The cost of missing metrics

D2C eCommerce:
The Cost of
Missing Metrics

Foreword
98% of UK direct-to-consumer
eCommerce retailers are struggling
with fundamental issues
There has never been a better time for brands to go
direct to consumer (D2C). According to IAB’s The Rise
of the 21st Century Brand Economy1
, the future of retail
growth comes from direct consumer relationships.
Today’s customers have come to expect to buy directly
from a brand, no matter what they sell, be it razors,
mattresses, beauty products or contact lenses. Many
legacy brands recognise that they need to evolve their
business to match customer’s changing needs
However, it’s clear from our ‘D2C eCommerce: The Cost
of Missing Metrics’ survey, that many D2C brands are
struggling to capitalise on these opportunities as a
result of poor strategic planning and a failure to apply
key metrics to measure success. We surveyed 100 UK-
based eCommerce decision-makers and discovered that
despite each D2C brand planning to invest nearly £1.2
million on eCommerce projects in 2020 on average, over
half (59%) expect to miss out on key business objectives
if planning isn’t improved.
This is a startlingly high number, but equally
astonishing is the even higher number of respondents
who fail to adopt fundamental measurements that can
make or break the success of an eCommerce platform.
For instance, almost three quarters of respondents don’t
measure abandoned carts (75%), return on investment
(74%) and web page loading times (71%). Yet these are
necessary requirements for any D2C operator.
The survey also revealed that D2C brands anticipate
that they will each waste on average, approximately
£300k on poor eCommerce planning and execution in
the next year. How can it be acceptable for any business
to essentially expect to waste 25% of their eCommerce
project budget?
These findings should provide a stark warning to
senior management. So, what can be done to fix this?
The leadership team must ensure projects are properly
planned, implemented and the correct KPIs measured.
The perfect retail storm is propelling sales away from
traditional bricks-and-mortar stores towards digital
channels and with the right vendors, technologies and
partners to support you, D2C brands will be positioned
to navigate the way into calmer waters.
1. https://www.iab.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/The-
Direct-Brand-Economy-Master-Deck-v17.pdf
Kevin Murray
Managing Director, Greenlight Commerce
Each D2C brand is planning to invest around
£1.2 million on eCommerce projects in 2020.

3
Foreword
Brands need to build new muscle
and focus on D2C strategies to win
In a commerce era where merchants must continually
diversify their selling channels and methodologies to
stay competitive, direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands are
well-positioned to lead the pack. This is the case for a
few reasons, with quality control being chief among
them.
Brands who have gone the D2C route understand that
their most important asset is their customer, and have
opted to take control of the end-to-end journey. With
a seemingly endless number of consumer options to
choose from for the same product, one-to-one customer
relationships (a unique benefit for D2C brands) are
critical for loyalty.
Selling directly to the customer affords brands the
opportunity to understand their customer, forming
a two-way conversation that inevitably boost sales.
According to a Medallia report, over 80 percent of online
shoppers are more loyal to their preferred brands than
they were two years prior. This means that as retail
evolves, so does the customer’s desire to know and trust
who they’re purchasing from.
Customers are also increasingly making purchase
decisions based on the buying experience. As opposed
to selling through wholesalers and retailers who may
deliver unpredictable or inconsistent journeys, D2C
brands have the unique ability to create, iterate, and own
the customer experience.
When acutely attuned to buyer feedback
and equipped to respond with agility, D2C
brands can craft experiences for customers,
developing long lasting relationships and
providing the impetus for building new
ones.”
While many merchants may have an advantage over
brands who do not sell products directly to consumers
through their digital channels, it is the brands who
prioritise the importance of telling a clear story around
their products, their heritage and the way in which these
products benefit consumers. Brands do need to build
that new muscle however and focus on D2C strategies
and develop the skills around digital trading, data
analysis and data driven decision making as well as
the operational capabilities to support selling direct to
consumers in the digital age.
Forty percent of consumers say that in the next five
years, nearly half of their spending will go to D2C
brands. For the brands willing to institute the necessary
rigor, investment and action, opportunity awaits.
1. https://go.medallia.com/rs/669-VLQ-276/images/
Medallia_Ipsos_The_Customer_Experience_Tipping_
Point.pdf
2. https://www.channeladvisor.co.uk/blog/brands/
manufacturers-marketplaces-direct/
Mark Adams
VP & General Manager, Europe, BigCommerce

That sinking feeling
We recently carried out extensive research among
Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) eCommerce retailers to
sound out how well companies in this space are doing.
Along with our partner BigCommerce, the leading
open SaaS ecommerce platform for fast-growing and
established brands, 100 UK-based eCommerce decision
makers were quizzed on the success of their platforms.
The survey covered their experience in 2019 and also
their expectations for 2020.
D2C eCommerce: The Cost of Missing Metrics
D2C retailers face these challenges:
42%
41%
34%
on customer retention
on finding the right technology and partners
on eCommerce

