The essentials
- Four families: acquisition (qualified traffic, CAC), conversion (rate, funnel, basket abandonment), value (average basket, margin, net ROAS), loyalty (repeat purchase, LTV).
- 2026 benchmarks: conversion rate of 1 to 3% (fashion 1 to 2%, technical products 2 to 4%), basket abandonment of 65 to 75%, 90-day repeat purchase of 20 to 30%.
- How to read it: management reads 5 metrics a month, the e-commerce manager 12 a week, the traffic manager the campaign KPIs by channel.
- To set aside: page views, bounce rate, followers and the gross ROAS of the platforms, with no margin or returns.
An online store produces hundreds of metrics: GA4, the e-commerce platform, Google Ads, Meta, the emailing tool, customer service. Trying to track everything amounts to reading nothing. This article keeps twelve metrics in four families, gives the 2026 benchmarks by sector and proposes a reading by role. The general metrics are in digital marketing KPIs, and the measurement setup in GA4 for e-commerce.
Family 1: acquisition
- Qualified traffic: engaged sessions (more than 10 seconds, one conversion or two pages) by source, not raw sessions. Traffic that rises without sales following is badly targeted traffic, or a site that does not convert.
- Customer acquisition cost (CAC): total marketing spend divided by the number of new customers, by channel and overall; see CAC: definition.
- The share of new customers: the proportion of orders placed by a first-time buyer; it says whether growth comes from acquisition or from repeat purchase.
Family 2: conversion
- The conversion rate: orders divided by sessions, read by device, by source and by category. Mobile converts 30 to 50% less than desktop in most sectors.
- The funnel: product page to basket, basket to checkout and checkout to order rates; each drop locates the problem. The method is in analysing a conversion funnel with GA4.
- The basket abandonment rate: 65 to 75% in 2026; it is worked on through delivery charges, optional account creation, payment methods and the reminder email.
Family 3: value
- The average basket: revenue divided by the number of orders; it is read alongside the number of items per order and is worked on through bundles, the free delivery threshold and recommendations.
- The margin per order: revenue minus the cost of the products, delivery, payment and returns; without it, the ROAS means nothing.
- Net ROAS: revenue net of returns per euro of advertising, compared with the break-even ROAS (1 divided by the gross margin); the detail is in ROAS in SMA.
Family 4: loyalty
- The 90-day repeat purchase rate: the share of customers who order again within three months; 20 to 30% in consumable goods, 5 to 15% in equipment.
- Customer lifetime value (LTV): the average revenue from a customer over 12 or 24 months; the LTV to CAC ratio has to be above 3; see LTV in digital marketing.
- The return rate and satisfaction: the share of orders returned (10 to 30% in fashion, 2 to 5% elsewhere) and the average review score.
2026 benchmarks by sector
| Sector | Conversion rate | Average basket | Basket abandonment | 90-day repeat purchase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fashion and accessories | 1 to 2% | €60 to €120 | 70 to 80% | 15 to 25% |
| Beauty and cosmetics | 2 to 3.5% | €40 to €80 | 65 to 75% | 25 to 35% |
| Food and consumables | 2.5 to 5% | €50 to €100 | 60 to 70% | 30 to 45% |
| Home and decoration | 1 to 2% | €120 to €300 | 70 to 80% | 8 to 15% |
| Electronics and high-tech | 1.5 to 3% | €150 to €400 | 70 to 80% | 5 to 12% |
| B2B and supplies | 2 to 4% | €200 to €800 | 55 to 70% | 35 to 50% |
These ranges are there to situate a store, not to judge it: a brand with strong awareness goes above these rates, a recent store sits below them. The useful comparison is the store with itself, month after month and at a comparable season.
Reading the metrics according to your role
| Role | Metrics | Rhythm | Decisions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Management | Revenue, margin, CAC, net ROAS, repeat purchase | Monthly | Budget, prices, range |
| E-commerce manager | The twelve metrics, by source and by category | Weekly | Funnel, offers, stock, reminders |
| Traffic manager | CAC and net ROAS by channel, campaign KPIs | Daily to weekly | Bids, creatives, audiences |
| Customer service and logistics | Return rate, lead times, reviews | Weekly | Product pages, shipping, after-sales |
What to leave aside
- Page views and the bounce rate: they describe a session, not a result; the engagement rate and the funnel replace them.
- Followers and impressions: activity metrics useful to the community manager, with no direct link to sales.
- The gross ROAS of the platforms: overstated by post-view attribution and calculated before returns and margin; it serves to optimise inside the platform, not to decide the budget.
- Average SEO positions: replaced by the revenue and the orders coming from organic traffic.
- Daily reading: except for campaigns, e-commerce metrics are read weekly and monthly, at a comparable season.
Setting up the tracking
Three prerequisites: GA4 e-commerce configured with the purchase, basket and checkout events and the exact values; the import of advertising costs and of UTMs on every channel; the reconciliation with the e-commerce platform for margins, returns and known customers, which GA4 does not know. A single dashboard then consolidates the twelve metrics by source and by period; the templates are presented in examples of marketing dashboards.
How GreenRed helps
Rather than juggling several tools, GreenRed's return on investment module brings these metrics together in a single dashboard, compares them over time and tells you which actions come first. You can try it free, with no card, from the Pricing.
Frequently asked questions
What are the essential KPIs for an online store?
Twelve metrics in four families: qualified traffic, CAC and share of new customers (acquisition); conversion rate, funnel and basket abandonment (conversion); average basket, margin per order and net ROAS (value); 90-day repeat purchase, LTV, return rate and satisfaction (loyalty).
What is a good e-commerce conversion rate in 2026?
Between 1 and 3% depending on the sector: 1 to 2% in fashion and decoration, 2 to 3.5% in beauty, 2.5 to 5% in food and consumables, 2 to 4% in B2B. Mobile converts 30 to 50% less than desktop; above all, compare the store with itself at an equal season.
Why is the ROAS from the platforms not enough?
Because it is calculated before margin and returns, with an attribution that counts sales after a simple view. Net ROAS (sales net of returns, neutral attribution) compared with the break-even ROAS (1 divided by the gross margin) is the only figure that says whether a campaign pays.
How many metrics should management read?
Five a month: revenue, margin, customer acquisition cost, net ROAS and repeat purchase rate. The e-commerce manager tracks the twelve metrics every week by source and by category; the traffic manager reads the campaign KPIs by channel.
How can you reduce basket abandonment?
Show the delivery charges from the product page onwards, make account creation optional, offer several payment methods including one-click payment, speed up the checkout pages and send a reminder email within the hour then at 24 hours. These actions bring abandonment down from 75 to 65% in a few weeks.