Top 12 Customer Experience Metrics and KPIs

Customers nowadays don’t just buy products, they buy experiences. According to HubSpot research, 93% of customers are inclined to make repeat purchases from businesses offering exceptional customer services. This is why understanding the factors that impact your business performance requires careful attention to customer experience metrics. Simply put, these metrics aggregate all customer interactions, perceptions, and emotions, from initial contact to post-purchase engagement with your brand.  

While creating a positive customer experience is essential, measuring its effectiveness can be messy. This is where customer experience KPIs step in. These Key Performance Indicators act as quantifiable gauges on your eCommerce store. This enables you to unlock every insight into customer interaction and loyalty through return rates, purchase frequency, and many more.  

Measuring Customer Experience Metrics and KPIs in Ecommerce 

Imagine browsing an online dress store where every reaction feels tailor-made for you. Recommendations and follow-up suggestions seemed to read your mind, creating a completely personalized shopping experience. This is what an overall user-friendly customer experience entails. The Economic Times claims that India’s online consumer base is expected to hit 500-600 million by 2030. This surge will position the eCommerce sector as the world’s second-largest digital market. Hence, metrics for measuring customer experience are vital for any thriving eCommerce business.  

These customer experience metrics and Key Performance Indicators assess the effectiveness of initiatives designed by businesses to enhance customer journeys. Businesses are now harnessing AI technology to get a comprehensive understanding of these data-driven metrics including any hidden pattern. This further facilitates the optimization of the overall product experience, from browsing to order delivery, by identifying areas for improvement.  

We have curated 12 essential customer experience KPIs to track in your eCommerce store.  

Top 12 Customer Experience Metrics and KPIs in eCommerce 

1. Conversion rates (CVR)

Conversion rate measures how many visitors in your website make a purchase as compared to those who simply access. It is a top metric for determining customer experience score emphasizing how well you convert website visitors into paying customers. Your conversion rate should rise over time or remain stable because it is critical to your sales funnel. You should check your conversion rates daily to evaluate the effectiveness of your website. 

2. Average Order Value (AOV) 

The average order value is estimated by the average amount your customers are typically spending on a single purchase. A high AOV shows that customers are more interested in expensive items or adding extras to their carts. Conversely, a lower AOV helps to identify a budget-conscious audience. This enables you to adjust pricing to refine your customers’ purchasing habits and set realistic goals to attract new customers. This also increases your total revenue. 

3. Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC) 

Your CAC represents how much you spend, on average, to bring in a new customer. This covers all the expenses you incur to generate interest and ultimately convert someone into paying a customer. It enables you to optimize your marketing budget and focus on strategies that deliver the highest ROI. Also, this allows you to determine how many new customers you should acquire to achieve your revenue targets. Hence, you should measure this metric regularly. 

4. Customer Engagement 

A customer’s engagement with your website is determined by the content quality that grabs their attention and encourages interaction. This includes actions like commenting, liking, and sharing. It also covers metrics such as time spent on the website and views. For instance, when you announce your new product on Facebook, the post gets likes, comments, and shares. Besides, many users might also visit the website to learn more. Each interaction counts as engagement. 

5. Net Promoter Score (NPS) 

NPS is a powerful customer experience KPI that covers overall customer satisfaction and loyalty. It is evaluated through a question asked at checkout: “How likely are you to recommend us to a friend or family member on a scale of 1-10?” This simple question provides valuable insights into customer sentiment. High ratings (9-10) typically indicate strong customer satisfaction, while low ratings (6 or below) suggest potential dissatisfaction. This metric taps into customer advocacy.  

6. Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV) 

CLTV is the total income expected from a customer over their relationship with a brand. By understanding this metric, you can set a clear budget for customer acquisition and avoid unnecessary costs spent on marketing. It ensures you target the right customer segment who generates enough revenue to be profitable in the long term. You can also identify which high-value products contribute to your bottom line and accordingly target customers to increase sales. 

7. Repeat Customer Rate 

The repeat customer rate refers to the number of customers who have purchased more than once from your store. If your customer acquisition spending surpasses expectations, you should invest in expanding your customer base further. Conversely, if spending falls short, focus on running retargeting ads to encourage past customers to return. Repeat purchases imply better customer satisfaction. However, if you are struggling to bring customers back, it’s good to check your overall customer experience score for improvements.  

8. Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) 

CSAT explains how happy your customers are with your product or service. You can measure this right after someone buys something, during website browsing, or conduct monthly check-ins to gather feedback. CSAT is measured using a customer satisfaction survey asking, “How satisfied are you with our service?” Customers can rate their overall satisfaction on a 5-point scale or simply answer “yes” or “no”. It is a vital metric to understand the overall customer experience with your brand.  

