Performance commerce indicators: the right KPIs to optimize sales and customer experience in unified commerce

In an unified commerce environment, businesses need to rely on unified retail data, which provides a comprehensive view of sales, inventory, and customer behavior across all channels. This holistic perspective enables effective management of commercial performance.

However, it’s crucial to understand which commercial performance indicators to track and how to utilize them effectively. In this article, we review key KPIs in unified commerce and discuss tools to analyze and optimize performance using unified data.

The keys to performance commerce indicators

Performance commerce indicators (KPIs) in unified commerce

In unified commerce, commercial performance indicators (KPIs) should reflect the overall efficiency of the customer journey, both online and at the point of sale (POS). They enable the management of a smooth sales process while ensuring the profitability of commercial activities. Key commercial performance indicators include:

• Omnichannel conversion rate: This central commercial indicator measures the ability to convert a prospect into a customer.
  Conversion rate = (Number of sales / Number of visits or prospects) × 100
• Cumulative average basket: This indicator combines physical and digital sales to assess the complementarity of sales channels.
  Average basket = Total revenue (web + POS) / Total number of sales
• Product availability rate, directly linked to centralized inventory management.
  Availability rate = (Number of available references for sale / Total number of references sought) × 100

Additional KPIs related to customer loyalty include:

• Repurchase rate
  Repurchase rate = (Number of customers who have made multiple purchases / Total number of customers) × 100
• Customer lifetime value (CLV)
  Customer lifetime value = Average basket × Purchase frequency × Duration of customer relationship

The importance of performance indicators

Commercial performance indicators reveal the effectiveness of sales activities conducted at each stage of the customer journey. KPIs quickly highlight friction points, disruptions between channels, and growth opportunities.

These commercial performance indicators also help adjust team allocation, budgets, and inventory based on commercial priorities. Without a clear understanding of performance, businesses risk operating blindly. Conversely, precise KPI tracking enhances commercial agility.

Commercial performance indicators are crucial for aligning teams with common sales goals. In unified commerce, success hinges on coordinating actions across departments. Sharing a common framework improves the long-term success of the commercial strategy.

An Uplead study emphasizes that sales associates spend only 33% of their time selling, with the remainder consumed by data entry and analysis tasks. Therefore, equipping oneself with a centralized commercial performance management tool becomes essential! Moreover, failing to measure various commercial performance indicators hinders continuous improvement. For instance, 52% of the least performing businesses neglect indicator tracking, preventing them from adjusting their methods.

The Openbravo Reporting solution simplifies commercial management by centralizing all key indicators into unified dashboards. These dashboards are accessible in real-time by all relevant teams, from headquarters to points of sale (POS). Discover how this solution can enhance your commercial efficiency!

The efficiency of sales teams

The conversion rate and the impact of this indicator on revenue

The conversion rate is one of the most telling indicators of commercial performance, as it reflects the tangible ability to convert interest into a purchase. In a unified commerce context, it’s no longer about evaluating commercial performance by isolated channels but understanding the overall effectiveness of the journey.

Observing this KPI highlights stages in the customer journey where the experience deteriorates. High online conversion but low in-store conversion might indicate product availability issues. Conversely, a low site conversion rate could be due to unintuitive navigation. By cross-referencing the conversion rate with qualitative data such as customer feedback, we can precisely pinpoint experience breaks.

The impact of this KPI on revenue is swift and measurable. A 1 to 2 point increase in the conversion rate can significantly boost revenue, especially when traffic is high.

Additional revenue = Traffic × Conversion rate increase (%) × Average basket

However, this commercial performance indicator is valuable only when viewed in conjunction with others, like customer acquisition cost. Together, these data provide a clearer picture of whether commercial performance is improving.

Performance commerce criteria and their role in strategy

Performance commerce criteria assess actual profitability, the quality of the sales cycle, and the long-term impact of commercial actions. They play a crucial role in strategic management by revealing commercial dynamics that often lie hidden behind raw sales volume.

