In today’s competitive eCommerce environment, successful Shopify stores aren’t just built on good design or great products—they’re built on data. Whether you're a new merchant or an established brand, understanding and utilising Shopify’s built-in analytics can be a game-changer for growing your business strategically. This guide will walk you through how to make the most of Shopify analytics to inform better decisions and maximise your store’s performance.

Why Shopify Analytics Matters

Shopify provides a comprehensive analytics suite that gives merchants insights into customer behaviour, sales trends, marketing effectiveness, and more. When used effectively, these insights can help you:

• Identify which products are your best performers

• Understand where your traffic is coming from

• Optimise marketing campaigns

• Improve conversion rates

• Retain more customers

Instead of relying on guesswork, data allows you to make informed decisions that can lead to measurable growth.

Key Metrics to Track in Shopify Analytics

1. Total Sales

   • Understand how much revenue you're generating and identify seasonal peaks or dips.

2. Conversion Rate

   • Track how many visitors are turning into buyers. A low rate may indicate UX issues or a mismatch between traffic sources and product offering.

3. Average Order Value (AOV)

   • Helps you assess the effectiveness of upselling and bundling strategies.

4. Customer Return Rate

   • Indicates how well you're retaining customers—crucial for long-term profitability.

5. Traffic Sources

   • Know whether your visitors are coming from organic search, social media, email campaigns, or paid ads. This helps you prioritise channels that perform best.

6. Cart Abandonment Rate

   • A high rate here signals issues with your checkout process, shipping costs, or return policies.

Using Reports for Strategic Decisions

Shopify offers a range of default reports depending on your plan. These include:

• Sales Reports: Understand which products, variants, or collections are driving revenue.

• Customer Reports: Analyse buying behaviours, locations, and purchasing frequency.

• Behaviour Reports: Discover how customers navigate your store and where they drop off.

These insights can help you make strategic changes such as improving product descriptions, adjusting pricing, or refining your sales funnel.

Integrating Google Analytics for Deeper Insights

While Shopify's native analytics are powerful, combining them with Google Analytics can give you a fuller picture. With GA4, you can:

• Track user journeys across devices

• Understand engagement on a granular level

• Set up detailed goals and conversions

• Analyse bounce rates and session durations

Tip: Make sure to enable Enhanced Ecommerce in both Shopify and GA4 for optimal data flow.

Creating Custom Reports in Shopify

If you're on a Shopify plan that allows custom reporting (like Advanced or Plus), you can tailor reports to track exactly what matters to you. Examples include:

• Sales by product tag or vendor

• Traffic and conversion by campaign

• Repeat purchases by customer segment

These custom views can save time and sharpen your focus on metrics that align with your goals.

Case Study: How One Merchant Grew Sales with Data

A local fashion retailer partnered with our team at Seventyfour Design to improve sales. Using Shopify analytics, we noticed:

• High traffic from Instagram but low conversions

• Top-selling items had minimal visibility on the homepage

• Mobile users had a higher cart abandonment rate

By addressing these insights—restructuring product placements, improving mobile UX, and tweaking social ad creatives—the store saw a 38% increase in conversion rate and a 24% boost in monthly revenue within two months.

Final Thoughts

Analytics isn’t just a backend tool—it’s a growth engine. By diving into Shopify’s analytics, you gain the power to identify opportunities, eliminate friction, and amplify what’s working. Whether you're scaling or just getting started, a data-driven mindset will always give you the edge.

If you need help interpreting your store’s data or implementing changes that make a difference, the team at Seventyfour Design is here to help.

Need a custom analytics audit or Shopify optimisation?
Contact us today and let's build a smarter, more successful store together.