Return Visits vs Visit Number Issue

[nickh51727816]

Running into strange behavior in Reports & Analytics with the Return Visits report returning a significantly lower volume than Visits with Visit Number > 1.  This occurs even at the suite level, with no segmentation, just straight up total numbers.  And not just by a bit either, the Return Visits report is reporting about 32% fewer visits than using Visit Number > 1.  Furthermore, one of the analysts on my team uses the Return Visits report for monthly reports, and this month the Return Visits report started coming back with a much lower number.  Specifically, he used the same Return Visits report to pull March 2014 data today, and it was about 30% lower than that same report for March 2014 that he ran earlier this month.  

Any insight would be much appreciated!

As per Adobe help, this should be impossible:

Definition of reports

Visit Number: Each visit is assigned a visit number, based on a virtual cookie. Each new visit increments this number by one. The Visit Number report does not include non-cookied visitors.

Return visits: The number of visits where visit number is greater than 1. The Return Visits report includes non-cookied visitors.

• Return Visits is lower than the sum of Visit Number > 1: This comparison is impossible in reporting. All circumstances where visit number > 1 are also counted in the Return Visits report.

[ash_muk]

I am seeing the same issue . Did you solve this? Also do you have any insight on the visit number report? What does it mean? If i am seeing maximum conversions (success event) for a client next to visit number 1 line item , is it safe to read that as most visitors are coming for the first time and converting? What is most unsettling to me is that this is a university client and i cannot accept that people are just coming for the first time on the site and paying an application fee for a college without doing considering any other schools.

Thanks,

Ash

[mubarakd5726232]

I flagged this up with client care back in April too, and noted the issue has been closed off ..without a resolution.  In theory visit no. 1 + return visits should equal total visits but doesn't ... If however you visit no. 1 + segement where visit no > 1 does equal total visits... Ie return visits report is wrong/misleading.

140422-000150

[Gigazelle]

Did you make any changes to your implementation during that time? I'd check your return visits report trended to find the exact date when it occured, then check to see if anything happened right around then.

[nickh51727816]

Thanks for the reply.  This is not an issue where we would see a sudden drop or spike on a trend chart corresponding to an implementation change on our end - the actual definition of the Return Visits report appears to have changed.  In other words, if we were to pull 2013 data using the Return Visits report today, those numbers would be different than we would have seen a few months ago using the Return Visits report on the exact same time period.  We raised this issue with our Adobe rep over 2 months ago and are still waiting for an update.  Seeing Mubarak's response, it doesn't appear to be only affecting my site, but is potentially an Adobe product change/defect.  As per the original post, the case we are seeing should be impossible according to the microsite:

• Return Visits is lower than the sum of Visit Number > 1: This comparison is impossible in reporting. All circumstances where visit number > 1 are also counted in the Return Visits report.

[brian_au · Accepted solution]

Hi Nick,

I would definitely check the figures after the maintenance release this afternoon as there is specific mention of a Return Visits fix in the pending 7/17 release notes (link below). If you still see a discrepancy or unexplained reporting change post release then that will require further incident review by Customer Care.

Best,

Brian

Release Notes:

http://microsite.omniture.com/t2/help/en_US/beta/whatsnew/index.html?

Marketing Reports & Analytics

Fixes

• Fixed the Return Visits report to include return visits that occur in the same day.

[mubarakd5726232]

Have checked this morning on historical data and this does appear to be resolved however the number of visits being reported is fractionally higher than a visits segment where visit no > 1