IRP Ecommerce Definitions

This page provides definitions of terms that are used in the IRP Ecosystem and also describes how IRP Commerce defines numerical and statistical information.

Ecommerce Gross Profit (eGP)

Ecommerce Gross Profit is the core metric in ecommerce.  This is defined as the [Gross Sales - Cost of Goods - Direct Traffic Costs].  e.g., for £1,000 of website sales at 50% margin - Gross Profit £500 - if £100 in total is paid directly to Google, Facebook, Affiliate marketing - the ecommerce Gross Profit is £400.  Gross Profit is £500 eCPA% is 10% - Ecommerce Gross Profit (eGP) is £400.

Attribution Model

The reporting requirement for Service Providers stipulated in the IRP Tracking & Attribution Model is 'Last Click for the Previous 30 Days'. This is the last click to the IRP site and not the last click seen by the individual Traffic Source. The Attribution Model ensures that the IRP World system functions fairly for all members of the IRP Ecosystem. Service Providers can attribute sales in other ways for their own purposes elsewhere. For more details, see IRP Tracking and Attribution Standard for Service Providers (log-in required).

Average Order Value (AOV)

The average monetary value of all orders for the selected time frame. The AOV is calculated using the formula: (Total Revenue / Number of Orders). AOV can be analysed separately by device – desktop, mobile and tablet.

Annual Sales Target

This figure is discussed and agreed between the Merchant’s Ecommerce Manager and the IRP Account Manager and is important for achieving the ultimate goal of the IRP Merchant achieving their Annual Sales Target at their Target CPA%.

Average Sale Price of Item

The average price that products are sold for within a particular market or across all markets. This is calculated using the formula: (Total Revenue / Number of Units Sold).

Bounce Rate

The percentage of visitors who click on an ad or a search engine result, get through to a Merchant website, but then leave after viewing only a single page, for the selected time frame. Google defines this as ‘the percentage of single-page sessions (i.e. sessions in which the person left a site from the entrance page without interacting with the page)’.

Click Through Rate (CTR)

The percentage of times that a recipient opens an email and clicks the link to get through to a website. This is calculated as (Read Emails / Sent Emails) * 100.

Conversion Rate (CR)

The percentage of visitors who become customers or, more precisely, the percentage of sessions that result in a sale for the selected time frame. This is calculated using the formula: (Total Transactions / Total Sessions) * 100. Note that sessions are used in this calculation and not visitors.

The Product Conversion Rate is calculated using the formula: (Product orders / Product views) * 100.

Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)

This indicates how much it costs in terms of marketing spend to acquire a customer, expressed as a percentage, for the selected time frame. The CPA% is calculated using the formula: (Total Marketing Cost / Total Revenue) * 100.

A Target CPA% figure is discussed and agreed between the Merchant’s Ecommerce Manager and the IRP Account Manager and is important for achieving the ultimate goal of IRP Merchant achieving their Annual Sales Target at their Target CPA%.

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

The current average revenue generated by a customer over their lifetime of making purchases, for all of the selected time frame. CLV is calculated using the formula: (Total Revenue up to the month in question / Number of Distinct Customers during that time frame (from the start of their IRP trading)). This does not include customers who have signed up but never purchased – it includes only purchasing customers.

Dropped Baskets %

The percentage of dropped baskets (AKA abandoned carts) within the selected time frame.

Efficiency (EFF) %

This efficiency rating is calculated as the total revenue for the time frame divided by the total possible revenue for the time frame and expressed as a percentage: ((Total Revenue / Total Possible Revenue) * 100). The 'possible revenue' figure is what Merchants could have achieved in the time frame had they maximised their use of traffic sources and conversion techniques; this is calculated using a complex algorithm used by the IIT and includes analysis of anonymised sales and growth data from all IRPs.

Fulfilment Rate

The percentage of orders fulfilled for the selected time frame. This is calculated as (Total number of orders made / Total number of orders fulfilled) * 100.

Margin

The total margin for the selected time frame. This is calculated using the formula: ([Sales price - Cost price] / Sales price) * 100.

The total Product Margin for the time frame selected is calculated using the formula: ([Product sale price - Product cost price] / Product sale price) * 100.

Product Views

The total number of views of products within the time frame selected.

Profit

The total profit for the selected time frame. This is calculated as (Total Revenue - Costs).

Sales Growth

The percentage difference (positive or negative) between the Total Revenue for the selected time frame. These are calculated using the formula: (Difference between Most Recent Figure & Earlier Figure / Earlier Figure) * 100.

Stock Turn Cycle

This is the turn rate (in days) for all stock based on the average sales velocity over the previous 6 months. It will take approximately this period of time before all stock items are sold.

Theoretical Maximum

The total number and the total value of all online and telesales orders placed + all dropped baskets for the current day.

TMR Ratio

This means ‘Theoretical Maximum Revenue’ Ratio and is calculated as: [the value of all orders placed (online and telesales)] / [the value of all orders placed (online and telesales) + dropped baskets] and expressed as a percentage.

