Comparing KPIs for Two Sites in first year of trading

My Event Décor has been live for 12 months, it is time to compare its key performance indicators against the first year of My Wedding Décor.

Sales growth

My Event Décor and My Wedding Décor took a few weeks to acquire the first online sale — the prior recorded its first online sale in 37 days of launch, the latter within 21 days.

From months six through 12 (after launch), earnings for My Event Décor earnings grew by 372 percent while My Wedding Décor increased by 348 percent.

Both sites started from zero revenue. However, My Event Décor had several benefits. It gained from My Wedding Décor having been around for 21 months. It launched with over double as many products as My Wedding Décor. And it might market instantly to My Wedding Décor’s corporate event customers.

Visits

Visits to My Event Décor grew by 156 percent in the next six-month period. My Wedding Décor grew by a more modest 94 percent.

My Event Décor visits began to grow in the second half of its launch once the site appeared on Google Maps, and after the renaming of social networking accounts for both businesses to My Event Décor.

Bounce rates

The bounce prices to My Event Décor’s site have dropped from 67 percent in its first six months to a current rate of 49 percent.

My Wedding Décor remained virtually unchanged at 46 percent and 47 percent in its first six and twelve months, respectively, of performance. (It’s much improved now, with bounce rates for January 2018 at, incredibly, 1.22 percent.)

My Event Décor bounce prices dropped once I removed virtually all products which were also available on My Wedding Décor. This also eliminated duplicate content, which greatly assisted search engine optimization.

Conversion rates

Conversion rates for My Event Décor increased by 127 percent in the next six-month period within its first six months, compared to some 100-percent growth for My Wedding Décor.

This increase in conversion prices for My Event Decor was largely because of change in product naming convention, which I explained in”New subcategories increase sales and signups.” Conversion rates were also helped by highlighting décor items for store openings, product launches, corporate events and expos, and a general gain in the product range.

For My Wedding Décor, its conversion speed growth came in the enhanced home page and product page redesign in its next six months in addition to its increasing brand recognition from social networking, blog posts, and directory listings.

Order value

The average purchase value for My Event Décor climbed 7 percent in the next six months (to $378.52), compared to a 16 percent increase (to $191.11) for My Wedding Décor.

Business occasion average order values are twice as much as wedding occasions. Corporate customers have less price sensitivity. They comprise 69 percent of my overall business.

Of the 332 products for My Event Décor, 48 percent are priced under $AUD100, 35 percent cost $AUD100 — $AUD499, and 17 percent are recorded at over $AUD500.

The average purchase value for the My Wedding Décor probably rose somewhat as I introduced higher priced goods.

Now, 60 percent of My Wedding Décor’s 257 products are priced less than $AUD100, 33 percent at $AUD100 — $AUD500, and only 7% are greater than $AUD500.

Repeat customers

My Event Décor had 3% fewer repeat clients in its next six months, while My Wedding Décor increased its repeat customers by 89 percent during the same period.

My Wedding Décor started in April 2015 and nearly doubled its rate of repeat clients in weeks through 12 (October 2015 — April 2016), as that period encompassed the wedding season in Australia.

I use Shopify for both websites. Shopify’s statistics show a small drop in repeat clients for My Event Décor within its next six months. However, a number of these corporate clients currently buy directly, out of Shopify, and pay with direct bank payments.