9. Customer Effort Score (CES) 

CES evaluates how easy it was for your customers to get things done, like buying a product or resolving issues. Like CSAT, CES is obtained by asking customers questions like, “how easy it was for you to find the product?” Such questions are asked after they complete an action like purchasing a product or using a service. It is typically rated on a 5-point scale, ranging from “very easy” to “very difficult.” 

10. Customer Churn and Retention Rates 

Beyond surveys, customer behavior metrics reveal their satisfaction. The Churn rate is calculated by the percentage who stop using your service and this indicates potential dissatisfaction. On the other hand, the retention rate describes how many customers stick around, reflecting loyalty and satisfaction. Every business should focus on reducing churn rates and boosting retention levels. Retention is more crucial than acquisition, as loyal customers are likely to try new products and recommend you to others.  

11. Abandoned Cart Recovery Rate 

To quantify recovery effectiveness, you can divide recovered carts by total abandoned carts during a given timeframe. In simple words, it shows how well you convert people who abandoned their carts into paying customers. Cart abandonment is common in ecommerce, but rates between 95% and 100% pose a red alert. The reasons could be a lengthy checkout or a slow website. By identifying these possible bottlenecks, you can improve the user experience and reduce cart abandonment.

Also read: Top reasons for shopping cart abandonment 

12. Return on Advertising Spend (ROAS) 

ROAS tracks advertising revenue generated for each dollar spent. Although it doesn’t directly measure customer experience. However, it can be a useful indicator that shows how well your ads and buying journey work together. Slow-loading pages or a difficult checkout might frustrate customers, causing them to abandon their carts, resulting in lower ROAS. Conversely, a smooth user experience across all touchpoints satisfies customers and boosts conversions. This will give you a better return on your ad investment.  

Ecommerce Metrics: How Often is Too Often (and When’s Not Enough)? 

Checking eCommerce metrics is a strategic decision based on your business size and the realistic goals you have set. However, we have some basic guidelines which can help.  

• Daily 

Tracking your core metrics daily such as sales, traffic, marketing campaigns, etc., can help you identify issues and missed opportunities. You might observe fluctuations in sales due to seasonal trends or identify the impact of promotional offers on conversion rates. 

• Weekly 

During weekly reviews, you can analyze short-term or seasonal trends and your recent efforts on marketing for increasing engagement. Declines in metrics like time on site or page views may indicate the need to revamp user experience or content. 

• Monthly 

Analyzing e-commerce metrics like revenue growth, CLV, and ROAS helps you understand business sustainability and overall performance. For instance, monitoring sales strategy and revenue growth provides insights into whether your business is growing, stagnant, or declining.  

Bottom Line 

In today’s rapidly changing digital world, customer expectations are skyrocketing, making it imperative to track customer experience KPIs. Minor issues like slow-loading pages, unclear descriptions, or difficult checkout can cause cart abandonment and lost sales to competitors. Analyzing e-commerce metrics like CAC, CSAT, and NPS, tailored to your business needs, provides valuable insights for growth and improvement. This enables you to track sales, forecast demands, manage inventory and more. Ultimately, these metrics empower data-driven decisions, acting as a compass to understand customer sentiments and deliver high-quality services.  

Are your eCommerce metrics on the right track for success? Talk to our experts today to optimize your eCommerce growth with data-driven strategies.  

Get a free consultation today! 

FAQs 

1. How to measure customer success

Customer success is measured by a blend of tried-and-true metrics like Customer Satisfaction Score, Net Promoter Score churn rates, etc. However, evaluation of customer success goes beyond these established metrics. Analyzing customer feedback and engagement levels through click-through rates, conversions, etc., provides a comprehensive picture of their overall experience. By monitoring these data-driven metrics, you can gauge the effectiveness of your customer success initiatives and identify areas for improvement.  

2. What are the customer experience metrics? 

Customer experience metrics are a collection of quantitative and qualitative data points that evaluate how customers interact with your business. These metrics provide meaningful insights into customers’ engagement, retention, loyalty, and the overall user experience. These metrics also guide businesses in understanding how well they fulfill customer expectations and detect areas for optimization. CSAT, NPS, CES, churn rate, retention rate, etc., are some of the crucial customer experience metrics businesses need to track.   

3. What are the KPIs for customer experience?

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for customer experience are quantifiable metrics used to measure the success of your customer support initiatives. KPIs serve as a guiding compass for businesses, directing them toward achieving a fully customer-centric approach. These metrics are anecdotes of customer journeys describing interactions, loyalty, engagement, retention, etc. Monitoring customer experience KPIs like NPS and churn rates helps businesses identify their workflow gaps. This enables them to make data-driven decisions, optimizing customer experience for business success.