Analytics

The Analytics page displays key sales, orders, and online store visitor data. You can use the Analytics page to determine how your store is performing across all of your sales channels, and for any date range.

For example, on the Analytics page you can do the following activities:

  • Check the value of your recent sales and compare them to a previous time period
  • Compare how well your sales channels are performing
  • Track your average order value
  • Review where your visitors are coming from by region or by social media source
  • Monitor the trends over time

Analytics overview dashboard

The dashboard displays the most valuable metrics that give you insight into the performance of your store and the behavior of your customers. The metrics are displayed in numeric format and also as graphs where appropriate. For all the metrics, the percentage change from the previous date range can also be displayed.

Steps:

  1. From your Shopify admin, go to Analytics. By default, the Analytics dashboard displays data for today compared to yesterday.
  2. Optional: To review data for another date range, click the Today date menu and select a different date range. You can select a preset range, such as Last 30 days, or you can set any custom range by clicking dates on the calendars.
  3. Optional: To compare the data of your selected date range with previous data, such as the previous period or the same time last year, select Compare: Yesterday and then select a comparison value.
  4. Optional: If the metric has a View report icon, then click it to review more details about the metric. Not all metrics have an associated report.

Customizing your Analytics overview dashboard

Customizing your dashboard is only available on a desktop computer. However, changes made to your dashboard display on both desktop and mobile devices.

To edit the metrics that are displayed on your dashboard, click Customize. The metrics that are available to add to the dashboard are displayed in the Metrics library sidebar.

You can make the following customizations to the dashboard:

  • Remove a metric from the dashboard by clicking the next to the metric you want to remove.
  • Add a metric to the dashboard by doing any of the following actions:
    • Drag and drop the metric from the sidebar into the dashboard.
    • Hover over the metric you want to add in the sidebar, and then click ⊕ Add to dashboard.
  • Rearrange a metric by clicking the ⠿ and then drag and drop the metric to your preferred location on the dashboard.
  • Undo all layout changes and restore your metrics to the default view by clicking the Undo icon in the Metrics library sidebar.

Click Save to confirm your changes.

Metrics library

The Metrics library contains a list of all of the available metrics that can be included in your Analytics dashboard. The display format of the metric (for example: bar graph, line graph, list) is indicated by the icon next to each metric in the library. You can add any number of the available metrics to your dashboard, but each metric can be included only one time.

Although nearly all of these metrics have corresponding reports you can navigate to by clicking the View report icon, there are many reports that don't have a corresponding metric to add to the dashboard. Some metrics correspond to the same report, and the difference between the metrics is based on the way the data displays on the dashboard. For example, the Top staff and Retail sales by staff at register metrics both correspond to the Retails sales by staff at register report, but the Top staff metric displays the number of orders per staff member, and the Retail sales by staff at register metric displays the total value of sales per staff member.

Metrics for each of the following categories can be displayed on the Analytics dashboard:

Sales

Sales metrics give insight into your customer's orders and the value of products purchased. Learn more about sales reports.

Table of Sales metrics and their definitions.
MetricDisplayed in the default viewInformation displayed for the date range
Average order valueYes

Displays the average value of all orders (excluding gift cards), divided by the total number of orders that contained at least one product other than a gift card. Order value excludes any post-order adjustments such as edits, exchanges, or returns, as well as taxes, duties, shipping, and discounts.

This value helps you know how much customers tend to spend on your store and can help inform your pricing policies.

Average units orderedNoDisplays the average quantity of items the customers typically purchase in a single order.
Gross salesNo

Displays the value of all purchased items before adding fees or other adjustments, such as taxes, shipping, discounts, returns, or fees. Includes all sales channels.

Product variants by gross salesNoDisplays a list of product variants ordered by gross sales. Includes all sales channels.
Retail sales by POS locationYes

Displays the amount of sales that originated from each POS location when you have at least one active POS location.

Retail sales by staff at registerYes

Displays the amount of POS sales that were handled by each staff when you have at least one active POS location.

Sales by billing locationNoDisplays the amount of sales by your customers' billing country/region associated with the most sales in your online store.
Sales by channelYes

Displays the total sales value associated with each of your active sales channels.

Sales by traffic sourceYes

Displays the amount of sales that came from each traffic source. The most common traffic sources are search, direct, social, and email.

Sales by variant SKUNoDisplays the net sales for the top-selling product variants, including the variant name and SKU.
Top products variants by units soldNo

Displays the top-selling product variants and SKUs from your store.

Top selling productsYesDisplays the top-selling products with the most individual units sold. Includes all sales channels. This is useful to know for marketing and inventory purposes. You can also recommend these products to new customers or refer to them in social media promotions.
Top staffNoDisplays the total number of POS orders associated with each retail staff.
Total salesYes

Displays the sales amounts, sorted by sales channel. Total sales is equal to gross sales − discounts − returns + shipping + taxes + fees.