5
Down the pan
In 2019, D2C retailers said they wasted approximately
£174k per company on failed eCommerce projects.
However, rather than put this right by sharpening focus
on more astute planning and execution D2C retailers
said these losses are likely to climb in 2020. Lessons are
clearly not being learned, they expect to waste £146k on
poor planning and £158k on poor execution, a total of
£304K on average, a 72% increase over 2019.
Across the board
Wasted budget isn’t confined to a few D2C operators,
rather it’s a symptom of deeper ills. 68% of retailers said
they experienced a failed eCommerce project in 2019,
47% of decision-makers believe their organisation is
behind the competition and a whopping 98% said they
face eCommerce challenges. At some level challenges
are to be expected, but given that the early buds of
eCommerce, as we know it today, began to bloom some
twenty years ago there are clearly some fundamental
tenets that haven’t yet been grasped.
Failure to measure KPIs
Measurement can mean the difference between success
and failure. If you measure operations, then it starts to
become clear where improvements need to be made. Yet
a startlingly high proportion of all organisations we
spoke to are failing to introduce the most basic of KPIs.
For example, our study finds that many key metrics are
being neglected; three quarters of respondents (75%) are
failing to measure abandoned carts, the majority (74%)
are not measuring the return on investment of a project,
and 71% do not measure page loading times.
Stopping the Rot
It is a relief of sorts to discover that D2C retailers at least
have insight into where they are falling down and the
challenges they are facing. You can’t fix a problem until
you have identified the root causes. The main challenges
cited are customer retention (42%), finding the right
technology and partners (41%) and the customer
experience (34%). These are all eminently solvable.
D2C retailers expect a 72% increase in wasting
£ on failed eCommerce projects: £146k on poor
planning and £158k on poor execution.
Are you tracking these key metrics?
• Abandoned carts
• ROI on projects
• Page loading times

Discussion
Planning for failure in any area of business is not an
option. So why are so many D2C retailers seemingly
doing so? The survey respondents were admirably
honest when saying they wasted budgets and lost money
during 2019. However, in the normal course of events
you’d think this would be put right. Apparently not.
Alarmingly, our respondents said they expect even
higher losses during 2020. A very startling picture has
emerged about the state of D2C retail eCommerce in the
UK.
The D2C eCommerce market grows year-on-year
presenting ever more opportunities. However, if the
trends we have identified continue there might not
be many UK-based D2C retailers equipped to take full
advantage of them.
This may appear rather bleak, but it’s simply the logical
outcome should this trend continue. So, what needs to
change?
Better planning is one area, and this is identified by
almost half (49%) of our survey sample. A further
46% said better budget management was the key
to improving success and 42% highlighted better
communication between departments. Clearly given
the losses experienced in 2019, and anticipated in
2020, better budget management is critical, but poor
communication suggests that good planning is an
afterthought rather than forethought.
Even more concerning is the lack of project management
that was associated with eCommerce projects in 2019. As
we have seen technologies emerge at rapid speed over
the past few years, the impacts of this upon the success
of eCommerce projects is increasing. It was identified by
over half of respondents (51%), that the failure of their
eCommerce projects was a result of the projects being
rushed. Other problems include budget and costs (68%),
and a lack of flexibility to adapt to change (42%).
49% responded better
planning is needed.

7
While some metrics are being put in place by
the UK D2C retail industry – such as revenue
(65%), customer retention (59%) and website
traffic (54%) - this is not enough and does
not relate back to business objectives.
But it is also clear that many D2C retailers have failed to
grasp the fundamental importance of eCommerce KPIs,
which we suspect also relates to wasted budgets and
poor planning. While some metrics are being put in place
by the UK D2C retail industry – such as revenue (65%),
customer retention (59%) and website traffic (54%) -
this is not enough and does not relate back to business
objectives.
When you’re building a house, the first step is to ensure
that the foundations are in place that will support the
building. Failing to do so, means that once the house is
built, time, effort and money will be spent on shoring up
the unstable structure. And this isn’t a one-off situation;
it requires constant monitoring, patching and repairing.
Many D2C retailers find themselves in a similar
situation when it comes to their eCommerce operations.
The fundamental architecture is flawed. This is evident
in the lack of basic KPIs such as the time it takes to load
a page. Internet time is unique to the online world; it has
no parallel in the physical. People click and expect to see
a page within seconds. Any longer than this and they say
to themselves ‘forget it’ and go elsewhere - most likely
to a rival platform.
If even the most basic of KPIs are missing, and a near
fully rounded 75% said they were, then what hope is
there? Given this, it’s also likely that other fundamental
components have not been nailed down either.
While many of today’s successful eCommerce platforms
have deployed the latest and greatest technologies,
such as gathering and tracking data and feeding it
through slicing and dicing analysis, they started by
building a solid foundation. Once this was established,
other technologies, such as predictive shopping and
personalisation, were successfully layered on top.
Despite giants taking up huge shares of the market, the
potential of D2C eCommerce is still enormous, but if
retail operations want to carve out and grow their own
share, and ensure they continue to thrive rather than
slide, then the bedrock must be unshakeable.
Almost 75% of survey responders said they
were missing basic KPIs.

