By Ellie-Rose Davies, Content Manager at IMRG
IMRG data shows that traffic to online retail sites is rising, while conversion rates have remained broadly consistent.
However, with bot and automated activity also increasing, headline traffic figures may no longer provide retailers with a complete picture of performance.
We spoke to experts across the IMRG community to explore what could be driving the increase, how retailers can distinguish genuine customer activity from automated visits, and which additional metrics can provide a clearer view of traffic quality.
What is happening to online retail traffic?
In a recent episode of The IMRG Show, our Strategy & Insight Director, Andy Mulcahy, presented several findings on traffic to online retail sites.
Key takeaways from this segment included:
- Since April last year traffic has had a lift off.
- You could look at the growth in traffic and presume the cause is bot traffic, but it also coincides with the heatwaves we had throughout Summer.
- Lots of retailers have become alert to the issue of bot traffic and put measures in place to isolate this data so that it doesn’t skew their figures.
- July saw an increase of +11.7% YoY in traffic.
- Clothing didn’t have a particularly good year, but it has increased over the heatwave period. Arguably, it could also be bots.
- Health & Beauty traffic has seen peaks and troughs. Is this heatwave affected or even potentially discounting messaging that brought weekly fluctuations?
Interestingly, industry-average conversion rates have remained broadly flat while traffic has grown. This raises an important question: is online retail receiving more poor-quality or automated traffic, or are genuine customers simply following longer and more complex routes to purchase?
The data presented here is derived from IMRG’s Online Retail Index which is representative of £30bn+ in online spend.
Traffic growth needs greater context
Dan Bond, VP of Marketing at RevLifter, begins by explaining why the increase cannot be understood through traffic figures alone.
‘Traffic numbers are getting harder to trust, and that’s the real story here.’
‘IMRG’s data shows traffic keeps climbing while conversion holds broadly flat. Some of that extra traffic is genuine, curious shoppers. Some of it is bots and AI agents browsing rather than buying. Lumping the two together just muddies the picture.’
Dan says, ‘The metric that matters more is intent: are visitors behaving like people close to a purchase, hesitating at checkout, comparing options, coming back? That’s where the opportunity sits.’
‘Retailers who start measuring intent, not just traffic, can spot the difference between a busy site and a productive one.’
However, a visit that does not immediately result in a purchase is not necessarily poor-quality traffic. Consumers may visit several websites and return to the same retailer as part of a longer consideration journey.
Przemek Wyszynski, MD – UK&I at RTB House says, ‘To make better sense of web traffic data – retailers can start reconciling analytics data with first-party signals, completed transactions and CRM records.’
‘Our EMEA research shows 71% of shoppers visit multiple websites and 64% revisit the same site, so an initial visit without a sale is not necessarily poor-quality – just the first step on a typically journey complex buying journey.’
Market conditions can also affect whether an interested visitor goes on to complete a purchase.
This means that understanding conversion may require a view of what the customer encounters beyond an individual retailer’s website.
Hemang Nathwani, Sales Director at Price Trakker argues that ‘As automated and bot traffic grows, headline visitor numbers become less useful on their own.’
‘Retailers should focus increasingly on the quality and commercial intent behind that traffic.’
‘Product engagement, add-to-basket behaviour, checkout progression and ultimately revenue can provide a much clearer picture than visits alone.’
‘External market conditions matter too. A retailer can attract high-quality traffic but still lose the sale if a competitor has better availability, a stronger promotion or a significantly lower price.’
Hemang says, ‘Understanding conversion therefore requires looking beyond website analytics and considering what the customer sees across the wider market at the point they make their purchasing decision.’
Together, these perspectives show that traffic without an immediate conversion can have several explanations. The visitor could be automated, at an early stage of their journey, or comparing the retailer’s offer with alternatives elsewhere.
Measuring genuine customer intent
Looking at what happens after a visitor arrives can provide a clearer indication of whether traffic represents genuine customer interest.
Product interactions, basket creation and revenue per visitor can add further context to overall session numbers.
Justin Thomas, VP Sales EMEA North at Akeneo says, ‘Traffic is becoming a very blunt measure of eCommerce performance.’
‘As automated and AI-driven activity grows, retailers can distinguish between visits and genuine buying intent.’
‘That means looking beyond sessions and conversion towards engaged sessions, product interaction, basket creation, revenue per genuine visitor and ultimately profitability.’
Justin reveals how ‘High-quality traffic increasingly comes from relevance rather than reach and that can mean connecting customers and AI agents with products that genuinely match the intent and giving them the information and confidence to buy.’
‘Better product experiences can therefore help improve the value of existing traffic without retailers having to spend more to acquire visitors.’
‘Rather than worrying about more traffic, it makes more sense to make every genuine customer visit work harder.’
Traffic source is another important part of the picture. Comparing commercial outcomes by channel can help reveal which activities are attracting engaged customers rather than simply generating the highest volume of visits.
Simon Lam, Head of Marketing UK at Base.com exclaims, ‘At Base.com, we see the importance of looking beyond headline visitor numbers and connecting marketing activity with the commercial outcomes that follow.’
‘Metrics such as conversion by channel, revenue per visitor, customer acquisition cost and repeat purchase rate can provide a much clearer picture of traffic quality.’
‘High-quality traffic can come down to relevance: reaching the right customer, on the right channel, with the right product.’
Simon says, ‘Retailers that understand which sources generate engaged customers and profitable orders can make smarter decisions about where to invest and how to improve conversion.’
