Glossary
What is the customer journey? E-commerce definition
June 4, 2026
The customer journey describes the entire set of stages and touchpoints that a customer goes through, from discovering the brand to purchasing, then to loyalty and recommendation. In e-commerce, it combines the website, ads, emails, customer service, packaging, and sometimes the physical store. Understanding this journey allows for the alignment of marketing, UX, and support around the moments when the customer hesitates, buys, or returns.
Summary
Definition of the customer journey in e-commerce
To fully understand this term, we must first place it within the concrete operation of an online store.
The customer journey is not just a single web page: it is the trajectory experienced by the customer across all channels.
The main components are as follows:
Stages: discovery, consideration, purchase, delivery, post-purchase, loyalty. Touchpoints: Meta ads, Google, newsletter, product page, chat, parcel tracking email, packaging.
Customer actions: click, comparison, add to cart, payment, review, repurchase. Emotions and friction points: doubt about size, fear of scam, impatience for delivery, satisfaction of unboxing.
Journey map: a diagram that aligns stages, touchpoints, merchant goals, and pain points.
Common DTC model (simplified):
Awareness: the customer discovers the brand (SEO, ads, word-of-mouth). Consideration: they compare, read reviews, consult FAQ.
Purchase: order on the website or social channel. Retention: emails, loyalty program, repurchase.
Advocacy: reviews, UGC, sponsorship.
It is useful to distinguish this term from related concepts:
Customer journey vs conversion funnel: the funnel measures rates per web stage; the journey includes all channels and the customer's feelings. Customer journey vs checkout funnel: the tunnel focuses on the path leading up to the order; the journey also covers after-sales.
Customer journey vs customer experience (CX): the journey maps the path; the experience describes the perceived quality at each stage. Customer journey vs UX: UX focuses on the website/app interface; the journey is broader (email, package, customer service).
Customer journey vs customer acquisition: acquisition targets the first purchase; the journey includes retention and repurchase.
Why the customer journey influences conversion and retention
The stakes go beyond simple definition: this topic directly influences trust, operational efficiency, or sales performance.
Customers do not experience your store in a silo: an Instagram ad, an email the next day, a doubt resolved through chat, then a package received five days later.
Consistency: same promise, tone, and visuals from the ad click to the post-purchase email. Conversion: identify where visitors drop off (cart abandonment, insufficient FAQ).
CLV: a seamless post-purchase journey encourages repeat purchases (customer lifetime value). Retention: cheaper to retain than to acquire (returning customer).
Support: anticipate questions before they become tickets. Omnichannel: website, social, POS, marketplace: a single perceived journey from the customer's side.
Ignoring the post-purchase phase (unclear delay, cold email, complicated return) breaks trust even if the online purchase went well. The journey rarely ends at payment.
The stages of the customer journey and the main friction points
In practice, the subject is best understood through the situations encountered by merchants and customers.
Frequent frictions by stage:
Discovery: vague ad message, off-topic landing page. Consideration: missing reviews, size guide nowhere to be found, external comparison tool.
Purchase: shipping fees shown too late, lengthy checkout, missing payment methods. Delivery: missing tracking, damaged package.
Post-purchase: no clear confirmation email, opaque return process. Loyalty: generic follow-ups, no added value.
Building a journey map (90 min workshop):
List the stages on the customer side. Associate each touchpoint (channel, page, email).
Note the merchant’s objective and the customer’s emotion. Identify gaps (e.g., mobile ad → non-responsive desktop site).
Prioritize 2 to 3 measurable corrective actions.
Use case: phone accessories DTC brand. Typical journey: discovery via TikTok → Shopify mobile product page → model compatibility question via FAQ + chat → add to cart → Shop Pay → confirmation email + tracking link → D+3 delivery → D+7 review request email with case care guide → "2nd purchase" CRM segment with charger cross-sell suggestion. The merchant aligns the ad script ("compatible with iPhone 15"), the product page, and the chat response with the same information. Compatibility and delivery time frictions are addressed before the purchase CTA, which limits customer service returns for "wrong model."
The customer journey with Shopify
On Shopify, this logic translates into settings, pages, reports, or integrations that vary depending on the maturity of the store.
Shopify is the hub for many journey steps for a DTC store:
Storefront: home, collections, product pages, SEO blog (organic discovery). Sales channels: Instagram Shop, Google, marketplaces.
Checkout and Shop Pay: mobile-optimized purchase step. Notifications: order confirmation, shipping, delivery.
Customer account: order history, self-service returns. Shopify Email / Klaviyo: lifecycle flows (marketing automation).
Shopify Inbox / helpdesk: pre- and post-purchase customer service touchpoint.
Typical journey flows on Shopify + CRM:
Welcome (newsletter signup). Browse abandonment / abandoned cart.
Post-purchase: thank you, follow-up, reviews, cross-sell. Win-back inactive customer.
Measurement: Shopify Analytics (sessions, conversion), GA4 (paths, attribution), CRM reports (repurchase by cohort). Cross-reference quantitative data (checkout abandonment rate) and qualitative feedback (reasons for support tickets) to prioritize the steps to fix (Shopify Help Center, Reports).
An e-commerce CRM synchronized with Shopify allows you to orchestrate the post-first purchase journey without sending the wrong message at the wrong time.
The key takeaways about the customer journey
In summary, we must remember a few simple ideas to use this concept correctly.
Customer journey = steps and touchpoints from first contact to loyalty. Distinct from the web funnel, the purchase tunnel alone, and customer experience (CX). Challenges: omnichannel consistency, conversion, CLV, retention, after-sales service. Shopify: storefront, checkout, emails, customer account, CRM, analytics. Journey map, friction by step, measurement, and continuous improvement.
Associated terms, frequently asked questions and useful resources
Associated Terms
Conversion funnel: metric view of the web stages.
Customer experience: perceived quality of the journey.
E-commerce CRM: post-purchase orchestration.
CLV: outcome of a well-thought-out journey.
Conversion: key objective at the purchase stage.
FAQ
Customer journey and user path: the same thing?
Yes. Customer journey is the common English term in e-commerce marketing; parcours client is the equivalent French translation.
Customer journey and conversion funnel: what is the difference?
The funnel primarily models measurable stages on the site (visit → cart → purchase) using conversion rates. The customer journey also includes emails, customer service, social media, physical stores, and customer perception outside of web analytics.
How many stages are in a customer journey?
There is no fixed number. A simple 5-phase model (awareness, consideration, purchase, retention, advocacy) is often sufficient for a Shopify SMB store. Adapt it to the channels actually being used.
How to improve the customer journey on Shopify?
Map out the touchpoints, fix priority friction points (mobile, shipping, FAQ), connect Shopify to a CRM for post-purchase flows, and align ads, site, and customer service on the same promise.
Going further
Sources: Shopify Help Center (Reports), e-commerce lifecycle marketing advice.
Enzo
13 May 2026
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