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You’ve probably been told many times about the many wonderful things customer relationship software can do for you—but what do the stats say? It’s much easier to fathom the true benefits of ecommerce CRMs if you take a look at what industry knowledge says on the subject. 

I’m going to provide you with 16 stats that demonstrate the benefits of ecommerce software, including how it affects your online business and your relationship with your customers.

What is Ecommerce CRM Software?

Ecommerce CRM, sometimes shortened to ECRM, is a digital tool designed to help businesses reach out to current and potential customers in order to boost sales, strengthen customer loyalty, and mediate potential problems.

Businesses—especially online businesses—understand that the marketing messages of the pre-digital era are no longer effective. Remember when guerilla marketing tactics included fax advertisements and door-to-door campaigns? Yeah…that’s not going to cut it anymore. 

The best ecommerce system for customer management should be able to:

  • Create actionable customer profiles
  • React quickly to complaints
  • Automated customer segmentation for promotions and email marketing campaigns
  • Analyze customer data to direct future actions 
  • Hyper-personalize customer support and outreach 
  • Identify sales opportunities and buying patterns 
  • Plug into social media channels and other feedback centers 

So now you know the “what” of ECRM solutions. But what about the “why”? Keep reading and I’ll dive into some of the most compelling stats you should consider when deciding to leverage an ecommerce CRM platform for your sales and marketing goals. 

Benefits of eCommerce CRMS by the Numbers

1. CRM has an ROI of $8.71 for every dollar spent.

CRMs provide new ways to collaborate with customers, upsell and cross-sell, and analyze purchase data after the fact. It’s not surprising that it has a large return on investment, but even I was impressed that, in time, it gives you back nearly $9 for every $1 you spend. Remember this juicy statistic if you are looking to pitch the tangible value of ECRM to the C-suites. 

2. Having access to meaningful data can shorten sales cycles by 8 to 14%.

A CRM system provides a wealth of customer information metrics, including customer profiles, customer behavior, sales history, purchasing bottlenecks, and conversion rates for your ecommerce website. Sales people who have access to all of this information are able to shorten sales cycles, meaning they can move more quickly and bring in more customers. 

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3. 91% of US businesses with more than 10 employees have CRM systems in place.

It’s safe to say that most of your competition is using CRM data to improve the customer journey. To stay ahead, you should too. It can be hard for an ecommerce company to stand out when just about anyone can make a Shopify or Ebay account these days. Holistic, consistent ecommerce CRM strategies are what will set you apart from the masses. 

4. The global CRM market is projected to reach $145.79 billion by 2029.

Businesses of all types are getting on board with CRM software. As more businesses see the benefits, developers are driven to find new and better ways to use this technology. That these programs are growing so quickly is a sign of the innovation to come.

5. In 2022 alone, growth of the global CRM market grew 10.5% to $63.9 billion. 

The global CRM market is expanding rapidly and soon it will become as synonymous with business operations as word processing software and spreadsheets. Again, this goes to show how important this software is becoming and how quickly it’s being adopted around the globe. In the near future, it will be essential to invest in CRM software to stay current and competitive.

6. Sales reps only spend 35.2% of their time selling and 65% on non-selling activities.

Sales reps get bogged down by administrative work, report building, client analysis, and data entry. What would happen if you took some of these items off their plate? By investing in an ecommerce CRM solution, sales reps can free up some of the time they’re spending on non-selling tasks and getting back to what they do best. This can be especially important for startups and small business sales teams, whose limited resources make it extra important to maximize time management. Giving your sales team more time to actually sell can go a long way to increasing revenue. 

7. 52% of consumers believe that companies should take action when it comes to customer feedback.

One of the most effective approaches to customer retention is to take feedback seriously. Nothing improves a customer relationship more than making them feel that you are there to help and listen. CRM systems may even pull customer feedback data from a variety of sources so that you can sort through it all at once and drill down on any issues. This way, customer needs can be addressed quickly. 

8. 40% of customers don’t care whether or not a human helps them.

