Upcycled retail analytics case study: Blue17

Blue17 have been selling high-quality, upcycled vintage clothing for over 25 years. With an established physical store in Islington, London, and a developing online business, the time was right to employ a structured and strategic approach to web analytics and conversion rate optimisation (CRO).

What did we do?

  • Completed a full analytics audit and improved the setup of Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, and Google Optimize.
  • Analysis of website sales conversion and producing CRO roadmaps.
  • Ongoing CRO work in the form of site enhancements and AB/multivariate tests.

What was the outcome?

  • Robust analytics and AB testing setup for ongoing website data analysis and optimisation.  
  • Tactical, granular insight from Google Analytics to pursue an ongoing, well-rounded CRO programme.
  • Initial tests have been concluded with promising results, optimising the user experience across product pages, site search, basket page, and checkout.

With Daniel having experience working in the charity sector, non-profits and NGO’s – and with us being in the recycling industry – we felt Daniel would be well equipped to understand our online ecommerce business core values and its development needs.

It’s clear that Daniel has a wealth of experience and insight that is an essential asset to any committed website owner. It’s surprising that many webmasters seem to ignore the requirements for data analytics and CRO prior to website design and SEO campaigns.

In retrospect, we would have benefited greatly through working with Daniel some years ago, with data informing decisions rather than guesswork.

We’re really pleased to have discovered Daniel and we look forward to continuing working with him.

John Scott

Blue17 sought an expert analytics freelancer with experience in retail and conversion rate optimisation.

Daniel Robertson’s substantial experience in ecommerce, analytics work with businesses large and small, and interest in sustainability made the relationship a natural fit. Blue17 are part of the circular economy and have a recycling ethos at their heart, while providing quality, unique vintage fashion to customers.

Foundations for analytics & optimisation

We were able to get up to speed quickly with the Blue17 business, current challenges, and objectives. Using a structured approach, we spoke with the client to establish the business and ecommerce website background before undertaking a full analytics audit.

Working with developers, we streamlined the analytics tagging setup and made some key updates to Google Analytics. Next, we added a range of new analytics tracking – in the form of custom events and goals – to give us more granular insight into user behaviour and site conversion.

Website analysis & idea generation

Once this was in place and we were collecting reliable data, we performed a site conversion analysis to identify key drop-off points and areas of concern throughout the online shop.

We looked at various site sections, traffic sources, and device types. This insight - allied with years of experience, best practices, and ideas from the business - fed into a CRO roadmap. The roadmap lists targeted site improvements, fixes, and tests:  all geared towards improving engagement and conversion.

Conversion rate optimisation via AB tests

Phase 1 of testing – an initial batch of tests across different site areas - yielded some promising initial results. We then re-analysed key areas, including micro-level drop-off through the checkout and key CTA buttons via our new Google Analytics tracking, before moving on with Phase 2 of testing.

Google Optimize allows us to have up to 5 tests or personalisations at any one time. Testing options include AB and more sophisticated multivariate tests (MVT), which allow us to test multiple changes all at once, essentially running several concurrent AB tests on a given page.  

Our CRO roadmap aims to approach conversion improvements from many angles, with tests focusing on different parts of the website as well as utilising different concepts like elements of persuasion, behavioural economics, and UX improvements. We have also taken on a key role in briefing and managing all developer tasks related to the roadmap.

As a freelance data analytics consultant, it’s fantastic to work through a structured process from the beginning all the way to making analytics and conversion optimisation part of BAU. We are now up and running with a full CRO programme and over time are aiming to achieve substantial increases in conversion rate in collaboration with Blue17 and their developers.

If you'd like a consultation about how I can help your organisation with data analytics or conversion rate optimisation, you can find me on LinkedIn, or email me at [email protected]