Analytics Problem Plan

Christine Whitt

1.0 Problem Identification

1.1 Organizational Details
Petes Collectibles is an online business that buys and sells quality coins. The companys goal is
to increase sales yearly by 25%. Figure 1.0 shows the organizational structure.

VP of Buying and
Shipping

Purchasing
Buying new products
Keeping current on
market trends

VP of Sales

Shipping
Packing
Mailing

Sales Team
Marketing
Sales
Advertising

CFO

Accounting
Bookkeeping
Inventory

Figure 1.0 Team Functions by Department

1.2 Problem Identification

Sales fluctuate greatly over time. For example, sales drop drastically in early September but then
go up in early October, and spike in November and December. Fluctuations cause an uneven
distribution of work load throughout the year, and make it difficult for the accounting department
to a budget. Purchasing also struggles with not knowing how much they may spend on new
inventory. Petes Collectables does not currently track these fluctuations effectively.
If Petes collectables were able to track these changes in sales and note the trends as they relate
to site traffic and outside factors, they would be able to address issues that arise during slow
months and change marketing and pricing strategies to increase sales overall. This would not
only help Petes Collectable to maintain a constant budget and work load, it would also assist the
purchasing department in having a more concrete idea of how much they can spend and overall
help all of Petes Collectables in meeting their goal of an increase in overall sales of 25% or
more each year.

Analytics Problem Plan

Christine Whitt

2.0 Data Collection

2.1 Data Type
Quantitative numerical data will be collected and viewed on a weekly basis through the EBAY
reports traffic and sales tools. This data will include both sales information and site traffic.
Included in these reports will be:

The time period of the report

o This data point will give time in increments of daily activity. Data will be viewed
as a specific calendar date (July 10, 2014) with additional data points in align with
what has happened in this date
Sales activity during a given time (figure 2.1)
o Sales activity will be displayed as total dollar amount of sales for each day in each
area of the store

Figure 2.1- EBAY Sales Report (EBAY, 2014)

Analytics Problem Plan

Christine Whitt

How many pages views each page within the website has had (figure 2.2)
o Pages views is displayed as the number of total potential customers who have
made a short visit (less than 30 minutes at a time) during a given day

Figure 2.2 EBAY Page Views Report (EBAY, 2014)

Visits for a duration of 30 minutes or more that a specific user has made (figure 2.3)
o Visits is a display of the total number of potential customers who have spent more
than 30 continues minutes visiting the site

Figure 2.3EBAY Page Visits Report (EBAY, 2014)

Analytics Problem Plan

Christine Whitt

These data points translate into relevant information because it shows the numerical
quantifications of who is visiting the store, who is browsing the store and seriously considering
buying, and what was actually sold. This data can then be used to track trends in sale and visit
activities and make adjustments to marketing and pricing.
In addition to focusing on these data trends, they will then be compared against the promotional
discount data and holidays. Promotional discount data will be pulled from the EBAY tool
Markdown Manager to view the markdowns that were run on specific inventory during a given
day. Data is shown as a percentage of the amount of markdown taken.
Holidays will be determined by comparing dates on the reports to major United States holidays
and holiday periods, such as 4th of July and the week between Christmas and the week between
Christmas and New Years Eve. Holiday periods will also be considered time periods on the
calendar that are determined to cause a change in buyer behavior. This data is qualitative and
based on past trends that have been noted through the sales department. For example, from JuneSeptember is considered a Summer Holiday by the sales department because past trends have
shown a traditionally slower period in sales. To arrive at this data the sales department has
already constructed a list of correlations between traditionally times of slower activity and sales
to specific times of the year. Holiday periods are considered:

The month of January

June- September
First two weeks of November

2.2 Methods and Data Management

Data will be generated and viewed using the EBAY sales and traffic reports tool and the EBAY
Markdown Manager located within the Manage My Store application. The data will need to be
activated by the VP of sales, but EBAY tools will export the automated data to an Excel sheet.
With this tool Petes Collectables has the ability to select a specific time period to view sales and
EBAY store traffic. The tool automatically collects data and then supplies the data back to the
organization. These reports will also allow Petes Collectables to view the amount of visitors
during these time periods and compare them to the sales made during that time.
The sales will then need to analyzed and transposed into self-made Excel sheets to combine all
information and then translated to create new sheets to show analysis by days of the week and
promotional periods.
At the start of the collection period, the VP of sales will go back six months to look at past data.
Moving forward data will be collected weekly and maintained in the file manager with notes
made towards trends that are seen.
3.0 Data Analysis

Analytics Problem Plan

Christine Whitt

Once data is collected the VP of sales will be responsible for looking for correlations between
site traffic and sales. These correlations will be made by uploading all reports into one excel
sheet. The excel sheet will then be marked with monthly events (such has holidays- both official
and unofficial) and broken into weeks and days (a sample can be found in Appendix A). In
analyzing the data the following definitions will be necessary:

Visits- The number of times a given user has remained on a page for more than 30
minutes
Views- The number of times the page within the website was viewed
Sales- The monetary amount sold

By comparing site traffic on certain days of the week to the sales that occur on those days and
then to outside factors affecting the sales (such as sales and holidays), the VP of sales will be
able to tell:

What days of the week are most active for traffic

o This data is arrived at by breaking down traffic data (views and visits) into days of
the week. This can then be viewed to note which days of the week over a period
of time sees the more buyer presence. This will tell what days are best to reach
potential buyers through promotional activity.
What days of the week are most active for sales
o This data is arrived at by breaking down sales data into days of the week. This can
then be viewed to note which days of the week over a period of time sees the most
buyer action and can be an indicators of future buyer behavior. Comparing this to
traffic on a given day will allow correlations to be made between when customers
are looking and when they are buying.
How running a promotional discount affects buyer behavior
o Finding correlations between amount of sales and promotional discounts will
show if the promotional discount was effective. Data can also be analyzed for
when during a promotional period do buyers purchase the most. This can impact
the length of time of a promotion or the type of promotion offered.
How holidays and holiday periods affect buyer behavior
o Finding correlations between holidays and holiday periods and sales data will
show trends which will allow for future changes to marketing and pricing.