Total sales breakdownNoDisplays the sales amounts, separated into the gross sales, discounts, returns, shipping, taxes, and duties, and total sales values.

Acquisition

Acquisition metrics display information regarding how visitors come to your online store. Learn more about acquisition reports.

Table of Acquisition metrics and their definitions.
MetricDisplayed in the default viewInformation displayed for the date range
Online store sessionsYes

Displays the number of sessions on your online store. This metric applies to your Online Store channel only.

The number refers to how many different sessions occurred on your online store within the specified date range. The number of visitors is also displayed. A unique visitor might have more than one session.

Example: John visited your online store one time, Jane visited two times, and Jenna visited three times. The number of sessions is 6, and the number of visitors is three.

For many online stores, the number of sessions can rise or fall on weekends and holidays, and on days when promotions or marketing campaigns are occurring.

Sessions by device typeYes

Displays the number of sessions on your online store and what kind of device was used to access your store. The most common device types are mobile, desktop, and tablet. This metric applies to your Online Store channel only.

Sessions by locationYes

Displays the number of sessions on your online store sorted by country. This metric applies to your Online Store channel only.

Sessions from social sourceYes

Displays the number of sessions on your online store originating from social media sources, such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or Twitter. This data can help you focus your marketing efforts. This metric applies to your Online Store channel only.

Sessions by traffic sourceYes

Displays the number of sessions on your online store based on how the visitors accessed your store.

A session occurs when someone does a search or enters the URL of your store directly, for example. The most common traffic sources are search, direct, social, and email. The traffic source cannot always be determined, so an unknown traffic source is also common. This metric applies to your Online Store channel only.

Top landing pages by sessionsYes

Displays the specific pages on which your customers started their sessions on your online store. You can use this data to customize the text and call to actions on those pages to capitalize on your customers’ first impression of your site. This metric applies to your Online Store channel only.

A landing page is determined from the URL of the first page viewed in a unique session. A session ends after 30 minutes of no activity by a visitor, and at midnight UTC.

Top referrers by sessionsYes

Displays the number of sessions to your online store that came directly from other websites. The top 5 websites are displayed. This metric applies to your Online Store channel only.

The following types of referrer sources are not included:

  • Direct: The customer entered your store's URL into their browser.
  • Search: The customer clicked your store from a search engine's results page.
  • Email: The customer clicked a link to your store in an email.
  • Social: The customer clicked a link on social media.
Unlike other metrics, Top referrers by sessions doesn't have an associated report that displays the same information as this metric.
VisitorsNoDisplays the traffic volume to your online store over time. Data is based on a visitor's cookies.

Orders

Order metrics give you insight into the number of orders, fulfillments, and returns. Learn more about order reports.

Table of Orders metrics and their definitions.
MetricDisplayed in the default viewInformation displayed for the date range
Delivered orders over timeNoDisplays the cumulative count of orders successfully delivered, compared to historical trends.
Fulfilled orders over timeYesDisplays the cumulative count of orders marked as fulfilled, compared to historical trends.
Ordered items over timeNoDisplays the total number of items ordered over the selected time period.
Return rateNo

Displays the percentage of items returned to your store, out of all items that were ordered, within the selected date range.

ReturnsNo

Displays the total number of items returned during the selected period of time.

Sales by social sourceYes

Displays the amount of sales that originated from social media sources, such as Facebook and YouTube. This data can help you focus your marketing efforts.

Time to fulfillNoDisplays the average amount of time from when an order is placed to when it's marked as fulfilled, compared to historical trends.
Top returned productsNo

Displays the products with a higher amount of returns.

Total ordersYes

Displays the number of orders that were placed across all sales channels over time.

Finances

Finance metrics give you insight into the values associated with returned items. Learn more about finance reports.

Table of Finances metrics and their definitions.
MetricDisplayed in the default viewInformation displayed for the date range
Net return valueNoDisplays the net value of items returned over time.
Total return valueNoDisplays the total value returned cost over time. This value includes the value of returned shipping costs and taxes.

Behavior

Behavior metrics help you understand shopping trends when visitors come to your site, including details around conversion. Learn more about behavior reports.

Table of Behavior metrics and their definitions.
MetricDisplayed in the default viewInformation displayed for the date range
Bounce rateNoDisplays the percentage of online store sessions where the visitor leaves without taking any action.
Checkout conversionNoDisplays the percentage of sessions that resulted in placed orders, out of the total sessions that reached the checkout.
Online store conversion rateYes

Displays the percentage of sessions that lead to an order. This metric applies to your Online Store channel only.

Shoppers need to add items to their online cart and then go to the checkout before they can purchase a product. This is commonly known as the conversion funnel, and it's typical to have a decrease from one step to the next:

  • Added to cart: Number and percentage of sessions in which shoppers added one or more items to their shopping carts.

    This amount is usually smaller than the total number of shoppers because some shoppers view the products in a store without adding any items to their cart.

