It's 2pm on a Tuesday. Do you know where your shoppers are?

You’ve analysed your traffic, fine-tuned your ad campaigns and scoured activity across your marketplaces. But do you really know what your consumers are doing?

Despite the depth of data available today, the e-commerce consumer path to purchase can often feel like a moving target. Constant changes to mobile technology, voice commerce and search algorithms are continually reshaping how consumers interact with brands and retailers.

Back in 2000, when choices for online shopping were limited, nearly one in five people made a purchase after visiting a website. Not so today. Consumers can now compare prices, read reviews, search for sales, factor in delivery options and so much more.

In other words: The days of a consistent and reliable “search, click, buy” process are long gone. In its place is often a complicated web of deliberate steps, each one inching your target consumer closer to the “buy now” button over the course of many days, weeks or months.

This continually-evolving journey is no longer a clear-cut funnel, but more of a constant, continuous cycle of activity. Each consumer path is unique and uncertain — which means today’s e-commerce seller hasn’t reached its full potential until it’s maintaining a strong presence at every turn.