How to analyze a Funnel

Set up 

If you do not have the following mappings, goals, and segments already saved to your Contentsquare platform you will need to create them before getting started. 

Mapping

There are two different scenarios that require a different set up.

Scenario 1: Most users are not logged in when they reach the checkout

If this is the case, you will need only one mapping

• Split out each step of the checkout, including Basket and Confirmation pages
• Group together all List pages and Product pages.

TIP: Add Step 1, Step 2 to each of the page names so they appear in order on Page Comparator.

Scenario 2: Most users are logged in when they reach the checkout

This will often happen if you have a very strong loyalty strategy.

You will need two mappings

In the first one:

• Split out each step of your checkout, including basket and Confirmation pages
• Group together all your List pages and Product pages.

TIP: Add Step 1, Step 2 to each of the page names so they appear in order on Page Comparator.

In the second one, create two pages:

• Cart logged in: add the custom var “is logged” to isolate it
• Cart not logged in: add the custom var “is not logged” to isolate it

Zoning

Zone every step of your checkout, and the “Add to bag” button of your Product page.

Goals

• Set-up goals for viewing each step of the funnel
• Create the goal “Clicked on add to bag’.

If most users are logged in when they reach the checkout:

• Create the goal“Reached logged in cart”
• Create the goal“Reached not logged in cart”

Segments

Scenario 1: Most users are not logged in when they reach the checkout

Create segments for reaching each step, and not reaching the step.

Scenario 2: Most users are logged in when they reach the checkout

Create segments for:

• reached logged in cart
• reached non logged in cart
• reaching each step (as many segments as there are steps)
• not reaching the step  (as many segments as there are steps)

Step-by-Step

Identify the Underperforming Step

1. Navigate to Funnels from the main menu. Make sure to have your Analysis context set to 'All visitors'.

2. If you don't have your Checkout funnel set up already, click on Define steps and start adding the steps of your funnel. After selecting all of the steps, click on Apply changes to save the Funnel and run your funnel analysis

3. To narrow down the most problematic step look at the following metrics:

• Overall funnel completion rate. Is the funnel easy to go through or people tend to drop off before completing it?
• Step drop off rate and step completion rate.The step drop off rate will help you identify the step where users struggle the most. In the below example highest drop off rate is after the Login page, with only 55% proceeding to Checkout Step 1. 

 

Generate hypothesis on why the page is underperforming

Looking into the funnel you just built: which step is the most problematic in your journey?

• The cart: go to Cart Analysis article
• Login/Register: check the Form Analysis article
• The shipping page: see the following part “Shipping page analysis”
• The payment page: see the part “Payment page analysis”

Shipping Page Analysis

1. Open Journey analysis, toggle on the Comparison mode in the Analysis context and apply the segments of 'Sessions with transactions' vs 'Sessions without transactions'. Select to view the Journeys After the Shipping page group and compare the two segments on the following:

• What do non-buyers do? Are they leaving the site, do they loop back to a previous step of the checkout, or are they seeing the page multiple times?

The example above shows 20% of non-buyers exiting the site at the shipping step

2. To narrow down your hypothesis, open the Page comparator, keep the comparison mode and highlight the Shipping page group. Compare the segments on the following metrics:

• Look the load times. Is it higher for the non-buyers?
• Check the time spent on the page. Is it higher for the buyers or non-buyers? Who is spending time reading information?
• Compare their scroll rates. Are buyers seeing more information than non-buyers?
• Look at their views/session. Are non-buyers seeing this page more often?

3. To analyze how the page has been used and identify potential usability issues, open the Zoning analysis and select the 'All visitors' segments in the Analysis context. Look at the following metrics:

• Look at the Click recurrence. Did users struggle with a particular button?

• Check the Time before first click of the key page elements. Are visitors completing the form in the correct order? Are the visitors clicking the CTA to go to the next step before clicking a compulsory field?

• Look at the conversion rate per click with the goal “reached next step of the funnel”. For the shipping information form: is there a field that underperforms? Is there a delivery option that underperforms?

4. While still in Zoning analysis, activate the comparison mode and select the segments of 'Sessions with transactions' vs 'Sessions without transactions'. Look at the following metrics:

• Compare their click rate, exposure rate and exposure time.  Did non-buyers interact with the page? Or did they just “read & leave”?

