Why do some e-commerce campaigns generate traffic but very few sales? The answer may be in the customer journey: what happens between someone seeing an advertisement, visiting your store, evaluating the product and completing a purchase.
I'm Suraj Pandey, founder of ZeroCostLift and a performance marketer.
In this guide, I'll explain how I analyse an e-commerce user journey, why I separate traffic problems from funnel problems, and how you can use data to decide what to fix first.
What Is a User Journey in E-commerce?
An e-commerce user journey describes the interactions a person has with a brand before, during and after purchasing. For paid advertising campaigns, a simplified journey may look like this:
Real customer journeys are not always linear. Someone might discover your product on Instagram, return through Google Search, read reviews, and purchase several days later.
But tracking these key steps makes it easier to identify where visitors drop off.
If you'd like to understand the wider model, read our marketing funnel guide .
An E-commerce User Journey Example with Numbers
Let's use a hypothetical campaign to see what the numbers tell us. This example uses the figures from the original article; it is not a real campaign result.
| Stage or Metric | Value | What It Tells Us |
|---|---|---|
| Ad Clicks | 10,000 | People clicked an advertisement |
| Landing Page Views | 100 | Only 1% of recorded clicks became measured landing page views |
| Add to Carts | 10 | 10% of landing page views led to an add-to-cart event |
| Checkouts Initiated | 5 | 50% of add-to-cart events progressed to checkout |
| Purchases | 1 | 20% of initiated checkouts ended in a purchase |
| Average Order Value | ₹1,000 | Revenue per order in this example |
| Ad Spend | ₹1,000 | Total advertising expense |
| Purchase Revenue | ₹1,000 | 1 order × ₹1,000 |
| ROAS | 1.0× | ₹1,000 revenue divided by ₹1,000 ad spend |
The first red flag: 10,000 clicks but only 100 measured landing page views.
That 1% click-to-page-view ratio is unusually low. Before changing ads or product pages, check whether click data and page-view data are comparable and whether there is a technical or tracking issue.
Possible explanations include a slow or broken landing page, unwanted or accidental clicks, redirects, differences in platform reporting, consent settings or missing tracking events.
The numbers alone cannot prove which explanation is correct.
Also remember: A ROAS of 1.0× means attributed revenue equals advertising spend. It does not mean the business broke even, because product costs, shipping, payment fees and other expenses still need to be considered.
My Approach: Separate Traffic from the Funnel
When campaign performance drops, I start by dividing the user journey into two connected parts:
Traffic: Who is arriving, where they come from, what the ad promises and whether those visitors are relevant.
Funnel: What visitors experience after clicking, including the landing page, collection or product page, offer, cart, checkout and follow-up.
These two parts influence each other. A strong funnel cannot fully compensate for irrelevant traffic, and highly relevant traffic may not convert if the page experience is poor.
Part 1: Analyse Your Traffic
Traffic is the audience entering your website or funnel. It may come from Meta Ads, Google Ads, organic search, social media content, YouTube, email or referrals.
Ask These Questions First
- Who is the ideal customer for this product?
- Does the creative communicate the product and offer clearly?
- Does the advertisement attract people with relevant purchase intent?
- Are clicks reaching the correct destination?
- Are device, placement, country or audience segments behaving differently?
What to Check
Review CTR, CPC, click-to-landing-page-view ratio, placement performance, destination URL, page loading and the quality of sessions arriving from each traffic source.
Compare definitions carefully: link clicks, outbound clicks, sessions and landing page views are not interchangeable metrics.
Example: If an advertisement shows a bestselling dress but links to a broad collection where that dress is difficult to find, the problem involves both ad-to-page relevance and funnel experience.
Part 2: Analyse Your E-commerce Funnel
Your funnel is not simply your website. It is the experience that helps a visitor understand the offer, develop confidence and move toward a purchase.
Landing Page and Product Discovery
- Does the page match the product or promise shown in the ad?
- Is the advertised product visible and easy to find?
- Are product benefits, pricing and delivery information clear?
- Does the page work well on mobile devices?
