Marketing Analytics for eCommerce: Tools, Tracking, Attribution & AI Strategy – with Carwow’s Roman Petrochenkov (episode 579)
Roman Petrochenkov is the Head of Growth & Media Analytics at Carwow, so yes we’re going to be getting DEEP into tracking, attribution and all that juicy stuff. Carwow has grown from a review site, to be a one-stop shop for changing your car – offering customers the ability to a buy a new or used car, or sell their existing vehicle. Founded in 2013 they now operate in the UK, Germany and Spain. In 2024 they grew 50% with nearly £3 billion worth of cars bought on the site, and £1.8 billion of cars listed for sale through the Sell My Car service.
In this episode Roman pulls back the curtain on how real analytics teams operate inside a modern eCommerce business — revealing how to make smarter decisions, avoid data traps, and use tracking to drive real growth.
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Dive in:
[05:15] Tech, Marketing, and Finance Expertise
[09:08] Understanding Data and User Journeys
[10:09] Adapting to Business Evolution
[15:39] “Advanced Attribution for Small eCommerce”
[18:46] eCommerce Attribution and Management
[20:25] “Attribution Challenges and Incrementality”
[23:30] Streamlining Landing Page Feedback
[26:48] Collaborative Challenges in Team Dynamics
[28:01] Listen to Roman’s Top Tips!
Perfect Attribution Doesn’t Exist — But Better Attribution Does
Roman explains that there is no such thing as perfect attribution, and chasing it leads to wasted time and confusion. What matters is choosing a model that makes sense for your business and sticking with it. He highlights the importance of looking beyond last-click and using data-driven models where possible. Understanding what each model measures is more important than the model itself. This mindset shift allows an eCommerce team to make consistent, confident decisions rather than constantly second-guessing their data.
Your Analytics Setup Should Match Your Stage of Growth
A major takeaway is that smaller stores don’t need enterprise-level analytics tools or complex data pipelines. If you only run a few ad channels, a basic setup with GA4 and ad platform tracking is often enough. But as your business grows, with returning customers, different traffic sources, repeat purchases, or complex funnels, your analytics must evolve with it. Roman shows how Carwow eventually needed Snowflake, Amplitude, and custom SQL to keep up with complexity. The lesson: don’t overbuild too early, but don’t stay underbuilt too long.
Internal Education Is Part of the Analytics Function
Roman emphasizes that analytics isn’t just reporting — it’s teaching the business what data means. Many stakeholders will see a spreadsheet and assume numbers are easily comparable when in reality the context behind them is very different. Analytics teams must proactively explain data nuance, differences in user intent, funnel timelines, and why certain metrics should not be compared directly. This reduces bad decision-making and increases trust in the numbers. For eCommerce teams, this reinforces that communication is as important as technical skill.
Compliance and Consent Are Not Optional — and Not Complicated
Roman makes it clear that every eCommerce business needs to get data privacy, cookies, and consent right — regardless of size. While major companies might need legal review, smaller stores can implement off-the-shelf solutions that ensure compliance. Too many brands ignore this and end up with incomplete data or legal risk. A properly implemented consent banner ensures you can ethically and safely pass conversion signals back to ad platforms. The message to operators: fixing consent isn’t hard — ignoring it is expensive.
AI Can Accelerate Work — When Used Thoughtfully
One of the most actionable takeaways is Roman’s use of AI to speed up real-world workflows. He demonstrates how AI can write Google Ads scripts, audit landing pages, compile research, and even generate internal proposals. AI doesn’t replace strategic thinking — but it eliminates repetitive manual work and gets you to insights faster. For busy eCommerce teams, this is a huge performance unlock. It encourages brands to start using AI as a practical operations tool, not as a buzzword or experiment.
eCommerce Book Top Tip
- Decoded: The Science Behind Why We Buy by Phil Barden
eCommerce Traffic Top Tip
- Influencer marketing done right.
Tool Top Tip
- Hightouch data and AI platform for marketing and personalization
Carbon Top Tip
- Build an effective remote-work culture, because reducing unnecessary commuting and office presence has a real environmental impact.
Interview links
Related Episodes
- eCommerce Analytics bestselling author Judah Phillips (episode 272)
- Shifting from offline to online marketing and getting on top of attribution with Ryan Shannon from BAM (episode 326)
- Want 9,000+ orders per month? The answer is in the data! With Nick Ernst from Snap Supply (episode 348)
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