Tips for BI customizable reporting
X-Parameter and revenue tracking reporting
You can measure revenue tracking through x-parameters in Business Intelligence (BI). X-parameters are components of URLs that are used to pass information through the checkout process, such as the source of revenue or other customer information. X-parameters begin with x-. For example, an x-parameter for an Easter campaign might be x-source=Easter.
BI shows x-parameters only when the Revenue Tracking Setup tool is configured in Commerce Assistant (CA). Otherwise, x-parameters are not shown in reporting. X-parameters are displayed in BI approximately eight or more hours after being entered in CA.
Once you create the hierarchy within the Revenue Tracking Setup tool, the directories and subdirectories that have been assigned are accessible with BI.
For more information about revenue tracking with x-parameters, including how to set them up in the Revenue Tracking Setup tool, see Revenue tracking.
To create a BI report, use the dimensions for Parameter 1, Parameter 2, and so on, depending on your hierarchy. If you select an x-parameter as a dimension, the report will only count orders made with the last x-parameter.
Number of products counted in orders
An order can contain more than one product. Depending on the measures and dimensions used, reports can generate different results when it comes to counting the numbers of products in an order.
Measuring the number of sold products
If you want to measure the number of individual products sold, use the Number of Order Items measure. With this measure, every product within an order is counted.
You want to measure the number of products that were sold, by country, last month. You use the Number of Order Items measure with the Country dimension and filter the report by Time — Last Month. The report generates the following results:
- United States: 25,531
- Germany: 17,439
- Canada: 3,815
Measuring the number of placed orders
If you want to measure the number of order placed, use the Number of Orders measure. It doesn't calculate individual products within an order, but only the first product in the order itself.
You want to measure the number of orders that were placed, by country, last month. You use the Number of Orders measure with the Country dimension, and you filter the report by Time — Last Month. The report generates the following results:
- United States: 25,436
- Germany: 15,348
- Canada: 3,117
Calculation change for product-level dimensions
When using the Number of Orders measure with the Product, Promotion, or Affiliate dimensions, BI automatically switches the calculation to Number of Order Items to ensure the data reflects the correct count. This is because when counting the number of orders by product, the products themselves must be counted. Also, promotions and affiliates are associated with products and must therefore be counted at the product level and not the order level. Any other dimensions used with Number of Orders, such as Country, only count the first product in an order.
Reporting on a product basis
BI generates reports on a single product basis using the product ID as a unique identifier. A range of performance indicators that are available on an account level can also be reported on a product level. Performance indicators available on a product level include, for example:
- Conversion rate
- Number of hits
- Revenue
- Number of orders
Product list reporting
If a product belongs to multiple product lists, the sum of orders for a product list might be higher than the total number of orders because the product is counted multiple times in a report.
Product lists with a list type of Exclude List are supported in BI reporting.
Subscription billing reporting
Expected subscription-metrics are calculated up to one year in advance under the assumption that there will be no subscription cancellations or new subscriptions. Only currently active subscriptions are counted.
Expected subscription data is delayed as it takes a few days for the database to provide the data in real-time.
Reports for subscription products with free trial periods don't trigger results in BI. As soon as a payment is made for a subscription interval, BI provides results.
MVT campaign reporting
BI allows you to create MVT campaign-specific reports. Select MVT Campaigns from the Available Dimensions list and enter the specific MVT campaign ID in the IDs field in the Dimension Group section. The MVT campaign ID is provided with the name of the MVT campaign in CA. To find the ID in CA, open the MVT Campaigns search and look for a campaign.
Web hits reporting
There is a discrepancy regarding the number of web hits on a product level and other measures that include the numbers of hits for calculation. Data for web hits on a product level has been available only since July 1st, 2011, in BI. Conversion of older data is impossible.