TMC Ratio

This means ‘Theoretical Maximum Conversion’ Ratio and is calculated as: [the current total number of orders] / [the theoretical maximum number of orders] and expressed as a percentage. (The ‘theoretical maximum number of orders’ is based on [all current orders (online + telesales)] + [dropped baskets].)

Total Discounts

The total value of discounts and the percentage difference versus the previous year for the time frame selected. The percentage difference is calculated as: (Total Discounts for time frame / Total Sales for time frame) * 100.

Total Orders

The total number of orders placed within the selected time frame.

Total Returns

The total number of returned purchases within the time frame selected.

Total Sales

The total value of sales for the selected time frame. Percentage contributions of individual Traffic Channels to overall sales are calculated as: (Revenue from Traffic Channel / Total Revenue) * 100. Sales figures are further categorised as follows:

• Domestic Sales – The total value and percentage contribution of all domestic sales for all of the selected time frame.
• International Sales – The total value and percentage contribution of all international sales for all of the selected time frame.
• Desktop Sales – The total value and percentage contribution of all desktop sales for all of the selected time frame.
• Mobile Sales – The total value and percentage contribution of all mobile sales for all of the selected time frame.

Total Sessions

The total number of sessions within the time frame selected. A session is recorded when a visitor stays on a site (active or inactive) for up to a set period to time (often defined as 30 minutes).

Units Purchased

The total number of units purchased within the time frame selected. A ‘unit’ is generally defined as any single item that can be priced and ordered by a customer. If bundles or ‘kits’ are sold containing multiple individual items, the whole bundle might be considered to be the unit. Items that come in pairs (such as shoes) would be counted as one unit.

Customer Data

This refers to information and data (including personal data) relating to an end-customer, including order information, payment information and account information.

Data Protection Legislation

This is the UK Data Protection Legislation and any other European Union legislation relating to personal data and all other legislation and regulatory requirements in force from time to time which apply to the use of personal data (including the privacy of electronic communications) and the guidance and codes of practice issued by the relevant data protection or supervisory authority and applicable to IRP partners and Merchants.

IRP Account Managers

The Account Manager’s role is an advisory service that has the basic remit of increasing sales for IRP Merchants so that they hit their annual targets. The role involves steering the direction of IRP Merchants, suggesting appropriate services for them to buy and which IRP Service Providers they should use. IRP Consultant status is a Gold Standard that indicates that the person deeply understands the IRP and the IRP ecosystem and is effective in whatever area they are working in within the IRP World.

IRP Agencies

These are technology companies and ecommerce consulting houses that set up and deploy IRP systems for retail, distribution and manufacturing companies. To their clients, IRP Agencies will have their own relationship and positioning. What everyone shares in common is the belief that ecommerce is all about sales, profit and growth, with IRP technology underpinning that shared goal. IRP Agencies typically perform the following functions:

• Deploy new IRP instances.
• Provide account management for IRP Merchants.
• Potentially run other services such as graphic design, PPC advertising, social media advertising and so forth.

IRP Merchants

These are companies that are using the IRP as their ecommerce system. They can be retailers, distributors or manufacturers. All IRP World Members who are part of the same IRP Merchant company are referred to collectively as the company’s Ecommerce Trading Team whose overarching remit is to use their individual and collective skill sets and IRP best practices to increase sales and profits for their company at the agreed Target CPA%.

IRP Customer Success Management (CSM)

CSM is a light-touch advisory service provided to IRP Merchants to ‘protect their profits’. The service ensures that the IRP Commerce Cloud, IRP World Services and strategy work together to maximise sales growth at the Target CPA%. It involves working with the IRP Merchant, their Ecommerce Manager and Account Manager to ensure success.

IRP Ecommerce Managers

IRP Ecommerce Managers work for IRP Merchants. Their essential role is discussed in the article The Role of an IRP Ecommerce Manager. Their primary remit is to be accountable for:

• The creation and delivery of the company's ecommerce strategy – alongside the company management.
• Monthly reporting within the business; this is a key part of the role, to ensure that stakeholders are aware of all aspects of performance and strategy.
• The overall revenue of the ecommerce operation.

IRP Merchant Data

This refers to information and data (including personal data) relating to an IRP Merchant, including financial, product and services information and any Customer Data.

IRP Merchant Store

This refers to the online offering for which the Merchant has licensed an instance of IRP Commerce Cloud from IRP Commerce.

IRP Partner Program

This refers to the program operated by IRP Commerce to enable all of the IRP Partner Types to participate in the IRP World.

IRP Reporting & Data Requirements

This refers to the reporting requirements corresponding to each IRP Partner Type in order to facilitate the provision of the IRP Commerce Cloud by IRP Commerce, to ensure optimal usage and for the benefit of the IRP Ecosystem. The requirements are set out at IRP Reporting & Data Requirements (log-in required).

IRP Service Providers

These are companies that provide direct services to IRP Merchants to help them run their online businesses, for example pay per click marketing, affiliate marketing, translations, and so on. The list of services officially recognised are listed in the IRP World. For the IRP World System to function and for things to be fair, IRP Commerce requires data to be tracked in the same way by all Service Providers.

