Create Custom Reports in Shopify Analytics

Data without action is just noise. The merchants who grow fastest are not those with the most data — they are the ones who know which few metrics actually matter and act on them consistently. This guide covers create custom reports in shopify analytics with a focus on metrics that connect directly to revenue decisions.

The Metrics That Actually Move Revenue

Stop tracking vanity metrics. Focus on these for create custom reports shopify analytics:

• Conversion rate: Purchases / Sessions. Industry average 1-3%. Below 1% means something fundamental is broken. Above 3% means you have a strong foundation to scale.
• Average Order Value (AOV): Revenue / Orders. Small improvements here compound massively — a 10% AOV improvement has the same revenue impact as 10% more traffic.
• Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): Average total revenue per customer. This determines how much you can profitably spend to acquire each customer.
• Email revenue share: Revenue from email / Total revenue. Should be 20-30% for healthy Shopify stores. Below 10% means email is underutilised.
• Repeat purchase rate: Customers who buy more than once / Total customers. Industry average 28-35%. Above 40% is excellent and indicates strong product-market fit.

Your Analytics Stack for Create Custom Reports in Shopify Analytics

1. Shopify Analytics (built-in, free): Overview dashboard, acquisition reports, customer reports, product reports. Check weekly.
2. Google Analytics 4 (free): Deeper funnel analysis, multi-touch attribution, cohort analysis. Connect via Google and YouTube Shopify app.
3. Google Search Console (free): Organic search performance — queries, clicks, impressions, position. Essential for SEO tracking.
4. Hotjar or Lucky Orange (paid): Session recordings and heatmaps. Watch how real customers navigate your store — reveals friction you would never guess from numbers alone.
5. Klaviyo or your email platform: Email-specific revenue attribution — flows, campaigns, revenue per email.

Reading Shopify Analytics for Create Custom Reports in Shopify Analytics

Key reports and what they tell you:

• Overview dashboard: Total sales, sessions, conversion rate, AOV — check daily during campaigns, weekly otherwise
• Acquisition report: Which traffic sources bring the most sessions vs the most revenue — they are often different channels
• Customer report: New vs returning breakdown, top customers by LTV, geographic distribution
• Product report: Best sellers, sell-through rate, products with high views but low conversion (these need work)
• Finance report: Revenue, refunds, taxes, net revenue — review monthly for accurate accounting

Using Analytics to Improve Conversion Rate

1. Find your highest-traffic, lowest-converting pages in the product or page reports
2. Watch session recordings on those specific pages to see where customers hesitate or leave
3. Form a specific hypothesis: “Adding delivery date estimates will reduce checkout abandonment”
4. Implement the change
5. Measure conversion rate before vs after over a meaningful period (at least 200 sessions)
6. If it worked, move to the next highest-impact page

Setting Up Custom Shopify Reports

In Analytics → Reports → Create custom report, build reports that answer your specific questions:

• Sales by product variant + time period (which sizes/colours sell fastest by season?)
• Sales by traffic source + conversion rate (which channel brings the most valuable traffic?)
• Refund rate by product (which products generate the most returns?)
• AOV by customer tag (do loyalty members spend more per order than non-members?)