It has been an interesting seven days. We’re seeing a slight drop in the ecommerce conversion rate (the percentage of online customers who complete an online purchase), which is being countered by a slight increase in traffic visiting IndieCommerce and IndieLite websites. The result has been a 3.53 percent drop in revenue compared to the previous week.

Most of the drop in traffic over the past seven days appears to be the result of less traffic being referred to IndieCommerce and IndieLite websites from social media sources. We’re also seeing less direct traffic, meaning fewer online customers are going directly to a bookstore’s website without being referred from another source, such as an email newsletter or a website with a link that directs customers to the store’s website. 

These contradictions in higher online traffic and a lower ecommerce conversion rate may all come down to how stores are currently marketing their websites to their customers.