E-Commerce Conversion Funnel Optimization for an Outdoor Gear Brand
Overview
What this challenge is about.
Analyze an outdoor gear brand's analytics to find drop-offs, propose fixes, and create wireframes. Earn a verifiable certificate.
The scenario
The outdoor recreation industry has experienced a significant digital shift over the past five years. European outdoor gear retailers, many of which started as brick-and-mortar shops in Alpine regions, have expanded into e-commerce to reach a broader customer base. However, the transition from in-store expertise-driven sales to online self-service purchasing presents unique challenges. Customers buying technical gear such as climbing harnesses, waterproof jackets, or trail-running shoes often require detailed product information, sizing guidance, and social proof before committing to a purchase. A mid-sized outdoor gear retailer based in Munich — with annual online revenue of approximately EUR 8 million — has noticed that while traffic to their Shopify-based store has grown 35% year-over-year, their conversion rate has stagnated at 1.8%, well below the industry average of 2.5-3.2% for specialty retail. Cart abandonment sits at 72%, and the average time from first visit to purchase is 14 days across 4.2 sessions. The company suspects that friction in the product discovery, product detail page experience, and checkout flow are contributing to lost revenue. The marketing team has access to Google Analytics 4, Hotjar session recordings, and Shopify analytics but lacks the analytical framework to systematically diagnose where customers drop off and why. They need a structured conversion funnel analysis that identifies the highest-impact optimization opportunities and provides a prioritized action plan.
The Brief
What you'll do, and what you'll demonstrate.
The retailer is losing an estimated EUR 1.4 million in annual revenue due to below-average conversion rates, but the team cannot pinpoint which stages of the funnel are underperforming or which customer segments are most affected. Your task is to build a comprehensive conversion funnel analysis framework, apply it to the available data, and deliver a prioritized optimization roadmap with projected revenue impact.
Your tasks
01
Research and Funnel Mapping
- Review the provided company metrics and map the complete customer journey stages
- Research industry benchmarks for outdoor/specialty retail conversion rates
- Set up your analysis framework and define KPIs for each funnel stage
- Create an initial funnel diagram with the provided drop-off data
02
Segmented Analysis and Diagnosis
- Break down funnel performance by traffic source, device type, and product category
- Identify the top 3-5 conversion bottlenecks with estimated revenue impact
- Research best practices and case studies for each identified bottleneck
- Begin drafting optimization recommendations with supporting evidence
03
Optimization Roadmap and Final Report
- Score all recommendations using the ICE framework and create a prioritized roadmap
- Build final visualizations and the executive summary
- Compile the complete report with all sections and appendix
- Peer review and final polish before submission
Earning criteria — what you'll demonstrate
- Build and interpret a multi-stage e-commerce conversion funnel using real-world analytics frameworks and industry benchmarks.
- Apply quantitative analysis techniques to diagnose conversion bottlenecks and estimate revenue impact of each identified issue.
- Develop a prioritized optimization roadmap using structured scoring models that balance business impact against implementation effort.
- Communicate data-driven insights to non-technical stakeholders through clear visualizations and executive-ready recommendations.
Program Fit
Where this fits in your program.
Sharpens the same skills your degree expects you to demonstrate.
Aligned coursework coming soon.
Skills
Skills you'll demonstrate.
Each one shows up on your verified credential.
- E Commerce
Apply e commerce to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
- Data Analytics
Apply data analytics to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
- User Experience Design
Apply user experience design to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
Careers
Career paths this challenge builds toward
Completing this challenge demonstrates skills that transfer directly to these roles:
This Analysis challenge mirrors the work of a CRO Analyst, building skills that transfer directly to related career paths.
Frequently asked questions
What students usually ask before they start.
No. The challenge provides a realistic data scenario with specific metrics. You will work with the provided figures and supplement with industry benchmarks from the Baymard Institute and similar sources to build your analysis framework.
You should analyze the entire funnel from landing page to purchase confirmation. However, your final recommendations should be prioritized so the most impactful stage gets the most detailed treatment.
Recommendations should be specific enough for a product team to act on (e.g., "Add size comparison chart to PDP" rather than "improve product pages") but do not need to include code or wireframes unless you choose to include them as supporting material.
Yes. You may use any visualization tool you prefer. Google Looker Studio, Figma, Miro, or even well-formatted spreadsheet charts are all acceptable as long as the visualizations clearly communicate your findings.