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channel outcomes

 is to review the conversion rate, 

which gives an indication of the percentage of site visitors who take a particular outcome. 

For example:

Conversion rate, visitors to purchase = 2% (10,000 visitors, of which 200 make 

purchases).

Conversion rate, visitors to registration = 5% (10,000 visitors, of which 500 register).

A related concept is the 

attrition rate

 which describes how many visitors are lost at each 

stage of visiting a site. Figure 12.8 shows that for a set time period, only a proportion of site 

visitors will make their way to product information, a small proportion will add an item 

to a basket and a smaller proportion still will actually make the purchase. A key feature of 

e-commerce sites is that there is a high attrition rate between a customer’s adding an item to 

a basket and subsequently making a purchase. Online marketers work to decrease this ‘shop-

ping basket abandonment rate’ through improving usability and modifying messaging to 

persuade visitors to continue the ‘user journey’.

Conversion rate

Percentage of site visitors 

who perform a particular 

action such as making a 

purchase.