Intro
When viewing a segment in Product Insights, you might see different numbers compared to Segments Dashboard. The main reason for this is because:
Product Insights always shows the product segment performance using the latest state of product information in the inventory.
Segments Dashboard shows historical snapshots of product segments, which are recorded every day.
Therefore, the current number of products in segments in Segments Dashboard may differ from Product Insights because they compare the current situation with the latest historical snapshot. A similar difference can be seen in performance metrics such as spend, revenue, etc.
Date Range vs Lookback Window
One important focal point of calculating product statistics is the time period in question:
Date Range: The time scope for both the metric filters and the numbers in the displayed results.
Date Range in Product Insights: Defines the window from which product performance is concerned in statistics.
Date Range in Segments Dashboard: Defines the window from which segment performance is concerned in statistics.
Lookback Window: A configuration of the segment that is used only when calculating segment snapshots and accessed only in Product Insights. It defines the window from which the segment is updated and recalculated daily.
For example, a segment of the top 20% revenue products with a Lookback Window of 7 days means every day we recalculate the segment that considers the last 7 days of revenue and includes products that were part of the top 20% revenue makers in that last 7 days.
Examples
How are these differences useful?
Product Insights enables you to model the segments based on current data in order to capture and act on the strategic opportunities in product performance.
Segments Dashboard enables you to evaluate the strategy subsequently driven by segments, while accounting for the changing data each day since segments are recalculated every day.
Consider the following two examples of Bestsellers and High-margin Products in more detail:
Bestseller segment
Suppose you want to view the performance of Bestsellers on a single day, for ease of math. Begin by limiting the date range:
Product Insights will first filter products that qualify as bestsellers according to the time scope (as of the last data update), and it will display their performance for Dec 6th.
Segments Dashboard will show the performance of products on Dec 6th that qualified as Bestsellers on Dec 6th.
Product Insights  |
Segments Dashboard  |
The above example uses a time scope of 1 day for simple math, but now consider a more realistic scenario with a time scope of 1 month.
The difference is here is explained by:
Segment Dashboard considering the lookback window of a segment
Product Insights is not, rather only serving to set up or edit the lookback window
For a definition of Bestsellers as products constituting the top 20% of revenue with a lookback window of 30 days; their spend is calculated as follows:
Product Insights | Segments Dashboard |
The spend on Dec 6th that comes from the top 20% revenue products on that day (Dec 6th). The 30 days lookback window is NOT considered. | The spend on Dec 6th that comes from the top 20% revenue products between Nov 6th and Dec 6th. The 30 days lookback window IS considered. |
High-margin products segment
Margins usually vary due to multiple factors such as discounts.
When you ask what the performance of high-margin products is, you might be interested in what the performance of all high-margin products is right now (Product Insights) as well as historical performance of these products before their margin changed (Segments Dashboard).
Consider the difference when a product is discounted and leaves the High-margin products segment:
Product Insights | Segments Dashboard |
Shows the performance of products currently classified as high margin.
When viewing the High-margin products segment, Product Insights does not include this product in the product count or its spend, revenue, and other statistics because it is not currently classified as high margin after the discount. | Shows the performance of High-margin products segment for the respective time scope.
When viewing the High-margin products segment in the date range before and after the margin change, Segments Dashboard does include this product in product count as well as its spend, revenue, and other statistics in the segment from the period when it was classified as a high margin. |
FAQ
What are some other factors that may complicate the numbers?
All Products vs Active Products (Inventory Status)
All Products: Every product in the inventory feed (including out-of-stock products, and deleted products that were deleted after onboarding into ROI Hunter).
Active Products: Any product currently available to purchase (only in-stock, partially in-stock and ready for pre-order).