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Glossary

The ecommerce research glossary, in plain words

40 terms across stores, products, ads, sales and traffic, and store tech. Each one says what it is, how it works and why it matters.

A

Ad creativeAdsAn ad creative is the visible part of an ad, the video, image, text and headline that people actually see in their feed.Ad longevityAdsAd longevity is how long an ad has been running. Ads that run for weeks or months are usually profitable, because losing ads get switched off.Ad setAdsAn ad set is the middle level of a Meta ad campaign, where the budget, schedule, audience and placements for a group of ads are defined.Average order valueSales and trafficAverage order value (AOV) is the average amount a customer spends per order, calculated as revenue divided by the number of orders.

B

Best-seller rankProductsBest-seller rank is a product's position when a store's catalogue is sorted by sales, with rank 1 being the store's top seller.Bounce rateSales and trafficBounce rate is the share of visits where someone views one page and leaves without any further interaction.BundleProductsA bundle groups several products or several units of one product into a single offer, usually at a lower price per item.

C

CPMAdsCPM, cost per mille, is the price an advertiser pays for 1,000 impressions of an ad.CTRAdsCTR, click-through rate, is the share of people who click an ad after seeing it, calculated as clicks divided by impressions.Cash on deliveryStoresCash on delivery (COD) lets customers pay the courier in cash or by card when the order arrives, instead of paying online at checkout.Compare-at priceProductsThe compare-at price is the original or reference price a store shows crossed out next to the current selling price to signal a discount.Conversion rateSales and trafficConversion rate is the share of store visits that end in an order, calculated as orders divided by visits.Conversions APIPlatforms and techA conversions API sends purchase and other events from a store's server straight to an ad platform, alongside or instead of the browser pixel.Customer lifetime valueSales and trafficCustomer lifetime value (CLV or LTV) is the total revenue or profit a store expects from one customer over the whole relationship.

D

DropshippingStoresDropshipping is a retail model where the store never holds stock and a supplier ships each order straight to the customer.

E

EU ad transparency reachAdsEU ad transparency reach is the number of people in the European Union an ad reached, which large platforms must publish under EU law.

G

GMVSales and trafficGMV, gross merchandise value, is the total value of goods sold through a store or platform before refunds, fees and costs are taken off.

H

Headless commercePlatforms and techHeadless commerce separates a store's front end from its commerce back end, so the storefront is custom-built while orders and products run on a platform.

M

Market saturationStoresMarket saturation is the point where so many stores sell the same product to the same audience that new sellers struggle to profit.Meta Ad LibraryAdsThe Meta Ad Library is Meta's public, searchable archive of ads running on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and Audience Network.

N

NicheStoresA niche is a focused segment of a market, defined by a specific audience, need or product type, that a store chooses to serve.

O

One-product storeStoresA one-product store sells a single hero product, or a very small range built around it, instead of a broad catalogue.Online Store 2.0Platforms and techOnline Store 2.0 is Shopify's theme architecture that lets merchants build every page from reusable sections and app blocks without code.Organic searchSales and trafficOrganic search traffic comes from unpaid search engine results, as opposed to paid search ads.

P

Print on demandStoresPrint on demand is a model where a product such as a shirt, mug or poster is printed with a design only after a customer orders it.Private labelStoresPrivate label means selling a manufacturer's product under your own brand, with your own packaging and often small changes to the product.Product feedProductsA product feed is a structured file or endpoint listing a store's products with prices, availability and images, used by ad platforms and shopping sites.

R

ROASAdsROAS, return on ad spend, is the revenue an ad campaign brings in divided by what was spent on it, for example 3 means 3 in sales per 1 spent.

S

Sales trackingSales and trafficSales tracking means watching a competitor store over time to estimate its orders and see which products sell, based on public catalogue changes.Shopify PlusPlatforms and techShopify Plus is Shopify's plan for large merchants, with more checkout control, automation, expansion stores and dedicated support.Shopify appPlatforms and techA Shopify app is an add-on that extends a Shopify store with features such as reviews, upsells, subscriptions, email or order forms.Shopify themePlatforms and techA Shopify theme is the template that controls how a Shopify store looks and how its pages are laid out, from the homepage to the cart.SitemapPlatforms and techA sitemap is a public file listing a website's pages, which search engines use to crawl the site and researchers use to see what a store sells.Store trafficSales and trafficStore traffic is the number of visits an online store receives in a period, the starting point for any estimate of its sales.

T

TikTok Creative CenterAdsTikTok Creative Center is TikTok's free hub of top-performing ads, trending hashtags, songs and creators, aimed at advertisers.Tracking pixelPlatforms and techA tracking pixel is a small script from an ad or analytics platform that records visits and actions on a store so ads can be measured and targeted.Traffic sourceSales and trafficA traffic source is the channel a visit comes from, such as direct, organic search, paid ads, social media, email or referrals.

U

UGC adsAdsUGC ads are ads made in the style of user-generated content, with real customers or creators filming the product on their phone.UpsellProductsAn upsell is an offer that encourages a customer to buy a more expensive version, a larger quantity or an add-on to what they are already buying.

W

Winning productProductsA winning product is one that sells profitably at scale, usually shown by strong estimated orders, long-running ads and many stores copying it.

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