Fifty-four percent of eCommerce executives say re-platforming is a top priority in the next year, according to Forrester. If you identify with this sentiment, then you’re well aware this decision is one that requires a great deal of researching, planning, strategy, and time.
However, this is a perfect opportunity to review the state of your commerce business and identify what you truly need before choosing a commerce platform and partner to assist with the implementation. 
In a related post, we identified the five key items to include in your business case as you begin this process. Throughout this series, we’ll explore each of those topics in more detail.
Step 1 – Establish your baseline
What is the current state of your eCommerce business?
Start by reviewing the past and current trends of your key performance indicators (KPIs) over a 12-to-24-month period. This step is crucial for measuring the success of your future platform’s capabilities. The baseline should be established around several perspectives:
- Customers
Review customer trends, such as customer acquisition rates, average lifetime value of customers, customer attrition, and site visits (adjusted for seasonality). Documenting the historical and current metrics will help you effectively measure additional capabilities that impact the customer experience.
- Sales
Understanding and establishing a baseline for conversion rates, average order size, and volume are crucial to determine the return on investment of a new commerce platform.
- Capacity
Identifying your capacity will help you determine at what point your current platform will have an impact on your eCommerce business. Make sure to answer questions such as:
- How many visitors or orders can your current platform process in a day?
- When will you reach the capacity and performance limits that impact customers’ ability to order?
- What is your technology cost per order?
Taking the time to not only identify the challenges of your current platform but also understand the KPIs driving your current business will provide the context you need to measure future success against your defined objectives.
Learn more about preparing a business case – and the necessary elements to include – when choosing a commerce platform. Download our latest guide – Best Practices for Choosing a Commerce Platform, Part 1.
