Integrating powerful analytics on Shopify and Magento stores

Every click and interaction on your Shopify or Magento store is vital to forming a robust marketing strategy. But, the absence of site analytics can pose significant challenges for business owners. Without insightful data, entrepreneurs will have limited visibility into customer behaviors, emerging trends, and crucial performance metrics.

For this reason, integrating robust analytics into your Shopify and Magento store is not just an option but a necessity to thrive in today's data-driven landscape. This article serves as your go-to resource for navigating the expansive landscape of data analytics in the eCommerce domain.

Read on to delve into the intricacies of adding powerful analytics to Shopify and Magento eCommerce sites, empowering store owners to gather actionable insights, enhance decision-making, and ultimately propel their online ventures to new heights.

Utilize integrated analytics features

Both Shopify and Magento offer robust built-in analytics capabilities to empower businesses with valuable insights into their eCommerce operations. This, in turn, helps businesses in the strategic optimization of their online stores.

●     Shopify’s native analytics features

Shopify Analytics is a robust suite of tools and features. It is designed to gain valuable insights into the performance of online stores. Below are the functionalities that a Shopify store owner can utilize to gain real-time insights into sales, website traffic, and customer behavior.

○      Sales reports: This feature provides a deeper understanding of product popularity that will be helpful for effective inventory management and marketing strategies. It lets merchants analyze sales performance over time, understand product popularity, and identify sales trends.

Here are the steps to access this feature:

■      Login to your Shopify admin dashboard

■      Navigate to the ‘Analytics’ section

■      Click on "Reports" and select "Sales"

○      Customer behavior tracking: Shopify's analytics provide data on customer behavior, including pages visited, time spent on the site, and popular products viewed. This insight helps tailor the user experience, optimize navigation, and implement targeted marketing efforts.

To utilize this feature:

■      Access the "Online Store" section in your admin panel

■      Click on "Analytics" and explore "Behavior Reports"

○      Inventory insights: This feature provides data on stock levels, product damages, and restocking requirements. It ensures businesses stay ahead of demand, minimize stockouts, and maintain a healthy balance between supply and demand.

Below are the steps to take inventory insights of your Magento store:

■      Navigate to the "Products" section in your admin dashboard

■      Click on "Inventory"

●     Magento’s inherent analytical tools

Magento takes analytics to the next level with advanced analytics features. Businesses can leverage these tools to make informed decisions, optimize inventory, and enhance the overall efficiency of their Magento-powered store.

○      Performance monitoring - It provides a detailed overview of the platform's operational efficiency. This involves insights into website speed, server response times, and overall system performance.

Here are the steps to access this feature:

■      Log in to your Magento admin panel

■      Navigate to "Reports" and select "Products," "Customers," or "Sales"

○      Conversion tracking - It lets merchants gain insights into customers’ journeys from initial site visits to completed purchases. This helps identify potential bottlenecks and enhance the overall conversion rate. You can utilize it as follows:

■      Go to the "Reports" section in the admin panel

■      Select "Marketing" and then "Conversions"

○      Customer segmentation - This feature allows businesses to categorize their customer base based on various criteria such as purchase history, demographics, and preferences. It empowers targeted marketing efforts and personalized promotions.

To create and use customer segments:

■      Access the "Customers" section in your admin dashboard

■      Click on "Segments"

Use third-party analytics tools

Businesses seeking a competitive edge can also utilize third-party analytics tools. These are specifically designed to provide detailed insights and data analysis. However, harnessing the full potential of such tools requires proficiency in operating them. If you find yourself lacking such expertise, we advise you to hire eCommerce developers with relevant skills.

Let’s explore popular analytics tools with setup processes for integrating them seamlessly into Shopify and Magento platforms.

●     Google Analytics

Google Analytics provides detailed statistics and analytical tools for website and app owners. It allows users to track and analyze various aspects of their online presence.

The key functionalities of Google Analytics are website traffic analysis, user behavior tracking, conversion tracking, real-time analytics, and many more.

Integrating Google Analytics with your Shopify or Magento store can open up a wealth of capabilities like understanding user behavior and audience demographics. This will help in making data-driven decisions for effective marketing strategies.

How to integrate?

Let’s see the required steps to integrate Google Analytics into your Shopify or Magento store, along with the prerequisites for it.

