5 Essential Shopify Metrics You Should Be Checking Every Day
Track These Metrics Daily for E-commerce Success
Running an online store is a wild ride, isn't it? One minute you're celebrating a sale, the next you're scratching your head wondering why traffic has dipped. It's a constant dance of experimenting, analyzing, and adjusting. And while the daily grind can feel overwhelming, there are a few key metrics in your Shopify reports that, if you keep a close eye on, can make a world of difference.
Think of these metrics as your store's vital signs. They tell you what's working, what's not, and where you need to focus your energy. So, are you ready to dive in and learn what these magic numbers are? Let's go!
1. Sessions Over Time
Think of "Sessions" as the digital version of foot traffic in a brick-and-mortar store. This metric tells you how many times users are visiting your store within a given time period. Are people showing up? Are they browsing? This is your first indication of how well your marketing efforts are working to bring potential customers to your digital doorstep.
Why should you check this daily?
Identify Trends: See if your traffic is consistently growing, plateauing, or declining. This helps you quickly spot if your recent campaign or promotion is working or is it time to rethink your strategy.
Spot Anomalies: If you see a sudden drop, it's a red flag. Maybe your website is down, or an important marketing channel isn’t working properly. Early detection can save you a lot of lost sales.
Understand Impact: Are your social media posts really driving traffic? Sessions data can help you measure which marketing efforts are the most effective in bringing users to your store.
Don't just look at the overall number. Look at where your traffic is coming from (e.g. social media, organic search, email). This allows you to identify which channels are working well and which needs improvement.
Want to know more about sessions? Checkout the blog below
2. Conversions Over Time
Okay, so you're getting traffic, that's great! But are those visits turning into sales? That's where "Conversions" come in. This metric tells you what percentage of your website visitors are actually making a purchase. The goal here is to have as many visitors as possible convert to customers. It's the most important metric when you look at e-commerce analytics.
Why should you check this daily?
Gauge Effectiveness: Is your website user-friendly? Are your product descriptions compelling? A healthy conversion rate is an indicator that you are moving in the right direction with your site.
Pinpoint Issues: A low conversion rate may be telling you that your checkout process is confusing, your shipping costs are too high, or that you need to work on your product presentation.
Optimize Your Funnel: Conversion rate is actually a combination of different rates. It includes add-to-cart rate, and checkout initiated rate. Looking at each of these steps individually will help you find exactly where users are dropping off.
If your conversion rate is low, don't panic! Start experimenting with changes on your product pages, like adding more high quality product photos or clear descriptions. Try A/B testing different calls to action to see what resonates the most with your potential customers.
Want more strategies to improve your conversion rate? checkout this article
3. Average Order Value (AOV)
Now, let's talk about maximizing revenue. Average Order Value (AOV) is the average amount of money customers spend in a single order with you. It's not just about the number of sales, it's about the value of each sale. A higher AOV means you're making more money per transaction without needing to bring in significantly more customers.
Why should you check this daily?
Increase Revenue: A higher AOV directly impacts your bottom line. Even small gains in AOV can lead to big increases in revenue.
Offset Costs: If your advertising costs are increasing, improving your AOV is a great way to help keep your business profitable.
Optimize Product Strategy: This metric helps you identify what type of products do well when ordered in combination with other products.
There are many different ways to improve AOV. Try offering product bundles, upselling (suggesting a more expensive or better version of the product they're already looking at), or cross-selling (recommending related products). If someone buys a t-shirt, why not suggest a pair of jeans? Or try free shipping if the customer order amount exceeds a specific value
4. Returning Customer Rate
It's often said that it costs less to keep an existing customer than to acquire a new one, and that’s totally true. The Returning Customer Rate tells you the percentage of your customers who are making a repeat purchase. These customers are your brand loyalists.
Why should you check this daily?
Measure Customer Loyalty: A high returning customer rate means you're building a loyal customer base that values your products and brand.
Cost Efficiency: Retaining customers is generally more cost-effective than acquiring new ones. It reduces your overall customer acquisition cost.
Predictable Revenue: Returning customers are a more predictable source of revenue.
Keep customers coming back by providing excellent customer service, implementing a loyalty program, and engaging them through email marketing with exclusive deals or product updates.
5. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
Finally, let's talk about the long game. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is the total revenue you can expect from a single customer over their entire relationship with your business. It's a future-looking metric that helps you understand how much a customer is worth to your business in the long run, and it's crucial for making informed business decisions.
Why should you check this regularly?
Strategic Decision Making: CLV helps you make informed decisions about your marketing budget. How much can you afford to spend to acquire a new customer, knowing what their long-term potential is?
Identify High-Value Customers: Understanding CLV helps you pinpoint your most valuable customers, allowing you to target similar customers and invest in retaining them.
Long-Term Growth: This will give you a long-term view of the health of your business, ensuring you're focusing on sustainable growth.
How do you calculate CLV?
Calculating CLV involves a few steps. Here's a breakdown:
Customer Value: This is the average revenue a customer generates per purchase, considering their purchase frequency. It's calculated as:
Customer Value = Average Order Value x Purchase FrequencyPurchase Frequency: This tells you how often your customers are making purchases, on average. It's calculated as:
Purchase Frequency = Total Orders / Total CustomersAverage Customer Lifespan: This is the average length of time a customer remains active and makes purchases from your store. It represents the duration of your relationship before they typically become inactive.
Customer Lifetime Value: Finally, to calculate the CLV, you combine the above as:
Customer Lifetime Value = Customer Value x Average Customer Lifespan
Let's say your store's average order value is $50. You've received a total of 30 orders from 25 different customers. So,
Purchase Frequency: 30 orders / 25 customers = 1.2 purchases per customer
Customer Value: $50 (average order value) x 1.2 (purchase frequency) = $60 per customer per period.
If your average customer lifespan is 2 years.
Customer Lifetime Value = $60 x 2 years = $120
This indicates that each customer, on average, is worth $120 to your business over their lifetime as a customer.
Focus on improving the customer experience, increasing repeat purchases, and building long-term relationships to maximize CLV.
Putting It All Together
Okay, you've got the breakdown of these five essential Shopify metrics. But keeping track of these numbers every day can feel overwhelming, especially when you’re also juggling everything else it takes to run an online business. That's where having a helping hand, especially one that leverages the power of AI, can be a game-changer.
Imagine having a tool that can not only display all of these important numbers in a clean, and easy-to-understand format, but also provides you with actionable insights to make data-driven decisions. A platform that helps you stay on top of your store performance and even proactively suggests ways to boost your conversions. With the right tools, you are able to spend less time crunching data and more time actually growing your business.
Ready to Optimize Your Conversions with AI?
Tired of guessing and ready to start seeing real results? Aixel is building the future of marketing, one intelligent insight at a time. Aixel helps you stay on top of your store performance and provides you AI-driven insights to increase your conversions.
Join the waitlist at Aixel.io today and be among the first to experience the power of AI for your marketing.