IRP Technical Partners

These are companies that are technically linked with, or integrated with, the IRP. They provide technology used by IRP Merchants, including EPOS, accounting, order fulfilment, warehouse management, third-party logistics, stock control, resource planning, inventory management, and customer relationship management. Examples of IRP Technical Partners include: Google, Royal Mail, Global Payments (Realex), AWIN, Trustpilot, PayPal, Worldpay and many others. Several specific software systems are listed on the Technical Partners page.

IRP World

The IRP World is a unique, performance-based, quantitative ecommerce ecosystem that ensures maximum Merchant sales growth at their Target CPA% and Target Margin. In IRP World, IRP Merchants can:

• Access resources that maximise ecommerce revenue, margin and profit.
• Connect with performance-rated Service Providers.
• Access IRP training and accreditation.
• Contribute to the IRP Road Map and view product release information.
• Access key information about IRP Services, Product Modules and Standards.

Referrer

A Referrer is any person engaged by IRP Commerce to source and introduce prospective Merchants to IRP Commerce.

Sales Channel / Marketing Channel / Multichannel

IRP Commerce defines a sales channel as the way that an item is purchased: via web, EPOS, mobile or telesales. Technically, we define the term multichannel as the combination of IRP stock control with sales channels and digital marketing channels (or simply ‘traffic channels’) all in a single, real-time system – the IRP Commerce Cloud. Digital marketing channels are key so that revenue sources can be defined correctly. IRP Commerce defines the following marketing channels:

• Direct
• Paid search marketing (e.g. pay per click)
• Affiliate marketing
• Organic search traffic (e.g. SEO and content production)
• Free social media marketing
• Paid social media marketing
• Email marketing
• Remarketing and display advertising
• Marketplaces
• Paid offline advertising
• Referral traffic
• Comparison and review sites
• Other (a catch-all category for channels that currently have no name)

Tier 1 Platform

It’s important to differentiate ecommerce platforms that are classed as Tier 1-capable, such as the IRP Commerce Cloud, from other platforms. Tier 1 platforms are those that we believe are difficult to outgrow as a company’s online turnover scales. We say that to be classified as Tier 1, a platform must have proven that it has transacted at least £1 million in a single day for a single Merchant, be generic to a large degree and have transacted more than £1 billion securely in the last five years.

IRP Services are provided by IRP Commerce or its nominated Service Provider. Services include one-off Services in respect of the IRP World such as onboarding and training, and ongoing services such as support and account management. For full details see IRP World Services (log-in required).

IRP Agency Services

These services are provided by IRP Commerce to ensure that IRP Agencies are fully trained and equipped to provide an optimal service for their IRP clients.

IRP Commerce Cloud Services

These are ongoing services provided by IRP Agencies to enable IRP Merchants to maximise the power of the IRP technology and ecosystem, for example account management, customer success management, design and support.

IRP Development Services

IRP Development Services and IRP Integration Services are available for specific, tightly-defined circumstances in which IRP Merchants require new or enhanced areas of functionality to enhance their business productivity or capability.

Digital Marketing Services

These are key marketing services provided by IRP Service Providers, for example affiliate marketing, PPC, social media marketing, email marketing, SEO and many more.

IRP Ecommerce & Consulting Services

These are expert services provided by IRP Agencies, for example conversion rate optimisation, customer retention, translation & localisation, international sales acquisition and many others.

IRP Implementation Services

These are one-off services that every IRP Merchant needs to get up and running on a new IRP system, from deployment and training right through to Go Live.

The IRP Commerce Cloud comprises four products, each of which includes multiple modules – for full details see IRP Commerce Cloud Products (log-in required).

IRP Commerce Cloud

This is the ecommerce platform made available to IRP Merchants by IRP Commerce to provide ecommerce capabilities on a platform as a service (PaaS) basis. The IRP Commerce Cloud has securely transacted more than £1 billion in ecommerce sales to 170 countries. It is the UK's fastest-growing and only profit-driven platform.

IRP Shopper

The leading profit-generating solution to accelerate online businesses.

• Secure, cloud-based, international shopping for B2C and B2B.
• Preloaded with multi-lingual, multi-currency, revenue-focused ecommerce features.
• Powerful central administration console provides total control of every aspect of ecommerce.

IRP Trading Terminal

Uses intelligence and insights to unlock the IRP data gold mine.

• Fully-integrated with the IRP.
• Applies statistics and machine learning to transform ecommerce revenues and team efficiencies.

IRP Marketing Cloud

Powerful, first-touch marketing suite.

• IRP Email Manager provides a powerful, low-cost way to personalise email sales directly from the IRP.
• IRP Feed Manager provides instant access to over 40 Google shopping feeds that are ready to use, internationally configured and always current.

IRP Marketplaces

Seamless integration with Amazon and eBay marketplaces.

• Automated synchronisation with IRP inventory and order systems.
• Simple management of pricing and stock to control all selling touchpoints.