E-commerce wouldn’t exist without technology, but is it always a good thing to use the next new thing? In the newest episode of The E-commerce Toolbox: Expert Perspectives, host Kailin Noivo sits down with Jonathan Cleaver, Chief Technology Officer at SportsShoes.com. Together, they explore making data-driven decisions, particularly in an age where it is hard to ensure accuracy of data, as well as how CTOs can take a commercially oriented approach to their role.
Making Data-Informed Decisions
In the past 18 months, Jonathan and his team have delivered a new website for SportsShoes.com, distilling the previous website’s data to prioritize the MVP requirements. For this, they analyzed user data to prioritize the features and payment methods actually used in customer transactions.
“I try to analyze that user centric data that becomes even more important because obviously, as you get into a project, you don’t know what you don’t know, and then time soon starts to disappear on you.“ To prevent issues with the roll out, they began by making changes to local sites which required fewer features, starting with the Spanish store.
They also used tools like Hotjar, Amazon CloudWatch, and user surveys to monitor and improve the new site in real time.
Ensuring Data Reliability
Recent privacy laws, including cookie consent laws, and updates to Google Analytics now mean that 30% of site traffic is anonymous, making it harder to ensure data is accurate and reliable.
Jonathan has found that Google Analytics 4 has issues with data sampling, showing inconsistencies with previous data, making year-on-year comparisons difficult. To mitigate this, he instead relies on data from Cloud watch, capturing every event on their website and middleware. This data is monitored and recorded, using important metrics to create alerts and dashboards as part of an ongoing process to maintain data reliability.
“We really believe in capturing every single event that happens on our website. That goes for our middleware. All that is monitored. All that’s recorded and the important things are then put into our dashboards.”
The Importance of Technology
Technology is foundational for e-commerce operations, you cannot have e-commerce without it.
Jonathan admires the ways the industry pushes for competitive advantages, which technology can help with, but also hinder, depending on how it is managed. To balance innovation and durability/stability, Jonathan recommends taking calculated risks with manageable consequences, using monitoring tools to identify and address issues as they arise.
One of his biggest rules is to avoid deploying major updates on Fridays so as to mitigate risks.
KPIs That CTOs Should Track
Jonathan’s main KPI focus is general trading KPIs. These include on-site conversion, checkout funnel conversion, year-on-year revenue, and session data. He also looks at site performance statistics, such as load times, but this is primarily when issues arise.
This approach helps him and his team maintain practical technology strategies, rather than using technology for technology’s sake. It also allows him to engage in discussions with the financial director and other board members to refine sales forecasts, particularly in consideration of how new technologies may impact them.
Listen to the Full Episode Below!
Listen to this episode of The E-commerce Toolbox: Expert Perspectives with Jonathan Cleaver and Kailin Noivo to learn more about a CTO’s role in e-commerce.
👉 Apple: https://apple.co/4d6NRmq
👉 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3LO1fQm