Product Page and Add to Cart
Review image quality, size or product details, reviews, the offer, trust information and add-to-cart usability.
If people engage but rarely add products to the cart, investigate product relevance, information gaps, pricing and purchase hesitation.
Checkout and Purchase
If many customers initiate checkout but few purchase, inspect shipping charges, payment failures, delivery options, checkout usability and other friction.
Do not assume every abandoned checkout has the same cause.
Post-Purchase Journey
Customer service, delivery experience and appropriate follow-up communication can affect repeat purchases and referrals.
A complete marketing funnel includes retention, not only the first sale.
For further examples, explore ZeroCostLift's e-commerce marketing funnel breakdowns .
How to Interpret CTR, CPC and Funnel Metrics
One metric changing does not automatically reveal the root cause. You need to understand the relationship between metrics, campaign conditions and the underlying customer journey.
| Observation | Possible Reasons to Investigate |
|---|---|
| CPC Rises | Competition, auction changes, lower click-through rate, audience mix or placement changes |
| CTR Falls | Creative relevance, fatigue, targeting changes or placement mix |
| Cost Per Landing Page View Falls | Lower spend per measured page view, even if another click metric moves differently |
| High Clicks, Low Page Views | Loading problems, redirects, click quality or measurement differences |
| Strong Add-to-Cart, Low Purchases | Checkout friction, payment issues, total price or delivery constraints |
For example, CPC can decrease while CTR also decreases because CPC depends on cost and clicks, whereas CTR depends on clicks and impressions.
Changes in impressions, CPM, targeting or placements can move these metrics in different directions.
Practical rule: Before increasing or stopping ad spend, confirm the tracking is working, identify the stage with the greatest drop-off and compare results with relevant historical or control periods.
E-commerce User Journey Optimisation Checklist
- Verify tracking: Make sure landing page views, add-to-cart events, checkouts and purchases are recorded correctly.
- Check traffic relevance: Compare audiences, creatives, placements and search intent.
- Match ad and landing page: The promoted product, offer and messaging should be consistent.
- Review mobile experience: Test speed, layout, product information and buttons.
- Inspect funnel drop-offs: Look for the largest meaningful losses between stages.
- Check checkout friction: Review shipping, payments, policies and usability.
- Assess profitability: Look beyond ROAS to margins and acquisition economics.
- Test one hypothesis at a time: Measure the effect instead of copying tactics without validation.
How ZeroCostLift fits in: You can study brand funnel breakdowns to learn how established brands communicate their offers, organise pages and guide customers through buying journeys.
Use those observations to create tests for your own brand rather than assuming another company's tactics will deliver identical results.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an e-commerce user journey?
It is the series of interactions a customer has with a store, from discovery and product evaluation through purchase and post-purchase engagement.
What is the difference between traffic and a marketing funnel?
Traffic describes the visitors arriving and where they come from. The funnel describes the experience and steps that guide those visitors toward a desired action.
Why do ad clicks not match landing page views?
Differences can arise from page load failures, accidental clicks, redirects, consent or tracking limitations, and differing reporting definitions.
Which e-commerce funnel metrics should I track?
Useful metrics include relevant clicks, landing page views, add-to-cart rate, checkout initiation, purchase conversion rate, CPA, ROAS and repeat purchase rate.
Does ROAS of 1 mean I am breaking even?
No. A 1.0× ROAS means attributed revenue equals ad spend. Other expenses may still make the campaign unprofitable.
How can I improve a low-converting e-commerce funnel?
Confirm tracking, identify the weak stage, check traffic and offer relevance, review page or checkout friction, and test improvements using reliable data.
Final Thoughts: Fix the Right Part of the Journey
Strong e-commerce performance comes from connecting relevant traffic with a clear, trustworthy and easy-to-use purchasing experience.
When results decline, avoid guessing whether the ad or the website is responsible. Study the entire journey, isolate the most likely issue and test a measurable improvement.
Study Real Brand Marketing Funnels
Explore ZeroCostLift's funnel breakdowns to examine advertising messages, landing pages, offers, checkout experiences and customer journeys across different brands.
Explore E-commerce Funnels →
