Custom Reporting is exactly what it sounds like - reports that are custom built. They are needed so businesses can collect, order and analyse data in a way that is useful and relevant to them based on what is available within their specific working environment. Standard or off-the-shelf reports on the other hand, offer generic reports with templates and metrics that are usually designed to appeal to the masses without consideration for specific nuances, limitations or requirements within any one individual company. For businesses in the ecommerce industry, custom reports are widely used due to the vast amounts of data they generate, the different channels from which the data comes and the varying formats in which it is received.
Whilst custom reports are all of course different (they're custom after all!), they tend to include some or all of the following components -
A report is only as good as the data that underpins it. Ecommerce organisations tend to have many different data streams from many different sources so pulling it altogether into something coherent can be a complex and drawn out process. Conversion rates, campaign success, customer demographics and trends are all important pieces of data for ecommerce organisations as is inventory, delivery and support performance. Custom reporting allows businesses to gather all of this data - regardless of where it comes from and the format it is in - and structure it in a way whereby it can be used to provide comprehensive and complete insights.
Once the data itself has been collected and organised consistently, businesses can then look to utilise intelligent reporting tools to transform it into something meaningful. Platforms like Power BI and Tableau are strong contenders in this space, providing businesses with powerful reporting capabilities. They allow companies to generate reports from raw data, turning complex information into clear, relevant and structured insights. Reporting tools are useful for showing detailed data over a specific time period - often in the form of graphs and charts.
Similar to - but not the same as - reporting tools, dashboards are generally used to give a high level snapshot in time of key performance metrics. They also have a strong focus on data visualisation through the use of graphs and charts and allow users to use advanced filters to segment and drill down into data. Dashboards are meant to be understandable by all.
Creating custom reports for bespoke ecommerce websites and platforms is not just about pulling data into a spreadsheet. It requires careful planning, the right expertise and a clear understanding of the business's needs.
Here’s how the process typically unfolds -
Before diving into data, it's crucial to identify what the reports actually need to achieve. Is the business tracking customer buying habits? Monitoring stock levels? Evaluating marketing campaign success? Understanding these goals ensures the reports are relevant and actionable rather than just a collection of random numbers.
Ecommerce businesses generate data from multiple sources – website analytics, CRM systems, inventory management, payment gateways etc. Identifying and integrating all of these sources ensures that reports are accurate, complete and provide a holistic view of business performance.
Raw data can be incredibly messy – duplicates, inconsistencies and missing fields can create all sorts of issues. Before generating reports, data must be cleaned, standardised and structured properly to ensure it is reliable. This step often involves data validation rules, automated cleaning scripts and database optimisation.
Different businesses have different needs when it comes to reporting. Some might benefit from interactive dashboards using tools like Power BI or Tableau whilst others might require automated report generation for financial summaries or inventory tracking. Selecting the right tools ensures that reports are both functional and useful for their audience.
A report is only useful if it’s easy to interpret. Using clear tables, charts, graphs and heatmaps helps users spot trends and anomalies quickly rather than having to spend hours trawling through masses of data. A thoughtful design ensures reports are not just data heavy but also highlight important insights, helping decision makers act faster.
Manually compiling reports is time consuming, prone to errors and frankly - unnecessary. Automating report generation using scheduled data extractions, APIs or real time dashboards ensures businesses have up to date insights without the manual effort.
Not all team members may need access to all reports and sensitive financial data, customer details and business performance metrics can be restricted based on roles where relevant. Implementing secure access ensures compliance with data protection laws and prevents unauthorised access.
You get the picture. Once reports are built, they must be tested for accuracy, usability and performance. Are the numbers correct? Do the reports load quickly? Are they easy to understand? Gathering feedback and making adjustments ensures the reports provide genuine value rather than just looking impressive. This step should be taken each time a new report is built or a current report is amended.
At the end of this process, businesses should have detailed reports that are not just surface level metrics and but provide real, useful and up to date insights.
A well designed bespoke ecommerce report:
With the right approach, custom reporting can become an invaluable tool for ecommerce businesses, helping them make informed decisions, improve efficiency and ultimately drive growth.
Unfortunately for us all, a well structured reporting system doesn’t just build itself. Having a team of skilled developers, data analysts and business strategists is critical and ensures that reports are accurate, insightful and fully aligned with business requirements. Whether it’s custom data integrations, advanced analytics or predictive modelling, a knowledgeable and experienced team can transform raw numbers into meaningful business intelligence.