What’s the answer?
It’s easy to blame someone else for your misfortunes,
and this is the same with failed eCommerce projects.
It’s certainly a simple option for stuttering D2C
retail eCommerce operations. But in this context, it’s
misplaced.
By definition D2C eCommerce is complex. So many
threads need to be woven into one. Suppliers and supply
chain management, warehouse operations, shipping and
returns, marketing and loyalty programmes and high
street and offline sales are just some of the business
factors.
Folding these into digital back and front office
operations, requires careful thought and planning. In
terms of the platform, large blocks of data storage for
inventory management is essential, bandwidth that
scales up and down according to demand is critical and
even the provisioning of ‘social’ tools to garner user
feedback is a need rather than a desire.
Dovetailing the technical and the business and then
introducing analytics, tracking customer spend and
personalised recommendations into a cohesive whole is
clearly the end goal. But how do you get there?
The senior management team within an organisation
must step up and take control to drive planning, and
implementation. And critically they must ensure that
effective measurement is in place. When this word
comes down from high, it carries weight and authority,
is noted and acted on.
This needs to be followed with a nailed down business
plan that has hard metrics at its heart, metrics that
provide benchmarks and objectives to work towards.
Naturally, all stakeholders must be on board, including
high street stores, who agree to work together.
Importantly, if external expertise is required, it must be
brought in unhesitatingly to ensure everybody is pulling
in the same direction, budget isn’t wasted and the holy
grail of customer retention and loyalty is achieved.
This needs to be followed with a nailed
down business plan that has hard metrics at
its heart, metrics that provide benchmarks
and objectives to work towards.

9
Dovetailing the technical and the business
and then introducing analytics, tracking
customer spend and personalised
recommendations into a cohesive whole is
clearly the end goal.

10
Risk can be minimised if a measured and due diligent approach is taken.
The Greenlight Code is a measurement-based set of core principles that combine our
technical and business expertise with a focus on growth and success. It’s an approach we’ve
used successfully across a wide range of eCommerce projects for some of the world’s leading
brands. At its core is a focus on measurement – which is how we maximise results, and
minimise risk, on your eCommerce projects.
the greenlight code
STOP.
THINK.
SIMPLIFY.
COLLABORATE.
CHALLENGE.
DO DETAIL.
SET METRICS.
BE OPEN.
GREEN LIGHT.
EVALUATE.
STAY THE DISTANCE.
Take the time to honestly understand what you want to achieve.
Consider what you want the outcome to be.
Create what you need, not what you want. Don’t hide behind jargon.
Bring together the relevant people, data and technology.
Ask the difficult questions. Don’t take assumptions at face value.
It’s usually the difference between project success and failure.
Agree then measure what matters. It shows where real value is added.
We are. We need you to be too.
Be brave. Go when it’s good enough – don’t wait until it’s perfect.
Make sure you have achieved what you needed. And that it’s making a difference.
Even after project launch. We stay the distance to support.

11
ABOUT GREENLIGHT COMMERCE:
Greenlight is a multiple award-winning digital and commerce agency that designs,
builds, consults, trains and implements transformational strategies across: paid search &
Shopping, programmatic display, SEO, content marketing, digital PR, creative, site design
& build, analytics, eCommerce systems integration, conversion rate optimisation, user
experience, affiliate marketing, and data & audience insights. With the consistent objective
of achieving dramatic growth for its clients, Greenlight delivers innovative work for brands
such as ghd, Dixons Carphone, Superdry, Furniture Village, and eBay in over 30 countries.
ABOUT BIGCOMMERCE:
BigCommerce is the world’s leading open SaaS ecommerce platform for established and
rapidly-growing businesses. Combining enterprise functionality, an open architecture
and app ecosystem, and market-leading performance, BigCommerce enables businesses
to grow online sales with 80% less cost, time and complexity than on-premise software.
BigCommerce powers B2B and B2C ecommerce for more than 60,000 stores, 2,000+ mid-
market businesses, 30 Fortune 1000 companies and industry-leading brands, including
Assurant, Ben & Jerry’s, Skullcandy, Sony and Toyota. For more information, visit www.
bigcommerce.com.

www.greenlightcommerce.com
The Varnish Works, 3 Bravingtons Walk,
King’s Cross, London N1 9AJ
+44 20 3326 1900
@GLCommerceLtd
www.bigcommerce.com
1 - 2 Paris Garden, Southwark
London, SE1 8ND
@BigCommerce

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