Customers have the opportunity to compare their own business figures with "the market". In this context, "the market" is a fictional company whose numbers are derived from the real business figures of similar other companies.
The comparison figures do not provide any insights into the actual operations of individual competitors. Only aggregated data from multiple companies is used. Absolute figures (revenue, transactions) are normalized to the level of each respective customer.
Selection of benchmark companies
Similar companies are sought to form the benchmark cluster. Similarity is determined based on transaction structure.
The following criteria are considered for this purpose:
- Number of transactions
- Average shopping cart value
- Average item value
- Return rate
- Sales regions (countries where customers are active and their level of activity)
Based on these criteria, a similarity score is calculated. The most similar companies are selected to form a benchmark cluster for each tenant.
The criteria are weighted differently. Currently, this is hard-coded in the data warehouse. In the future, it should be transitioned to a dynamic and data-driven structure.
Imported transactions
For imported transactions, relevant information such as drop-offs is missing, making these data limited in usability.
There is consideration to include the "import rate" as a criterion in the selection of benchmark companies. Possible scenarios include setting a maximum import rate or incorporating this rate as a penalty score into the similarity calculation.
When visualizing benchmark metrics, imported transactions cannot be used for all metrics aiming at performance evaluation of payment service providers (PSPs). However, other comparisons can still be made using imported transactions. The visualization calculations can be performed in Power BI and do not need separate preparation in the data warehouse.
Exclusion of benchmark companies
In order to be considered as benchmark companies, certain requirements must be met to ensure a minimum data quality.
- Must be active in collana_pay for at least one year
- Must have reached a certain revenue threshold within the last rolling year (suggested threshold: €10,000 per year).
Tenants who do not meet the revenue threshold will also not have their own benchmark cluster but can only view their own data.