  • Reached checkout: Number and percentage of sessions in which shoppers added one or more items to their shopping cart, proceeded to the checkout, and performed an action (for example, a key press or mouse click).

    This amount is usually smaller than the Added to cart amount because some shoppers add items to their cart but don't go to the checkout or don't submit their contact information.

  • Sessions converted: Number and percentage of sessions in which shoppers added one or more items to their shopping carts, proceeded to the checkout, and then purchased the items.

    This amount might not match your order count, because shoppers can make multiple orders within a single session.

    This amount is usually smaller than the Reached checkout amount because some shoppers leave the checkout without purchasing anything. Learn more in the topic about abandoned checkouts.

Online store search conversionNo

Displays the percentage of online store searches that resulted in orders, out of the total number of online store searches made.

Top online store searchesNo

Displays the top search terms that your customers used to search for a product.

Customers

Customers metrics give you insight into first-time and returning customers who make purchases from your store. Learn more about customer reports.

MetricDisplayed in the default viewInformation displayed for the date range
Customer cohort analysisYes

Displays the percentages of customer groups that returned to your store and made repeat purchases. These cohorts are grouped by their first purchase date.

Customer sales over timeNoDisplays the total sales in the online store, split between first-time and returning customers.
Customers over time (first time vs returning)YesDisplays the total number of customers who made a purchase from your online store, split between first-time and returning customers.
Returning customer rateYes

Displays the percentage of your customers who have placed more than one order from your store. The rate is calculated as returning customers divided by total customers. This rate can help you determine how solid your established customer base is.

Inventory

Inventory metrics help you anticipate when to restock and which products sell faster. Learn more about inventory reports.

MetricDisplayed in the default viewInformation displayed for the date range
ABC product analysisNoDisplays a list of product variants and grades them as A-, B-, or C-grade based on what percentage of your revenue those products account for, over a time frame of the last 28 days. The timeframe can't be adjusted.

Learn more about using your ABC inventory analysis.
Products by days of inventory remainingNoDisplays the estimated number of days your current inventory is expected to last, based on your store's sales rate over the last 28 days. The timeframe can't be adjusted.
Products by sell-through rateYesDisplays the percentage of total inventory sold during the selected timeframe. The sell-through rate is calculated as the total quantity of items sold / (total quantity of items sold + total quantity of items still in inventory).

Marketing

Marketing metrics give you insight into how effective your marketing strategies are in terms of sessions and sales. Learn more about marketing reports.

MetricDisplayed in the default viewInformation displayed for the date range
Sales attributed to marketingYesDisplays the total sales value generated by traffic associated with your marketing efforts. This includes marketing campaigns and activities managed through the Marketing section in your Shopify admin and external methods that use Urchin Tracking Module (UTM) parameters.
Sessions attributed to marketing campaignsNoDisplays the total number of sessions generated by traffic associated with your marketing efforts. This includes marketing campaigns and activities managed through the Marketing section in your Shopify admin and external methods that use Urchin Tracking Module (UTM) parameters.

Data on the dashboard

When you open the Analytics page, the data is up to date, within about 1 minute. You can reopen the dashboard or refresh the browser page to display newer data. You can also activate Auto-refresh which refreshes the dashboard every 60 seconds.

The daily data on your Analytics page might update within a 48 hour period after it's initially processed and published. For example, your Sessions over time and Online store conversion over time reports might update because your traffic data is calculated within a minute, and unwanted bot traffic can end up included in the data. Tests to determine this type of traffic are run, and can take up to 48 hours to complete. If these tests find unwanted traffic, then the unwanted data is removed from your reports.

If you don't use the Online Store channel, then the metrics related to online store sessions aren't displayed. Similarly, if you don't use the Point of Sale channel, then those metrics aren't displayed.

The data in the dashboard might vary slightly from the data gathered by analytics and reporting tools and services from other companies. For information on why the data can vary, review Report discrepancies.

Sessions and visitors

The number of sessions and the number of visitors are based on cookies. Cookies are small files that are stored on a shopper's device, such as a desktop or smartphone, when they visit your online store. One cookie identifies the device (the visitor). Another cookie keeps track of the length of the session.

A session ends after 30 minutes of no activity, and at midnight UTC. Because the same visitor can have multiple sessions, the number of sessions is usually higher than the number of visitors.

Example: A shopper views products on your store for 20 minutes, then returns to your store 2 hours later for another 10 minutes. Two sessions and one visitor are reported. If the shopper instead views your store for 5 minutes, leaves, and returns 10 minutes later, then one session and one visitor are reported.

If you want to view your online store and not have it count as a session in your acquisition reports, then on your desktop Shopify admin, click the eye icon to open your store. Any other method of viewing your online store on desktop counts as a session in your reports.

If you view your online store from the Shopify app on iPhone or Android, then it counts as a session in your acquisition reports.

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