommerce.com/16-business-intelligence-tools-for-ecommerce Fri, 11 Oct 2019 13:37:53 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=184591 A business intelligence tool can provide helpful data to make critical, daily decisions. There are many such tools to choose from. In this post, I'll list popular business intelligence tools that I'm familiar with and offer my perspective on each.

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]]> How to Choose KPIs for Your Ecommerce Business https://www.practicalecommerce.com/how-to-choose-kpis-for-your-ecommerce-business Tue, 24 Sep 2019 15:58:17 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=183888 Key performance indicators apply to many aspects of an ecommerce business. Examples include marketing KPIs to track, say, coupon redemptions or return on investment from advertising. In this post, I'll offer tips for building your ultimate KPI dashboard.

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]]> How to Determine Survey Size for Meaningful Results https://www.practicalecommerce.com/how-to-determine-survey-size-for-meaningful-results Thu, 05 Sep 2019 20:34:02 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=182735 When conducting surveys by email, polling on a website, or approaching people on the street, the main hurdle is knowing how many responses to collect. The following formula can predict the necessary sample size based on your population, such as users, email addresses, or potential customers.

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]]> 10 Ways Bad Data Hurts an Ecommerce Business https://www.practicalecommerce.com/10-ways-bad-data-hurts-an-ecommerce-business Tue, 13 Aug 2019 21:14:03 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=181283 Data is essential for ecommerce businesses. Order quantities, shipping addresses, sales history, marketing performance — all rely on accurate data. Thus missing or inaccurate data can harm a business.  Here are 10 ways that poor data can reduce ecommerce performance.

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]]> Need Data for a Key Decision? Try These 8 Sources https://www.practicalecommerce.com/need-data-for-a-key-decision-try-these-8-sources Tue, 16 Jul 2019 19:25:47 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=179360 Data drives most businesses. But what happens when you lack data to make a critical decision? How do you collect the data, and at what cost?

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]]> How to Calculate ‘Available to Sell’ Inventory https://www.practicalecommerce.com/how-to-calculate-available-to-sell-inventory Tue, 11 Jun 2019 17:37:21 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=176518 "Quantity on hand" is physically available inventory. It's a simple number, but it does not include unfulfilled sales and outstanding purchase orders where the inventory has not arrived. All those scenarios can be addressed in an "available to sell" calculation.

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]]> Using Attribution Modeling in Google Analytics https://www.practicalecommerce.com/using-attribution-modeling-in-google-analytics Fri, 24 May 2019 11:29:20 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=175931 Marketing attribution is the process of identifying sources or channels that led to a desired outcome, such as a sale or a subscription. Google Analytics offers attribution modeling at Conversions > Attribution > Model Comparison Tool. There are a handful of models to select from.

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]]> Use Market Basket Analysis to Boost Cross-sales, Average Order Values https://www.practicalecommerce.com/use-market-basket-analysis-to-boost-cross-sales-average-order-values Thu, 09 May 2019 19:47:42 +0000 https://www.practicalecommerce.com/?p=174744 Market basket analysis is based on the idea that a customer who buys product A is likely to buy product B, too. The model seeks to find relationships among purchases — a customer who buys pasta likely needs pasta sauce. The model applies at an item level or to a group of items or categories.

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