Retail KPIs: The Most Important Metrics for Cross-Border Retailers

by Pro Carrier

Cross-border gives UK retailers the opportunity to reach customers beyond domestic borders. But, selling internationally presents unique challenges — from managing complex logistics to navigating different customer expectations and regulatory environments. To thrive, cross-border retailers must closely monitor the right key performance indicators (KPIs).

Retail KPIs are metrics that measure the effectiveness of your business across key areas, including sales, customer experience, inventory management, marketing and logistics. Tracking these KPIs helps retailers optimise operations, reduce costs, and enhance customer satisfaction on a global scale.

In this post, you’ll discover the most important retail KPIs for cross-border eCommerce businesses, why they matter, and how you can track them to drive sustainable growth in international markets.

What are retail KPIs?

Retail KPIs are measurements that help measure the performance and success of different aspects of your business. They provide you with actionable insights on key aspects of your business, including sales, customer satisfaction, and inventory management.

In eCommerce, there are two main types of KPIs:

  • Lagging indicators measure past performance, such as sales and revenue figures.
  • Leading indicators offer insights into future outcomes, such as email open rates or digital guide downloads.


You’ll want to track both leading and lagging indicators to get a true picture of your store’s performance and potential.

Why KPIs matter for eCommerce retailers

KPIs help you understand whether your store is hitting its targets and satisfying customers. These measurements help you understand:

  • How well your store converts visitors into paying customers
  • How much customers spend per visit
  • The value of each customer over their entire relationship with your business
  • The effectiveness of your marketing campaigns
  • The efficiency of your inventory management
  • Areas where you could improve


Without tracking KPIs, you make it harder for your business to grow. You’d be basing decisions on unfounded hypotheses rather than cold, hard facts. KPIs provide valuable insights into your business and customers, helping you make informed decisions to improve your business.

Retail KPIs for eCommerce businesses

Here are the essential KPIs that every cross-border eCommerce retailer should track:

1. Sales KPIs

Sales KPIs assess the effectiveness of marketing strategies and the overall revenue-generating capacity of the business.

Conversion Rate

A simple yet critical KPI that measures the percentage of website visitors who complete a purchase.

Formula: Conversion Rate = (Number of Conversions / Total Number of Visitors) × 100

Average Order Value (AOV)

This measures the average amount a customer spends per order. Higher average order values mean brands can spend more acquiring customers.

Formula: AOV = Total Revenue / Number of Transactions

Year-Over-Year Sales

See how quickly your business is growing by comparing current sales with those from the same period in the previous year.

Formula: Year-Over-Year Sales = Current Year's Sales / Previous Year's Sales

2. Customer KPIs

Happy customers become loyal shoppers who make repeat purchases. Quantify and track your customer satisfaction with the following KPIS

Cart Abandonment Rate

This is the percentage of shoppers who add items to their cart but leave without making a purchase.

Formula: Cart Abandonment Rate = (Number of Abandoned Carts / Number of Created Carts) × 100

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

Estimate the total revenue you can expect from a single customer throughout their relationship to find out how much you can spend acquiring users.

Formula: CLV = Average Order Value x Purchase Frequency Rate x Average Customer Lifetime

Customer Retention Rate

This measures the percentage of customers who return to make another purchase. Retaining existing customers is typically more cost-effective than acquiring new ones.

Formula: Retention Rate = ((Number of Customers at Period End – Number of New Customers During Period) / Number of Customers at Start of Period) × 100

Net Promoter Score (NPS)

NPS assess customer loyalty by asking how likely they are to recommend your business to others on a scale from 1-10. Your NPS is the average of all answers.

3. Inventory KPIs

It’s vital to efficiently manage stock levels when shipping goods across borders. Tracking the following KPIs can help you optimise costs, minimise overstocking and avoid stockouts.

Inventory Turnover Ratio

This measures the frequency at which your inventory is sold and replenished over a specific period. A higher turnover indicates efficient sales and inventory management.

Formula: Inventory Turnover Ratio = Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) / Average Order Value

Stock-to-Sales Ratio

This compares your inventory levels with sales volume, helping you avoid overstocking or stockouts.

Formula: Stock-to-Sales Ratio = Value of Stock on Hand / Value of Sales

Days of Inventory on Hand

This estimates how long it would take to sell through your current inventory at your current sales rate.

Formula: Days of Inventory on Hand = (Average Inventory for the Year/ Cost of Goods Sold) x 365)

4. Marketing KPIs

You can’t rely on word-of-mouth referrals when entering new markets. Track your marketing campaign effectiveness with the following metrics.

Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

This calculates the cost of acquiring a new customer, including marketing and sales expenses.

Formula: CAC = (Cost of Sales + Cost of Marketing) / No. New Customers Acquired

Return on Advertising Spend (ROAS)

This measures the revenue generated for every pound spent on advertising, helping you determine which marketing channels are most effective.

Formula: ROAS = Total Campaign Revenue / Total Campaign Cost

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

This measures the number of times your ad was clicked versus the number of times it was displayed.

Formula: CTR = Number of Clicks / Number of Impressions

5. Delivery KPIs

For cross-border retailers, delivery performance is a key driver of customer satisfaction, operational efficiency and brand reputation. Measure your delivery performance with these KPIs:

On-Time Delivery Rate

This KPI measures the percentage of shipments that arrive at their destination by the promised delivery date. It is vital for assessing the reliability of your delivery network and is directly linked to customer trust and satisfaction.

Formula: On-Time Delivery Rate = (Number of Shipments Delivered On Time / Total Number of Shipments) × 100

Delivery Time Accuracy

This metric assesses the degree to which actual delivery times match the estimated times communicated to customers. High accuracy reduces customer complaints and increases repeat business.

Formula: Delivery Time Accuracy = (Number of Deliveries Meeting Promised Timeframes / Total Deliveries) × 100

Cost Per Delivery

This KPI calculates the total cost associated with delivering an order, including shipping fees, customs, fuel and handling. Monitoring this helps maintain profitability and informs pricing strategies.

Formula: Cost Per Delivery = Total Delivery Costs / Number of Deliveries

How to track retail KPIs

There are several ways retailers can track the above KPIs. The first port of call should be your eCommerce platform. Major players like Shopify, Magento and WooCommerce offer built-in analytics capabilities that can track the vast majority of sales, customer and shopping KPIs.

They may not give a complete picture, however. For that, you’ll need to integrate data from your inventory and shipping platforms.

Pro Carrier’s all-in-one supply chain platform Horizon is fantastic in this respect. It centralises all of our delivery data, from invoices to shipping tracking or analytics — putting all of your most important data at your fingertips. You can even build custom reports to keep an eye on the inventory and shipping KPIs that matter most.

Conclusion

Tracking the right KPIs is essential for eCommerce success. These metrics offer valuable insights into your business performance, helping to identify areas for improvement.

Start by focusing on a few key metrics that align with your business goals, then expand your tracking as you become more comfortable with data analysis. Remember that the goal isn't just to collect data but to use it to make informed decisions that drive your business forward.

If you want an unparalleled look at your delivery data, Pro Carrier can help. Speak to an expert today to learn more about Horizon and discover how our dedicated cross-border eCommerce service can create a better, faster, more customer-friendly delivery experience.

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