5. (Optional) Check why a zone underperformed in the Session Replay

Did you notice that a particular delivery option underperformed and you have no idea why?

A quick way to check why a zone underperformed is to use the Session Replay module. To do so, define a segment “has clicked on the problematic zone” and check for session replay, or right click on the zone in zoning to view replays of visitors who interacted.

Take action

• If you see that the non-buyers tend to go back a lot their cart, this might mean they need additional reassurance. Think about a summary of the order on the shipping page. Users need to keep in mind what they are about to purchase at any step of the checkout.
• If you notice very low click rate of the non-buyers on they page elements coupled with a high exit rate, this may mean uncertainty around the shipping fees. Think of a way to make users aware of the shipping/custom fees before they reach the checkout shipping step.
• Multiple reloads of the page might suggest users changing their delivery options. Try to be as explicit and descriptive about the different delivery options and the associated fees.
• If some specific fields are underperforming and/or have high click recurrence this might mean that users are struggling with filling these fields. Try making the the form as short as possible and implement a reactive error feedback system.

Payment Page Analysis

1. Open Journey analysis, toggle on the Comparison mode in the Analysis context and apply the segments of 'Sessions with transactions' vs 'Sessions without transactions'. Select to view the Journeys After the Payment page group and compare the two segments on the following:

• What do non-buyers do? Are they leaving the site, do they loop back to a previous step of the checkout, or are they seeing the page multiple times?

2. To narrow down your hypothesis, open the Page comparator, keep the comparison mode and highlight the Payment page group. Compare the segments on the following metrics:

• Look the load times. Is it higher for the non-buyers?
• Check the time spent and scroll rate on the page. Is it higher for the buyers or non-buyers? Are they seeing all of the page, or missing key information? Are they completing the form quickly, or are they spending lots of time on the page?
• Compare their scroll rates. Are buyers seeing more information than non-buyers?
• Look at their views/session. Are non-buyers seeing this page more often?

3. To analyze how the page has been used and identify potential usability issues, open the Zoning analysis and select the 'All visitors' segments in the Analysis context. Look at the following metrics:

• Look at the Click recurrence. Did users struggle with a particular button? Is the promo code working as expected?

• Check the Time before first click of the key page element. Are visitors completing the form in the correct order? Are visitors clicking the CTA to go to the next step before clicking a compulsory field?

• Look at the conversion rate per click with the goal “reached next step of the funnel”. For the payment information form: is there a field that underperforms? Is there a payment option that underperforms?

4. While still in Zoning analysis, activate the comparison mode and select the segments of 'Sessions with transactions' vs 'Sessions without transactions'. Look at the following metrics:

• Compare their click rate, exposure rate and exposure time.  Did non-buyers interact with the page? Or did they just “read & leave”?

5. (Optional) Check why a zone underperformed in the Session Replay

Did you notice that a particular payment option underperformed and you have no idea why?

A quick way to check why a zone underperformed is to use the Session Replay module. To do so, define a segment “has clicked on the problematic zone” and check for session replay, or right click on the zone in zoning to view replays of visitors who interacted.

Take action

• If you see that the non-buyers go back a lot to their cart, they may need additional reassurance. Think about a summary of the order on the payment page. Users need to keep in mind what they are about to purchase at any step of the checkout.
• If the non-buyers tend to go back a lot to the shipping page: they might need reassurance or to edit their shipping information. Allow users to edit the shipping address from the payment step.
• If some specific fields are underperforming and/or have high click recurrence this might mean that users are struggling with filling these fields. Consider the latest methods to enter credit cart details (on mobile, some features allow users to scan the card to automatically fill in the form, for instance).
• If the promo code is underperforming or generating friction, consider putting the promo code filed earlier in the checkout funnel (e.g., on the Cart).
• Multiple reloads of the page might suggest users experiencing an error on the page. Check if this is due to an error in the payment form, loading time issue or a problem with the promo code. In case of filling in errors, try giving feedback and an explanation of the occurring error.

Go further

Take the Gathering data for a page redesign and Evaluating the redesign of the Cart page CS University courses!