The trends found will then be used to define pricing strategy and marketing appeals. The VP of
sales will look for instances where sales increased and use the correlations between marketing,
views, visits, days of the week, and holidays to make adjustments to the pricing and future
promotions. Visits and views should ideally create more sales- the more people who visit your
site and the longer a customer spends viewing should indicate higher sales. If there is a high visit
and view rate, but a low sales rate additional analytics would need to be collected in the form of
customer surveys to identify reasons for nor purchasing- prices too high? pictures of low quality?

Analytics Problem Plan

Christine Whitt

descriptions unclear? In an ideal situation the VP of sales will want to see a high correlation
between number of visits, views, and sales. A low correlation between these factors would
indicate that potential customers are viewing and researching the sales pages, but not actually
buying. If the VP of sales sees a low correlation, he would be able to implement a new marketing
strategy to create buyers and not just lurkers. By looking at Appendix A, we can see an example
where the most visits occur on Wednesday and Friday, but the largest sales days are Tuesday and
Saturday. With this information the VP of sales would be able to create a marketing strategy to
create a sense of urgency in purchasing now rather than planning and buying later.
Similarly, he will be able to locate areas where sales dipped and determine the correlations
behind these drops in sales and make adjustments for future sales. Ideally, the VP of sales will be
able to predict future events and adjust before sales drop by compensating with appropriate
marketing and price strategies. For example, by looking back to Appendix A, we can see that the
spending is up immediately after the sales price is changed- either positively or negatively. This
information can tell the VP of sales that it is worth the while to change the sale offered
throughout the month to create interest.
4.0 Reporting
Monthly analytics reports showing the data gathered from the EBAY tool along with additional
information showing outside factors impacting sales will be gathered and presented with possible
solutions to the rest of the executive team at their monthly board meeting. The reporting each
month will show:

Graphs and Charts reflecting data and correlations

o Graphs and charts will be downloaded from EBAY automated reports. User
generated reports will then be created to reflect those displayed in Appendix A.
Possible reasons behind the correlations
o The next section of the report will include a written analysis of the possible
reasons behind the correlations. This analysis will include reflections on the
impact of sales, weekends, and holidays on sales information as well as possible
indicators of correlations behind visits and views to sales.
Solutions to traffic/sales correlations
o This report will offer possible solutions to increasing sales per site traffic. At this
point it will be important for the VP of sales to note that with the algorithm that
EBAY uses to bring customers to EBAY stores is not perfect and more often than
not, a page is visited and then quickly determined that this is not what the
customer was looking for.
Comparisons to previous months reports
o The final page of the report will be a comparison to previous months in which
similarities and differences in trends will be noted along with various reasons as
to why these reports vary.

Analytics Problem Plan

Christine Whitt

Reports and possible solutions will then be discussed by the team and a marketing and pricing
plan will be put into place for the following month. Once this plan is created, the plan will be
disseminated directly from the VP of sales through the sales team for implementation.
5.0 Conclusions
Creating a solid plan for collecting, analyzing, and disseminating data across Petes Collectables
will enhance the effectiveness of its sales force. By looking at sales and trafficking data and
determining correlations between the two, Petes Collectables will be able to create new and
meaningful marketing and pricing strategies which will put it well on its ways to achieving its
goal of a 25% increase in sales monthly.
References
EBAY (2014). Page views report for pc coins online [Data file].Available from www.ebay.com
EBAY (2014). Page visits report for pc coins online [Data file]. Available from www.ebay.com
EBAY (2014). Sales report for pc coins online [Data file]. Available from www.ebay.com

Analytics Problem Plan

Christine Whitt

Appendix A
Sample Traffic and Sales Reports
Traffic and Sales Reports
Month/ Product:
July 2014/ Morgan Dollars
Date
Visits

Views

Sales

1
2
3
4
5
Week 1

10
16
2
20
4
52

3
2
1
1
1
8

6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Week 2

4
1
3
7
2
5
1
23

3
1
2
3
2
2
1
14

13
14
15
16
17
18
19
Week 3

0
15
0
9
7
15
5
51

0
1
0
3
2
2
3
11

0
520
666.40
1445
464
3095.4/ 619.08 a
day
2057.4
481.44
1245.4
212
0
985
269
5249.84/ 749.97
a day
315
671.24
3016.98
202.03
589
64.94
203.40
5062.49/ 723.21
a day

Holiday- July 4th and July 4th Week

35% of

Sale- 40% of

Sale-

Analytics Problem Plan

Christine Whitt

Days of the Week Analytics

Day of the Week
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday

Visits
8
4
11
4
13
3
2

Views
1
2
3
2
2
2
2

Sales
576.34
1420.79
311.34
418.46
831.64
312.13
1186.20

Outside Factors Analytics

Outside Factor
Visits
Views
40% Sale
6.4
2.08
35% Sale**
7
1
Holiday
20
1
Holiday Week
52
8
** Possible effect from holiday- 4.8 visits, 1 view, and 745.70 in
holiday

Sales
546.42
705.46
1445
3095.4
sales without