In the newest episode of The E-commerce Toolbox: Expert Perspectives, host Kailin Noivo is joined by Tony Trew, Vice President of Marketing and E-commerce at Bouclair. Together, they explore COVID-19’s effect on the home decor industry and e-commerce KPIs, as well as how Bouclair tracks certain metrics to ensure customers have the best omnichannel experience.
COVID-19’s Impact on the Home Decor Industry
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers in the home decor space typically made large purchases, such as sofas or beds, every once in a while. The pandemic brought with it a shift to online shopping, as people were sent home. This positively affected sales in the space, as people wanted nicer spaces to spend their time in, especially given the proliferation of remote meetings.
“Home decor was affected in a very positive way during [COVID] in that people working from home suddenly realized that they’re going to be there for a while, and they might as well make their space as beautiful as possible, especially having a window into everybody else’s home a few times a day as you go into these meetings.”
This increase in demand, however, caused supply chain issues, with many companies struggling to meet their consumers’ wants and needs. Post-COVID, the demand has decreased once again, so companies are having to shift their marketing strategies to attract more customers.
The Evolution of Omnichannel E-commerce KPIs
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, VPs of E-commerce focused their KPIs around driving traffic volume. However, as consumers were forced online, they became more tech-savvy, and thus more discerning, and now the focus has shifted to increasing conversion rates.
At Bouclair, the focus is on top-of-funnel acquisition marketing, specifically new user acquisition and brand expansion beyond Quebec. To monitor this, they are measuring net new users, geographic diversity, time spent, bounce rates and user engagement, gender ratios, and how in-store conversion rates are influenced by online visitors.
Tony is skeptical about over-relying on Return on Ad Spend and traditional attribution models, instead emphasizing the importance of selecting varied KPIs to get a comprehensive understanding of the true picture of your organization.
Metrics to Track for your Omnichannel Strategy
Omnichannel businesses simply cannot use the same KPIs as purely e-commerce or brick and mortar brands, especially in areas that lack physical stores.
For Bouclair’s customer base, preferences have shifted across the past few years from in-store pickup to home delivery, which the company has been monitoring to ensure their flexible shipping options remain wanted by customers.
They further track e-commerce sales by geographic location to gain insights into where it may be beneficial to open new stores, as well as offering customized shipping solutions based on geographic data and customer demand.
Each week, Tony reviews geodata and conversion rates to ensure the best shipping options are available in each location that customers reside in.
Listen to the Full Episode Below!
Listen to this episode of The E-commerce Toolbox: Expert Perspectives with Tony Trew and Kailin Noivo to learn more about the past, present, and future of e-commerce in the home decor space.
👉 Apple: https://bit.ly/3zWRxZf
👉 Spotify: https://bit.ly/3ydENg9
