Shopify reporting is not just about numbers. It's a tool to help your business grow intelligently, not randomly. Most store owners look at sales in total but ignore details that are important to them — what products people buy most, who they are, and how the revenue changes when a new promotion has been added. Shopify collects all this data and displays it in reports that actually help you make the right decisions.
The majority of Shopify store owners are satisfied with the Shopify basic reports the platform has to provide. And it's easy to understand why — there are numbers overall about sales, orders, and visitors. But what’s missing? Why is this often not sufficient?
To start with, initial data is only the tip of the iceberg. It indicates the overall situation, but it does not answer critical questions:
Without all of these, it is hard to develop profitable marketing strategies and make decisions that actually impact growth.
Another common mistake is relying on intuition instead of facts. In business, this typically is extremely important in terms of money. To give an example, a well-made advertisement may not be profitable if customers buy with a low margin or merely switch from another product.
That's why a nuanced look, not a "general" group of numbers, is necessary. That's where Shopify's advanced reporting and, just as importantly, experienced analytics tools like MetricsNavigator come into play. They allow you to collect and categorize data about your customers, spot patterns in their behavior, and enable you to make informed decisions.
To get started with working effectively with Shopify reporting, one has to understand what kinds of data exist and why they are important. Below are some of the most crucial kinds of reports to look for.
This is a straightforward but very valuable type of report. Shopify sales reports indicate total revenue, order quantity, and average check. But to fully grasp, you must dig deeper — what are the best-selling products, on what days of the week or month, and how dynamics change over time.
This data tells you about your customers: the number of repeat customers, the number of regular customers, and the frequency of repeat purchases. Having these figures enables you to design loyalty programs and manage customer segments.
Where do your visitors come from? Social media marketing, search engines, direct conversion or email newsletters? These Shopify advanced reports tell you which ones give the most return and allow you to reallocate your budget where it will do you the most good.
They show how people interact with your store: what pages are viewed most, where users drop off, and how long they stay on each page. It assists in improving user experience (UX) and increasing conversions.
Other than sales, there is a need to monitor costs, advertisement costs, and logistics. This will help you achieve real profitability and make decisions not only on growth in sales but also on costs
This is where MetricsNavigator comes in — a platform that brings all these kinds of data into one, providing not just figures but understandable insights that have the power to make the business expand. It comes with Shopify integration and collects information in one place, saving time and effort for the store owner.
Now, let's talk about how Shopify professional reports can fuel real business growth.
One retailer who had Shopify advanced reporting observed that repeat customers were contributing a significant proportion of their revenue, but only a small percentage of customers were repeating. By utilizing customer segmentation and behavior data from MetricsNavigator, they started a loyalty scheme and customized email marketing campaigns. What they gained was 30% more repeat transactions in 3 months.
Another retailer was spending a great deal on social media marketing, not seeing a significant spike in sales. By looking at traffic source and site behavior Shopify reporting, they discovered that most users were not converting after entering from ads. By refining their targeting using MetricsNavigator analytics, they enhanced conversions by 20% with no increased spend.
Shopify reports are an excellent analysis and growth resource, but even greater potential is released when you begin to dig beneath your data. Having an understanding of what people are doing, where they are coming from, how frequently they are purchasing, and in which segments they fall allows you to anticipate rather than just respond.
If you want to know even more specific information about your customers and further develop your analytics - consider MetricsNavigator.
Shopify itself does not report all users to the IRS automatically. But when your store reaches a certain threshold — generally over $600 in yearly sales for US-based sellers — Shopify will send a 1099-K form to you and the IRS, based on where you are and your payment processor.
Any profits you earn through your Shopify business — whether a side business or your main business — are income subject to tax and need to be reported when you file your taxes. Even if you don't receive a 1099 form, you are still required by law to report all revenue from sales on your tax return.
Shopify reports are easy to pull. Go to your Shopify admin area, go to"Analytics", and then the "Reports" menu. You have a number of reports there — from sales and traffic to customers.
