Shopify has recently revamped its analytics platform, making it a much more valuable tool for e-commerce entrepreneurs. Unlike before, you can now fully customize your dashboard according to the metrics that truly matter to your business. The new Shopify analytics interface is sleek, interactive, and its customizations even carry over to the mobile app, enabling merchants to monitor critical data on the go.

While the wealth of available metrics can be overwhelming, focusing on the right ones is crucial for driving growth. This post breaks down the five essential metrics you need to track daily and demonstrates how to make the most of Shopify’s customizable dashboard.

Why Customizing Your Shopify Analytics Dashboard Matters

Most store owners get lost in a sea of metrics, unsure which numbers actually impact their business growth. Shopify’s update solves this by allowing you to tailor your dashboard with drag-and-drop widgets representing different reports or metrics.

How to Access the New Dashboard

• Navigate to the Analytics section on the left sidebar of your Shopify admin.
• If your dashboard hasn’t updated yet, look for the toggle icon to switch to the new version.
• Click the Customize button on the top right to start editing your dashboard.

Customizing Your Dashboard Widgets

You can add, remove, or rearrange widgets powered by Shopify’s built-in reports such as:

• Product analysis
• Average order quantity over time
• Sessions by device or location

You also have the ability to change visualization types, such as swapping a bar chart to a donut chart, for clearer insights into sales channels or customer behaviors.

The Five Key Metrics Every Shopify Store Owner Should Track

These five metrics act as growth levers — by optimizing these inputs, you directly impact your store’s revenue output. Let’s explore each:

1. Sessions (Traffic Volume)

This metric counts the total number of visits to your store over a set period. Increasing sessions means more eyes on your products, which is the first step in growing sales.

• Why it matters: More visitors increase the pool of potential buyers.
• How to improve: Invest in SEO, paid ads, content marketing, and social media engagement to drive qualified traffic.

2. Conversion Rate

Conversion rate represents the percentage of visitors who make a purchase. Shopify breaks this down into stages: Add to Cart rate, Reach Checkout rate, and Final Conversion rate.

• Why it matters: A higher conversion rate means turning more browsers into buyers without needing more traffic.
• How to improve: Optimize product pages, simplify checkout, offer incentives, and reduce friction in the buying process.

3. Average Order Value (AOV)

This metric reflects how much, on average, each customer spends per transaction.

• Why it matters: Increasing AOV grows revenue without increasing traffic.
• How to improve: Upsell, cross-sell, bundle products, and promote higher-priced items or add-ons.

4. Returning Customer Rate

The proportion of customers who make repeat purchases. Since acquiring new customers is costly, returning customers generate more lifetime value efficiently.

• Why it matters: Return buyers boost predictable revenue and reduce marketing costs.
• How to improve: Use loyalty programs, subscriptions, memberships, and email remarketing campaigns to encourage repeat purchases.

5. Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV)

CLTV estimates the total revenue you can expect from a single customer over a specific timeframe, typically calculated over 30, 60, 90 days or annually.

• Why it matters: Knowing CLTV helps allocate marketing budgets wisely and informs customer retention strategies.
• How to calculate: CLTV = (Average Order Value × Purchase Frequency) × Average Customer Lifespan.

How to Find and Use These Metrics in Shopify

Sessions

• Found in the default dashboard under Sessions over time.
• Use this metric to analyze traffic trends by day, week, or month.

Conversion Rate

• Available in the dashboard and broken down by actions like Add to Cart and Checkout Rate.
• Track the funnel stages to identify where visitors drop off.

Average Order Value

• Displayed prominently as a numeric widget.
• Review trends over time and test pricing or bundling strategies to increase it.

Returning Customer Rate

• Check the Returning Customers report or widget.
• Particularly key for non-consumable stores where repeat purchases may be lower but vital.

Customer Lifetime Value

• Not directly available in the Shopify dashboard.
• Use Shopify’s CLTV calculator provided or manually compute:
  CLTV = (Average Order Value × Purchase Frequency) × Average Customer Lifespan
• This helps you identify opportunities to increase repeat business and overall revenue per customer.

Advanced Customization: Using Shopify Reports and Visualization Tools

Beyond the default metrics, Shopify allows you to:

• Create new custom reports using the Reports section and New Exploration.
• Switch visualization types from bar graphs to donut charts or line charts, helping interpret data more easily.
• Rearrange widgets for a personalized, at-a-glance overview of key business health indicators.
• Integrate third-party tools or utilize Shopify’s query language for highly specific data analysis (Geeky but powerful!).

Practical Example: Using Analytics to Drive Decisions

Imagine your dashboard shows:

• High session numbers coming mostly from Google.
• A conversion rate of only 1.2%.
• Average order value around $178.
• Return customer rate is very low, about 1 order per customer.
• CLTV about $181.

What does this tell you?

• Google is a major traffic driver, so diversifying acquisition channels could reduce risk.
• Low conversion rate suggests optimizing the conversion funnel will pay off.
• Good average order value provides room to increase revenue simply by encouraging customers to spend more.
• The low return rate indicates a huge opportunity to introduce products or programs that encourage repeat purchases.

Using these insights, you could focus on campaigns to boost conversion, introduce consumables or memberships to increase repeat orders, and try other acquisition channels beyond Google.

Final Thoughts: Using Analytics for Sustainable E-commerce Growth

Shopify’s new analytics dashboard isn’t just a fancy upgrade; it’s a strategic tool designed to empower you with actionable insights. By customizing your dashboard, focusing on the 5 key metrics, and continuously optimizing based on data, you set your store up for scalable, sustainable growth.

For e-commerce entrepreneurs serious about hitting seven-figure revenue milestones, mastering these metrics and leveraging tools like Shopify analytics is non-negotiable.