Foundation · 3 min
What you need to know
What is an ecommerce funnel?
An ecommerce funnel is a defined sequence of customer steps leading to an outcome, such as qualified visit, product view, cart, checkout and purchase. It quantifies progression and loss between steps.
How do I build an ecommerce conversion funnel?
Choose a business outcome, define the ordered events, eligibility rules, counting unit and time window, then calculate progression between each step. Validate the funnel with real test journeys before using it.
What is funnel drop-off?
Funnel drop-off is the number or share of eligible people or attempts that reach one step but not the next within the defined window. It is a location for investigation, not a diagnosis by itself.
How do I identify the biggest funnel drop-off?
Calculate the absolute number and percentage lost at every transition, then estimate customer and contribution value at risk. Segment the largest meaningful loss to find a specific cause.
Why are visitors not viewing products?
Visitors may land on irrelevant pages, fail to understand the offer, encounter slow or broken navigation, or arrive with low intent. Compare landing page, source, device and onsite search behavior.
Why are product viewers not adding to cart?
Common causes include weak product fit, incomplete information, unclear price or delivery cost, unavailable variants, low trust and usability problems. Diagnose by product and device before changing every page.
Why are carts not becoming checkouts?
Carts may not become checkouts because total cost is unclear, the cart creates friction, required information is missing or shoppers use it as a wish list. Examine cart changes and checkout-start errors.
Why are checkout starts not becoming purchases?
Checkout starts may fail because of payment, validation, delivery, account, trust or technical problems. Reconcile step events with payment failures and completed orders to locate the exact break.
Should funnels be segmented by device?
Yes. Mobile and desktop customers experience different layouts, input methods, connection conditions and payment options. Compare equivalent funnel definitions and investigate large step-level differences.
Should funnels be segmented by traffic source?
Yes. Traffic sources bring different intent, customer types and landing experiences. Compare each source with sufficient volume and profit context rather than ranking it by conversion alone.
A quick store check
Calculate each funnel step with the same eligible population, then segment the largest drop by device and traffic source.
Foundation · 2 min
Frequently asked questions
Is the largest funnel drop always the best opportunity?
No. Consider the number of affected qualified shoppers, expected value, customer harm and ability to fix the cause.
Can one shopper enter a funnel more than once?
Yes, so document whether the funnel counts users, sessions or attempts and apply that choice consistently.