What is Online Purchase Data? Examples, Datasets and Providers

How is Online Purchase Data collected?

When you the visit the website of an online retailer and consent to their web analytics, the site begins to collect data about the consumer. It will track the steps they make towards making a purchase (pages viewed and CTR), such as how long they spent on the website (session length), as well as information about the purchase (SKU-level product information). This could be whether it was a luxury or essential item, whether the consumer used a discount code or whether this was in-line with their usual purchasing patterns. This information which is collected by the website itself is first-party data.

Third-party applications also collect information and use this to compile an online purchase dataset. These third-parties will track the consumer’s online actions in a consent-managed way and begin to build a consumer profile based off their online purchasing habits. This can include the items that they typically buy online, the frequency of their purchases and the amount they spend. This is how third-party data is collected.

What are the attributes of Online Purchase Data?

An online purchase dataset will typically include lots of information about the online user as well as the purchases they make.

First-party data points - Information collected by first-party vendors (i.e. the site the consumer purchases from) is called engagement data. This is a record of the consumer’s interaction with the site up until the point of purchase and can include a variety of information, for example what product the consumer is buying, how much it costs and their payment method (for example did they use a discount code or pay in full?) First-party data will also track whether this is the customer’s first purchase or whether they are repeat customers which is used to track consumer brand loyalty and other consumer behaviour patterns.
Third-party data points - Third-party data from external data providers can create more holistic consumer profile than first-party data can. This is because external data providers take information from a range of websites to analyze customer behaviour and purchasing patterns. This can include information about the products which a consumer is interested, how often they tend to make an online purchase and whether they have a strong sense of brand loyalty (i.e. do they repeatedly buy from the same sites, or move to new ones selling similar products?) Typically, third-party datasets will contain more data attributes, and there’s also more leverage to get custom attributes from providers.

What is Online Purchase Data used for?

Marketers and businesses rely on online purchase data to track the habits of their consumers. They can use consumer profiles to identify people’s interests and then personalize ad campaigns to match this. Personalized outreach is proven to be more effective at nurturing leads, building rapport with leads, and eventually in revenue generation. As such, businesses that invest in online purchase datasets usually report positive ROI.
Businesses can also use online purchase data to evaluate the performance of their business online. They can track how many customers who visited the site followed through to make a purchase and then identify where the issue was with those who didn’t buy anything. They can also use this data to compare how their business matches up to their competitors and identify what could be improved to increase their company’s profits.

How can a user assess the quality of Online Purchase Data?

The best online purchase datasets will provide regularly updated information about purchases that have been made online and the preferences of the consumers who made these purchases. Historical purchase data is often equally important because it can be used to identify online purchase trends and how demand for products has changed over time.
Always make sure to read the data provider’s reviews before buying any online purchase data. Lastly, always ask for a data sample in advance to ensure that the online purchase data provided matches your businesses needs.