NPS for e-commerce: is it worth tracking?

NPS is everywhere—but is it useful?

Net Promoter Score has become a standard business metric. Companies track it religiously, executives report it to boards, and consultants build practices around it. But for e-commerce businesses, NPS has both genuine value and significant limitations. Understanding both helps you decide whether to invest in tracking it.

What NPS measures

NPS captures likelihood to recommend.

The question:

“How likely are you to recommend [company] to a friend or colleague?” Customers answer on a 0-10 scale.

The calculation:

Promoters (9-10) minus Detractors (0-6) as a percentage. Passives (7-8) are excluded. Score ranges from -100 to +100.

The theory:

Willingness to recommend indicates loyalty and satisfaction. Promoters drive growth through referrals. Detractors damage reputation and churn.

The case for tracking NPS

NPS has genuine benefits.

Simplicity:

One question, one number. Easy to track over time, compare across segments, and communicate to stakeholders.

Benchmarkability:

NPS benchmarks exist across industries. You can compare your score to competitors and category averages.

Leading indicator potential:

NPS might predict future behavior. Promoters tend to buy more and stay longer. Detractors tend to churn.

Conversation starter:

The follow-up question (“Why did you give that score?”) generates qualitative feedback that explains the number.

The case against NPS for e-commerce

NPS has significant limitations.

Recommendation isn’t the goal:

Most e-commerce businesses don’t grow primarily through word-of-mouth referrals. Paid acquisition, SEO, and marketplaces drive traffic. Recommendation likelihood might not matter much.

Cultural bias:

Scoring varies by culture. Americans score higher than Europeans on satisfaction surveys. International businesses face comparability issues.

Response bias:

Who responds to NPS surveys? Often the most satisfied and most dissatisfied customers. The middle—your largest segment—may be underrepresented.

Actionability challenges:

Knowing your NPS is 35 doesn’t tell you what to do. The number alone provides no direction for improvement.

Timing sensitivity:

When you ask affects the answer. Post-purchase NPS differs from post-delivery. Post-support interaction differs from random survey.

When NPS provides value for e-commerce

NPS works best in certain situations.

Subscription businesses:

For recurring revenue models, NPS correlates with retention. Tracking promoters versus detractors helps predict churn.

High-consideration purchases:

For expensive or complex products where referrals matter, NPS captures meaningful intent.

Brand-driven businesses:

If your competitive advantage is brand affinity and customer loyalty, NPS measures that relationship.

Investor or board requirements:

Sometimes you track NPS because stakeholders expect it. That’s a valid reason, even if the metric isn’t perfect.

When NPS doesn’t help much

NPS is less useful in other contexts.

Commodity products:

If you sell undifferentiated products on price, recommendation likelihood isn’t a meaningful differentiator.

Impulse or one-time purchases:

For products people buy once, future recommendation matters little to your business.

Marketplace sellers:

If you sell through Amazon or other marketplaces, customers recommend the marketplace, not you.

Implementing NPS effectively

If you decide to track NPS, do it well.

Timing consistency:

Always survey at the same point in the customer journey. Post-delivery is common for e-commerce. Consistency enables trend comparison.

Segment analysis:

Don’t just track overall NPS. Break down by customer segment, product category, acquisition channel, and customer tenure. Variation reveals insights.

Follow-up questions:

Always ask why. The qualitative response explains the score. “What could we do better?” generates actionable feedback.

Close the loop:

Respond to detractors. Reach out, understand their issues, attempt recovery. This improves retention and sometimes converts detractors to promoters.

Alternatives to NPS

Other metrics might serve you better.

Customer Satisfaction (CSAT):

Direct satisfaction measurement. “How satisfied were you with your purchase?” More directly actionable than recommendation likelihood.

Customer Effort Score (CES):

“How easy was it to [complete purchase/get help/return item]?” Effort predicts loyalty, and effort is directly improvable.

Repeat purchase rate:

Actual behavior, not stated intent. Do customers buy again? This measures loyalty directly.

Review ratings:

Product and company reviews capture satisfaction and influence future customers. More actionable than NPS.

Combining NPS with other metrics

NPS works better as part of a measurement system.

NPS plus behavior:

Track whether promoters actually refer more customers. Track whether detractors actually churn faster. Validate the relationship.

NPS plus qualitative:

Use NPS as a prompt for deeper feedback. The score matters less than the explanation.

NPS plus operational metrics:

Connect NPS to specific experience elements. Which operational improvements move NPS? This enables action.

Interpreting NPS changes

Don’t overreact to score fluctuations.

Normal variation:

NPS varies naturally. Small sample sizes create volatility. Don’t panic over single-survey changes.

Trend matters more than level:

Is NPS improving or declining over time? Direction matters more than absolute score.

Segment shifts:

Overall NPS change might reflect segment mix change, not experience change. New customer surge might lower NPS even if nothing got worse.

The honest assessment

NPS for e-commerce: qualified yes.

Worth tracking if:

You have subscription or repeat-purchase model. Referrals are a meaningful growth driver. You need a simple metric for stakeholder communication. You commit to following up on the qualitative feedback.

Not worth the effort if:

You sell commodities on marketplaces. Customers buy once and never return. You won’t act on the feedback. You’re only tracking it because everyone else does.

NPS implementation checklist

If you proceed with NPS:

Define consistent survey timing. Segment results by meaningful dimensions. Always include follow-up qualitative question. Create process for responding to detractors. Track whether NPS correlates with actual behavior. Combine with operational metrics for actionability. Review trends quarterly rather than obsessing over single surveys. Be honest about whether it’s driving decisions.

NPS is a tool, not a truth. Use it if it helps your business make better decisions. Skip it if other metrics serve you better.