Some ecommerce businesses may be wary of the automation side of CRM software, but this may not be as big of an issue as you might think. A good portion of customers are fine with interacting with a chat bot to resolve their problems. Some people want fast, self-help oriented responses and will prioritize this over connecting to someone in person. Empowering these customers to do so within your ecommerce store will lighten the load of your customer service team, too. 

9. Customers spent 19% more when they felt that they belonged to a brand’s online community. 

Personalization is so important and a lot of consumers these days look for more than a quality product at a good price. Customers like to feel that they are a part of something bigger. Belonging to a group of like-minded people or believing in a brand that they feel represents their ideals can lead to enhanced customer experience, and in turn, increased sales. An ecommerce CRM can improve customer loyalty by helping you create a more personal experience for segment customers. 

10. It costs your business five times more to reach new customers than it does to retain current ones.

Here’s another statistic that shows just how much of an impact effective customer service and a strong customer retention strategy has on your bottom line. Sure, CRMs can help you with lead generation...but the bulk of this type of software is designed to reduce customer churn and increase customer satisfaction. 

11. Increasing customer retention by only 5% can lead to an increase in sales between 25% and 95%.

It’s well known that there’s better value in keeping current customers than onboarding new ones—but this statistic is still staggering. CRM software can support customer retention through building data-backed marketing ecommerce CRM strategies, custom sales campaigns, integrating with third-party feedback software, empowering case management, streamlining email workflows, and analyzing customer history data.

12. Loyal customers spend 67% more than new ones.

Are you starting to see a pattern? Building relationships with current customers will most likely net you more in sales than seeking out entirely new prospects. Ecommerce CRMs can help you strengthen the relationships you already have in order to boost the likelihood of returning customers, word-of-mouth exposure, and product loyalty. You might just find that your target audience already lies within your existing customer base.

13. 66% of sales come from just 25% of customers. 

You’ve probably heard the concept of product “whales” before. Essentially, this means that there will be plenty of people who dabble in your product or service but only a small number of customers will actually spend big time. Ecommerce CRM tools can leverage sales data and customer profiles to hone in on likely candidates for big spending and long term purchasing relationships. 

14. Customers who receive responses from merchants respond with feedback 14% faster.

CRM software makes it easy to reach out to customers and collect feedback so you have a better idea of what you’re doing right and where you need to improve. CRMs can help you automate parts of this process so that you never miss an opportunity. Customers like to feel heard (and fast!), and if they feel like you’re genuinely interested in what they have to say they will reward you with their loyalty.

15. Businesses have a 60% to 70% higher chance of selling to an existing customer.

Again, this just goes to show how important it is to maintain a loyal customer base, which is a main reason why businesses use an ecommerce customer relationship management system. We’ve already seen that it costs less to keep a current customer than it does to find a new one, and the loyal customers are more likely to spend more. Now, we see that existing customers are also easier to sell to.

16. Loyal customers are six times more likely to forgive a mistake and twice as likely to recommend a business.

There is a lot to be said for customer loyalty. Good customers who believe in your business are not only more likely to make additional purchases, they’re also more willing to forgive an error. Plus, they become a walking billboard for your business and spread your brand through the most powerful marketing channel: word of mouth.

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What Do You Think About These Ecommerce CRM Stats?

Did you learn something new? Are you feeling inspired to check out ecommerce CRM systems for yourself? I hope I was able to enlighten you as to how CRM is empowering others in the ecommerce ecosystem. 

Knowing the benefits of CRM, you can start to think about what type of solution might be right for you. Check out our comprehensive list of the best ecommerce CRM software available on the market.

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By Francois Marchand

Francois Marchand is The Ecomm Manager's content strategist and editor. He is passionate about helping and educating business leaders, ecommerce professionals, and digital marketers grow their skill sets to stay ahead of the competition. Francois holds a BA Specialization in Communication Studies & Journalism from Concordia University (Montreal, QC) and 20+ years of experience in ecommerce, marketing, traditional and digital media, and public relations, including The Vancouver Sun, National Post, CBC/Radio-Canada, Unbounce, and Vancouver Film School. He also hosts The Ecomm Manager Podcast, discussing ecommerce best practices, customer experience, branding, inventory management, shipping and delivery, and analytics with expert guests.