This week, we’re continuing our Q&A segment: Lunch with Littledata!
We recently caught up with Chase Clymer, Co-founder of Electric Eye, to chat about the Shopify world, headless commerce, decision-making during COVID, Shopify analytics, and more. Chase also leads the charge at Honest Ecommerce, a weekly podcast where he provides store owners with honest, actionable advice to grow their business.
A number of Electric Eye’s clients use our Shopify app for Google Analytics, and as a matter of fact,we recently partnered with Honest Ecommerce to assemble a list of the 8 best apps to help you scale in 2020, whether you run on Shopify or Shopify Plus.
Let’s dive right in!
Q: How did you start Electric Eye?
We borrowed the name from a Judas Priest song when clients got confused who to send money to for projects. We started the way most agencies start — by complete accident.
My partner Shawn and I ended up with a handful of freelance ecommerce clients, all on Shopify. We were tackling improvements and marketing and eventually it evolved into a business. That was about 5 years ago. We still have the same core values, with a few extra now. We started because we wanted to run a business that made us happy and truly helped people.
Q: Has your offering changed during the pandemic?
Our focus has been on ecommerce and the pandemic has really highlighted the importance of ecommerce, so we’ve been a bit busier lately. Our offer has not changed at all: we increase sales for ecommerce brands. We create Shopify-powered sales machines with strategic design, development and marketing decisions. We have been a little more friendly when it comes to terms for our clients, as some of them need to make investments now to pay off later.
Q: Is headless ecommerce just a passing fad?
That’s a great question. I don’t think headless ecommerce is a fad. I’ve been learning all about it lately from our Lead Developer. It has its place, but like everything in technology, it’s just a tool. No tool will fix underlying issues. Using all the buzzwords on your store build won’t make your product not suck or fix your marketing. Focus energy there.
Using all the buzzwords on your store build won’t make your product not suck or fix your marketing. Focus energy there.
Tip: Did you know Littledata tracks headless Shopify setups in both Google Analytics and Segment?
Q: What’s one episode you’d recommend for merchants who haven’t yet heard your Honest Ecommerce podcast, and why?
I’d probably recommend our most popular episode with Joe from Speedboostr where we talk about optimizing Shopify stores and automation. In this one, I feel like I’ve finally hit my stride and as someone who can actually host the podcast (haha).
Q: And one more just for good luck?
Our second most popular episode is actually the first episode we ever recorded with Kurt Elster. We chat about ‘revenue optimization’ for Shopify stores — and who doesn’t want to make more money?
Tip: Check out Littledata’s co-founder Ari Messer’s chat with Chase in Honest Ecommerce episode #21
Q: Why are so many musicians interested in tech?
I think it comes down to the DIY nature of most bands. You’re so broke, you have to learn things just to get them done. I believe a lot of brands should do that too. Learn the basics about anything you’re going to hire out so you can talk effectively about how your investment is going to create a positive ROI.
Q: When’s the best time to hire a Shopify expert?
After you’ve found product / market fit. Simply put, this means you’re seeing real sales from actual customers. This would be a good sign you’ve got an actual business. Nobody is going to build a business for you. It takes hard work, and you’ve got to do that work, or you’re not going to get any results.
Q: How important are analytics to your clients? What tools do they use?
Analytics are extremely important and I could rant all day about certain ones in certain places, but in short, we try and focus on three main KPIs:
- Conversion rate
- Average order value (AOV)
- Traffic
These three numbers run an ecommerce business. I’ve got a video on YouTube where I go more in-depth about it. Improving those metrics is where you should focus your time and energy. Shout out to lifetime value (LTV / CLV) as well, but that’s getting a bit more complex haha.
Tip: Selling by subscription? Here’s how you can calculate LTV in Google Analytics for your Shopify subscription store
As far as tools go, Google Analytics is an amazing tool. It’s free and more robust than almost anything else on the market. It’s just a bit overwhelming to set up and use correctly. We also pull a lot of numbers straight from native applications or advertising solutions, such as Klaviyo and Facebook Advertising.
Quick links
- Littledata’s partner program for Shopify Plus agencies and tech partners
- Headless Shopify tracking with Littledata
- Import Facebook Ad Costs to Google Analytics for complete marketing data
- Resources for COVID-19 and ecommerce