Custom reporting is not only useful for the ecommerce business itself, it is also useful for the prospects and customers who use the online store. Reports can shape and improve the shopping experience tenfold and allow businesses to provide their customers with the following -
Personalised Shopping
Custom reports give businesses a way to analyse customer behaviour - browsing patterns to order history and preferences - this is all useful data and with it, companies can:
Better Customer Support
Who doesn't yearn for better customer support these days? Through the use of custom reports, support teams can access real time data which allows them to:
Smarter Inventory Management
How frustrating it is when you find the product you've spent a lifetime looking for - the holy grail - only to be hit with the 'out of stock' screen. All is not lost however as custom reports on inventory trends can:
A Smoother Checkout Process
Understanding why people aren't buying does not stop at product analysis. The dreaded abandoned cart issue is a big one for ecommerce and is often because the checkout process is a trial in and of itself. Custom reporting on checkout statistics can:
Improved Delivery Experience
Customers expect fast, reliable shipping and clear updates on their orders and with the amount of competition out there, repeat custom can be dependent on it. Custom reports can help by:
With well structured custom reports, ecommerce businesses can ditch the guesswork and make the right decisions that genuinely improve customer satisfaction and subsequently retention rates.
Marketing campaigns are usually a huge deal for ecommerce companies and the data that drives these campaigns can be the difference between success and failure. Custom reports provide detailed consumer insights, everything from preferences and behaviours to the point at which they abandon their baskets. This information can be used to ensure marketing campaigns hit the right audience, in the right way every time.
Email Campaign Performance – A custom report can be developed that allows businesses to analyse open rates, click through rates and conversion rates which in turn, allows them to refine subject lines, content and send times for better engagement.
Social Media Engagement – Through custom reports, engagement trends across platforms can be tracked which can highlight the best types of content and post logistics (post times for examples) that drive the highest engagement
Ad Campaign Effectiveness – Ad campaigns and subsequently their ROI (linking ad spend to actual sales) is another possibility custom reporting can provide, allowing businesses to reallocate budgets to the best performing channels and highlight those that need to be improved.
Customer Segmentation – Custom reports can be used to segment prospects and existing customers based on their behaviour, demographics and purchase history. This allows for more intelligent and personalised marketing.
Cannel Attribution – Through the use of custom reporting, businesses are able to understand which channels (ecommerce website, affiliate links, Social Media etc) contribute the most conversions. This in turn, ensures marketing efforts can be focused on the most effective channels.
Whilst custom reporting is a fantastic tool, especially for ecommerce businesses where data is so crucial - it does come with it's own set of challenges. Let's take a look at some of them as well as ways to overcome them.
The Challenge - Ecommerce platforms generate huge amounts of data which can make it difficult, particularly for companies with limited resource, to filter out what’s relevant.
The Solution - Businesses can define relevant key performance indicators (KPIs) that directly relate to their goals which can help ensure the focus remains on the data relevant to report on these metrics only.
The Challenge - If a business's sales, inventory, marketing and customer service data are kept in separate systems, this can lead to inconsistencies and leave the organisation unsure of which system is actually correct.
The Solution - Businesses should integrate their systems where applicable. This allows data from multiple sources to be consolidated into a single source meaning everyone can access the same data, at the same time.
The Challenge - Finding a way to understand the true return on investment (ROI) of a marketing campaign can be complex.
Solution - Businesses must make sure they are tracking their customer's journey's across all platforms and able to link any sales conversions back to the relevant campaigns to ensure they are getting the full picture of their marketing efforts ROI.
The Challenge - Ecommerce businesses will not necessarily have the in-house expertise to build and manage their own custom reporting tools which can of course be a very obvious barrier.
The Solution - Businesses can use a third party company (such as Cool Code Company!) who do have the necessary expertise to build these reports and build them well.
We love a good case study here at Cool Code Company so let us introduce you to Eco Power Direct - an accidental ecommerce business who found themselves unable to move ahead with their initial plans of launching a physical store just prior to the covid pandemic, and instead, opting to launch as a fully digital shop instead.
See how we helped them create their digital brand, develop a fit for purpose ecommerce website with custom integrations and grow into the successful business it is today here - Eco Power Direct - A Change of Plan.
Custom reporting can create so many opportunities for ecommerce businesses providing the insights they need to optimise their operations, vastly improve customer experiences and ultimately give them the data they need to achieve their goals. A good reporting system doesn’t just present numbers; it highlights trends, areas for improvement and shows businesses where they are performing best and with the right expertise and approach, can become a vital part of any ecommerce organisations strategy.
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