To access Benchmarking, navigate to Analytics > Benchmarking
Insightful Clarity in a Competitive E-Commerce World
E-commerce operates on thin margins and rapid fluctuations, making it essential to know not just your own sales and operational metrics but also how they compare to the wider industry. Our benchmarking feature provides a clear, data-driven picture of where your business stands in relation to others on the same sales channels.
For instance, if your monthly sales unexpectedly drop, our tool will show you how your figures align with the general market movement. This information is crucial—it can influence whether you undertake a full-scale business review or strategise for a market recovery.
Additionally, if your fees are above average, you may need to investigate potential inefficiencies or re-evaluate your pricing model.
This feature is not just about understanding your current position; it's about providing the insights necessary to drive future performance and growth.
Data Source and Compilation: Tracking Trends, Not Just Numbers
Our benchmarking is powered by anonymised data that reflects how similar businesses are performing over time. Instead of focusing on exact figures, we look at the percentage changes and ratios that tell a story about overall market trends:
Sales Growth Percentage
Refund Ratio
Fee Ratio
Advertising Fee Ratio
We gather and anonymise this information to ensure that your business's details stay private. By analysing these trends, we provide insights into the e-commerce landscape that can help guide your business decisions. This method helps you understand whether the changes you are seeing are unique to your business or part of a larger industry trend.
Ensuring Data Security and Anonymity: Cohort Analysis and Percentile Positioning
At Link My Books, we prioritise the security of your business information with the utmost rigour. Our benchmarking system is designed to maintain strict confidentiality, ensuring that no data can be connected back to any specific account. Here's how we safeguard your data:
Cohort-Based Comparisons: Your data is pooled with that of other sellers in a similar bracket, creating what we call a 'cohort'. This grouping is based on business size, sales channels, and other relevant factors, ensuring like-for-like comparisons. Importantly, the specifics of how many businesses make up these cohorts and who they are remain undisclosed.
Anonymity at the Core: During the anonymisation process, all identifying details are removed. This means you gain insights from the cohort without any risk of your data being recognised or traced back to you.
Percentile Rankings: Instead of receiving specific figures from other businesses, you’ll see where you stand in a percentile rank. For instance, being in the 60th percentile means you perform better than 60% of the cohort, providing a clear position relative to your peers.
No Competitive Advantage: Because the data is aggregated and anonymised, it does not give any one business an unfair advantage. Everyone benefits from the same level of insight, ensuring a level playing field.
The result is a macro-level snapshot of industry trends that informs you of your relative position in the market, all while maintaining the confidentiality of your micro-level data.
Conclusion: A Benchmarking Solution Born from E-Commerce Experience
At Link My Books, we understand the e-commerce journey because we've been there. As former online sellers ourselves, we longed for a tool that could provide clear benchmarks without compromising privacy—a tool that simply wasn't available until now.
That's why we've taken the initiative to create what we, and countless others, have needed: a benchmarking feature that's both secure and insightful.
This industry-first service is the result of our firsthand experience and dedication to the e-commerce community. It's not about being the loudest in the room; it's about being the most helpful. We're here to offer a new way to understand your business's place in the wider market, with the confidence that your individual data remains just that—yours.
With Link My Books, you gain access to a pioneering benchmarking tool crafted by people who once stood exactly where you do now. We're excited to share this leap forward in e-commerce strategy, designed with care for the security-conscious entrepreneur.
This feature is available by the 20th of the following month, so for example data for January will be available on the 20th of February.
If you have any questions about this article or feedback on how we could make it better please reach out to the support team via the blue chat icon on the bottom right of the page or via email to [email protected].