Prerequisites

●      Ensure you have an active Google account to access Google Analytics

●      Verify ownership of your Shopify or Magento website through the Google Search Console

Shopify setup

●      Log in to your Shopify admin panel

●      Click on "Online Store" in the left-hand menu

●      Select "Preferences" and find the “Google Analytics” section

●      Copy and paste your “Google Analytics Tracking ID” into the provided field

Magento setup

●      Access the Magento admin panel and go to Stores > Configuration > Sales > Google API

●      Toggle the "Enable" option and input your Google Analytics Account Number

●      Click "Save Config" to activate the integration

●     Segment Analytic

It enables businesses to gather information from various sources and consolidate it into a unified view. This data can be further transferred to different tools and destinations for analysis, marketing, and other purposes. The primary goal of Segment Analytics is to simplify the process of handling customer data, making it more accessible and actionable for businesses.

How to integrate?

Integration of Segment Analytics is streamlined through its easy-to-use interface. Nevertheless, it might be time-consuming, particularly for Shopify, where the process is long. It requires visiting the Shopify app store for app installation and then connecting it with the Segment account via API.

Furthermore, the process encompasses data verification and transmission to marketing tools. In case, you have time constraints, we advise you to enlist the Shopify development services of experienced developers to handle the integration.

Let’s now look at the steps to setting up Segment Analytics in your Shopify and Magento stores.

Shopify setup

1.    Create a Segment account

●      Visit the Segment website and sign up for an account

●      Once registered, you'll get an API key and a write key, which you'll use to connect your Shopify store with Segment

2.    Install the Littledata app

●      Go to the Shopify App Store, search for "Littleata" and install it

●      Grant Littledata access to your Shopify data

3.    Configure Littledata settings

●      In the Littledata app, connect your Segment account by entering your API key

●      Choose the data you want to track, including page views, add-to-carts, purchases, and more

●      Configure custom events for specific actions in your store

4.    Test integration

●      Conduct test transactions and actions on your Shopify store to ensure that data is being captured correctly

●      Verify the data in your Segment dashboard

5.    Connect segment to your marketing tools

●      Integrate Segment with your favorite marketing tools like Mailchimp, Google Analytics, and more

Magento setup

Integrating Segment Analytics to Magento may involve technical complexities, and thus, if you face any challenges in integration, consider engaging with the Magento development services of an experienced developer. It allows you to focus on your core business activities while relying on experts for the technical aspects of the integration.

1.    Sign up for Segment

●      Like, sign up for a Segment account to obtain your API key and write key.

2.    Install the Segment extension for Magento

●      Go to the Magento Marketplace and search for the "Segment" extension

●      Purchase and install the extension for your Magento version

3.    Configure the Segment settings

●      In the Magento admin panel, navigate to "Stores" > "Configuration" > "Segment"

●      Enter your Segment API key and choose the data you want to track

4.    Verify integration

●      Test the integration by navigating through your Magento store and triggering the events you've configured

●      Check the Segment dashboard to see the data from your Magento store

5.    Set up destinations

●      Like Shopify, connect Segment to your preferred marketing platforms (like Google Analytics, Facebook Ads, etc.) from the "Destinations" section

In addition to the aforementioned analytical tools, you can leverage various other options like Metrilo, Wooper, Polymer, Heap, Cake, etc.

Custom solution integration

Another method to integrate analytics into Shopify or Magento stores is crafting tailored analytics solutions. Businesses can incorporate these solutions into their online stores by introducing them as distinct modules to their store’s admin dashboard.

These tailored solutions typically consist of specialized tracking mechanisms, data visualization tools, and performance metrics. It ensures that the analytics infrastructure remains relevant and effective in addressing the evolving needs of the business.

However, developing custom analytics solutions can be complex, and demands expertise in analytics, software development, and integration with eCommerce platforms. For a business owner who lacks the proper resources to implement them, a practical solution is to hire eCommerce developers. These professionals can ensure a streamlined and efficient development process.

Bottom line

Making your Shopify and Magento stores armed with analytical capabilities ultimately enhances the overall potential of such eCommerce platforms. It enables businesses to gain valuable insights into customer behaviors, optimize marketing strategies, and make informed decisions to drive growth. It is a valuable contribution to the long-term success of the eCommerce venture.

However, to achieve outstanding outcomes with the analytical tools mentioned above, one must be proficient in operating them. Therefore, to unlock its full potential, it is imperative to hire eCommerce developers who can adeptly navigate and leverage these tools for optimal performance.

Author Bio : Nathan Smith is an experienced web and app developer, currently working with TechnoScore- a leading eCommerce development company. As a technology enthusiast, he is passionate about sharing his web and application development knowledge through his articles. Nathan keeps himself up-to-date with all the latest trends, innovations, and disruptions happening in and around the IT industry. He is also keen on sharing his ideas and understanding of the innovations in the IT domain with individuals and entrepreneurs interested in the trade.