• Channel conversion rate, which measures commercial efficiency at each touchpoint.
  Conversion rate = (Number of sales / Number of prospects) × 100
• Customer acquisition cost (CAC), crucial for controlling the profitability of marketing actions.
  CAC = Marketing and commercial expenses / Number of new customers acquired
• Loyalty rate, which measures the ability to retain existing customers.
  Loyalty rate = (Number of customers at the end of a period – New customers) / Number of customers at the beginning of the period × 100
• Purchase frequency, useful for assessing engagement among existing customers.
  Total number of purchases / Number of unique customers over a defined period

Prospecting should also be analyzed to evaluate the effectiveness of actions from the first contact. Tracking leads helps identify the most profitable sources.

In cases of lengthy sales cycles, it is relevant to track the average time between the first interaction and purchase. In-store sales KPIs, such as conversion rate, help assess on-site performance.

These indicators guide strategic adjustments. When shared with teams, these KPIs become commercial management levers that promote collective performance.

Optimizing customer loyalty and retention

The loyalty rate as a key indicator

The loyalty rate reflects a company’s ability to retain its customer base over time. In unified commerce, this indicator not only reflects post-purchase satisfaction but also the seamless experience across all channels.

Loyalty ensures recurring revenue while optimizing return on investment. A good loyalty rate results in:

• An increased average basket;
• Higher purchase frequency;
• Greater sensitivity to exclusive offers.

Regular tracking of this commercial performance indicator helps detect warning signs: declining attendance, unsubscriptions from communications, frequent product returns. By cross-referencing these data with other customer KPIs, like customer lifetime value, businesses can adjust their commercial strategies.

Commercial forecasts based on customer behavior

Behavioral analysis of customers allows transitioning from a reactive commercial strategy to a predictive approach, which is more precise and profitable. By leveraging information from various channels, businesses can anticipate purchase intentions or departure risks.

In a unified commerce environment, commercial forecasts must rely on a consolidated view of the customer. This requires centralizing CRM, e-commerce, and POS data into a single commercial management platform. The goal is to detect customer insights. Ultimately, behavioral forecasts enhance the relevance of marketing and commercial decisions.

Tools for better commercial performance

Available resources for teams to analyze performance

Today, businesses have access to a wide array of solutions for collecting and interpreting data from all their sales channels. Business Intelligence platforms, CRM dashboards, e-commerce analytics tools, and inventory management software are all valuable resources for tracking commercial performance KPIs.

These tools allow for visualizing overall commercial performance and segmenting data by POS, channel, or customer type. The best solutions offer functions for clear data visualization through dashboards.

In a unified approach, the value of these tools lies in their ability to interact. A centralized platform, powered by real-time data flows, enables finer management of commercial performance.

Commercial strategies suited to sales channels

In unified commerce, each channel must be integrated into a coherent and personalized strategy. This involves tailoring commercial actions to the specifics of each touchpoint. For example, a store might emphasize assisted sales, whereas e-commerce leverages the speed of the purchase journey.

For this complementarity to work, it is essential to track commercial performance KPIs by channel while relating them to overall indicators. For instance, measuring the online conversion rate isn’t enough if a significant portion of sales concludes in-store after digital browsing. Thus, it becomes relevant to include indicators such as the share of revenue generated through Click & Collect.

Business strategies should also rely on tailored scenarios according to the channel: post-visit email follow-ups, push notifications at POS, dynamic site recommendations.

Unified data form the foundation of these strategies, ensuring real-time synchronization of information from all channels. Additionally, having a shared view of sales and inventory allows for easier commercial management.

Today, businesses that centralize, analyze, and leverage their unified data are equipped to effectively manage their operations while optimizing resources. Unified commerce demands a detailed reading of commercial performance at each touchpoint. With well-chosen KPIs, teams can adjust actions and align their efforts around common goals.

With Openbravo Reporting, businesses have access to a unified dashboard connected to all channels, capable of transforming data into a commercial advantage. Request a demo of our solution!