While conversion by channel provides useful insight, some partners may influence a purchase without receiving credit for the final click. Journey and funnel reporting can help retailers understand this wider contribution.
Lucy Blake, Account Management Team Leader at Awin explores the value of ‘ journey path and funnel reporting, which provides greater visibility into how affiliate partners influence the journey.’
‘Rather than focussing solely on clicks, using metrics such as Conversion Impact, Basket Boost and Initiator Ratio can help retailers understand which partners drive stronger conversion rates, higher basket values and initiate new purchase journeys.’
Lucy says, ‘This helps to give advertisers a more accurate view of performance and helps identify the partnerships delivering the greatest incremental value.’
Identifying friction in the customer journey
The next consideration is what genuine visitors do once they reach the website. Behavioural insight can reveal where customers encounter difficulties that standard traffic and conversion figures may not explain.
Experts at Fullstory says ‘Traffic growth alongside flat conversion is often a measurement problem before it’s a performance one.’
‘As automated traffic rises, bots can inflate the denominator and mask genuine human improvement.’
‘Retailers can validate sessions on behaviour, then measure quality alongside volume.’
‘MOO is a good example: their existing analytics showed drop-off but not why. Behavioural data surfaced rage clicks and dead clicks that had gone undetected, cutting error rates on their beta product page by 67%, reducing checkout drop-off 12%, and lifting users viewing two or more products by 12%.’
Lane Greer, Senior Manager of Solutions Engineering at Fullstory says, ‘While traffic numbers show how many visitors arrived, only behavioural insights can reveal what actually prevented them from converting.’
He reflects on how “True growth can come from optimising the experience for the traffic you already have, rather than simply chasing more clicks.’
Once a genuine customer moves towards checkout, the information provided around stock, delivery and returns can also influence whether that visit becomes an order.
Paul Taylor, Managing Director at fulfilmentcrowd notes how ‘Retailers should look deeper into measures such as add-to-cart rates, checkout completion, revenue per visitor and average basket value to understand whether traffic is translating into genuine commercial intent.’
He says, ‘Once a real customer reaches checkout fulfilment factors often determine whether they complete the purchase.’
‘Accurate stock availability, transparent delivery costs, realistic delivery dates and straightforward returns all help remove uncertainty.’
Paul reveals that ‘The opportunity is understanding where – and why – customers hesitate, then using that insight to remove friction.’
The commercial value of traffic can continue to change after checkout.
Gavin Murphy, CMO at Scurri recommends retailers to ‘look beyond conversion to measures such as acquisition cost, basket value, delivery cost, failed deliveries, returns and repeat purchase.’
‘Retailers can increasingly connect front end acquisition data with what happens after checkout.’
‘A campaign can appear highly successful on conventional ecommerce metrics while generating expensive fulfilment or disproportionate returns.’
‘Understanding the complete journey from first click through delivery and repeat purchase gives a much clearer picture of which traffic is genuinely valuable,’ shares Gavin.
AI is changing how products are discovered
AI agents are beginning to research, compare and assess products on behalf of consumers, adding another layer to how online traffic is understood.
Alexander Otto, Head of Creative Marketing & Events at Tradebyte shares, ‘As AI increasingly mediates product discovery, brands and retailers need to look beyond traffic volumes and conversion rates.’
‘Product data, fit accuracy, pricing consistency and fulfilment performance will increasingly determine how products are understood, compared and recommended.’
Alexander recommends that ‘Returns should also be treated as a valuable source of insight: high return rates may affect how products are ranked or recommended, while poor fit and inaccurate information can damage both conversion and long-term customer value.’
‘Retailers can therefore connect discovery, purchase and post-purchase data to identify where friction is reducing the value of traffic.’
Alexander reflects on how ‘In an AI-led commerce environment, many strong performing brands will be those that make their products easy for both AI agents and humans to understand, recommend and buy with confidence.’
AI-led discovery may also make it harder to understand individual journeys through traffic and conversion data alone.
Consumers can encounter a recommendation through AI, validate it through other sources and return to purchase later.
Gary Gonsalvez, Head of Marketing (EMEA) at Bazaarvoice says, ‘A lot of retailers have relied on direct navigation, but AI search is different, because it has no inherent reason to prefer a big retailer over a small one, except for the quality of the evidence supporting the recommendation.’
‘Because no two journeys are identical with AI, retailers can measure the system – why a recommendation was made, whether the reasoning held up, and whether quality is improving or regressing.’
‘That means running real evaluations continuously, with someone accountable for the results,’ says Gary.
Gary continues, saying ‘Shoppers will leave your page to validate elsewhere and return on their own timeline.’
‘In practice, this means authentic ratings, reviews and customer content can be part of the conversion infrastructure now.’
‘Retailers who make shopper voices abundant and easy to find can more easily earn buyer trust and convert views to sales.’
What is really driving performance?
The increase in online retail traffic is unlikely to have one simple explanation.
Consumer behaviour, seasonal conditions, discounting, bot activity and AI-led product discovery may all be contributing to the figures.
Traffic and conversion remain useful indicators, but the views shared across the IMRG community show the importance of considering them alongside other measures.
Engaged sessions, product interaction, checkout progression, revenue per visitor, acquisition cost, fulfilment performance, returns and repeat purchase can all provide further insight into whether traffic is producing genuine commercial value.
The key distinction is between a busy website and productive customer activity.
Understanding who or what is visiting, how genuine customers behave and what happens following conversion can provide retailers with a much clearer picture of what is really driving performance.
Published 07/09/2026
