Shopify makes it easier for over 2 million US merchants to run an eCommerce business. But as stores grow in size, especially those using Shopify Plus, many outgrow the platform’s built-in reporting.
The main issue is that Shopify reports only show part of your eCommerce data. There’s no easy way to combine all your data in one place.
While basic reporting works for smaller stores, bigger operations need more advanced analytics to track trends, measure user behavior, monitor performance, and adjust marketing campaigns.
In this article, we’ll cover Shopify’s built-in analytics and how TapClicks helps improve reports by comparing metrics, unifying data, and building custom formats.
What is eCommerce Analytics?
eCommerce analytics is the process of reviewing data from your online store to understand how it performs.
It helps you learn what works, what doesn’t, and where to focus next. You can measure sales, customer behavior, marketing results, and much more.
For example, your store sells accessories, and you notice that repeat purchases are low.
eCommerce analytics can help you figure out if your product pages lack detail, if your checkout process causes drop-offs, or if your return policy turns customers away.
Benefits of eCommerce Analytics
eCommerce analytics offers several advantages that can help improve your online store’s performance and guide strategic business decisions.
Uncover Trends
eCommerce analytics helps you spot patterns that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Over time, you can learn how your customers shop, which products gain attention during certain months, and what leads to repeat buys. This insight gives you a chance to adjust early instead of reacting after sales drop.
For example, if your Shopify store sees a spike in sales every September for a certain product category, you can prepare your inventory, boost your ads, and promote those items ahead of time.
Tracking trends lets you act with purpose instead of guessing what your customers want.
Watching your eCommerce data regularly also helps you avoid wasting money on strategies that no longer work. Instead of relying on gut instinct, you can see what’s changing and make decisions based on facts.
Understand Marketing Data
Most stores collect a large amount of marketing data, but not all store owners know how to use it well.
eCommerce data analysis makes it easier by showing which marketing campaigns bring in traffic, which ones lead to sales, and which aren’t worth the spend.
Instead of guessing where to invest, you can clearly see what’s working. For example, if one email campaign results in more orders than a paid ad, you may decide to send more email promotions or adjust your ad budget.
Many businesses also struggle with scattered data from different platforms. When you rely on multiple tools without a central view, it’s hard to know which efforts are helping or hurting your results.
With eCommerce analytics, you connect all your data points in one place so you can link your marketing spend to real performance. That makes testing and decision-making faster and more accurate.
Optimize Pricing
Pricing decisions have a direct impact on your profit. But guessing what your customers are willing to pay often leads to missed revenue.
eCommerce analytics helps you see how different prices affect sales across marketing channels, products, and campaigns.
You can review how price changes affect product performance, compare similar items at different price points, and see how each group responds.
For instance, if one group consistently buys a product at $49 but stops buying when it’s raised to $59, that gives you a clear signal. With this insight, you can fine-tune prices to maximize both sales and margins.
Pricing data also helps you spot trends by location, season, or sales channel. A price that works well during a holiday sale might not work as well during a slower month.
Instead of guessing, you can test and track outcomes through your eCommerce analytics tool. With better visibility into pricing behavior, you can adjust quickly, improve revenue, and reduce the risk of pricing mistakes.
Use Customer Data
Every click, search, and purchase on your store creates data. eCommerce analytics turns that data into insight.
For example, if you notice that customers who buy from Instagram tend to spend more and come back often, you can shift more of your focus there.
You might also adjust your messaging or work with influencers that better match that audience. These small changes, driven by data, can lead to stronger results.
Tracking customer data also helps you see how people move through your sales funnel. You can find out who clicked on a product, who added it to their cart, and who completed a purchase.
Such a level of insight helps you build content and campaigns that speak to the right audience at the right time.
Shopify Analytics vs. Google Analytics
Shopify Analytics and Google Analytics both help you measure sales performance and analyze data but focus on different areas.
Shopify Analytics
Image Source: shopify.com
Shopify Analytics shows sales reports, product performance, and eCommerce metrics like total orders or top-selling items. The reports are easy to access through your Shopify admin and give a quick view of what’s happening inside your store.
Google Analytics
Image Source: developers.google.com
Google Analytics reports show how people find your site, what pages they visit, and how they move through your funnel. It shows your traffic sources, landing page activity, bounce rate, and conversion rate.
If you connect it with Google Ads or Google Search Console, you get even deeper data analytics about what’s working and what’s not.
Limitations of Shopify’s Native Analytics Tools
Shopify’s built-in reporting covers the basics, but it has several gaps that make deeper analysis difficult for growing businesses and agencies. Below are some of the most common limitations users face.
Limited Integration with External Platforms
Shopify supports basic connections, such as linking with Google Analytics, but it does not offer built-in options to connect with many third-party tools.
If you use multiple platforms for ads, email, or CRM, there’s no simple way to bring that data into your Shopify reports.
No Combined Reporting Across Data Sources
Shopify does not allow users to create a single report that blends its internal data with metrics from outside platforms.
Instead, users often export data from multiple tools and manually combine it into spreadsheets. This process is time-consuming, and because of that, many analysts avoid it.
The result is a set of disconnected reports that make it harder to see the full picture.
Limited Comparison Within Shopify’s Own Data
Even when working only with Shopify data, users run into issues.
For example, while you can view orders and returns separately, Shopify doesn’t offer a built-in way to compare them side by side in a single report.
To understand how those metrics relate, you need to export the data and analyze it manually.
Basic Chart and Graph Options
Shopify’s visualizations are limited to a few types of charts, like bars and lines.
These are useful for quick snapshots but not for creating clear, engaging reports that explain trends or performance across time.
For businesses that want to share insights with a team or clients, these basic visuals often fall short.
How TapClicks Enhances Your Shopify Reporting Capabilities
At TapClicks, we saw a clear gap in how Shopify data could be reported. So, we set out to build a better solution. After several months of development, we released the new Shopify integration in May 2024.
Below are the ways in which the integration improves Shopify reporting inside the platform.
Want to find out how much time TapClicks can save you on eCommerce reporting? Book a demo today!
Compare and Contrast Shopify’s Internal Metrics
Shopify doesn’t give you a simple way to measure how internal metrics relate to each other.
If you want to compare multiple data points, like which customers place more orders, you have to export the data and build the reports yourself.
With TapClicks, that step is no longer needed. The Shopify integration lets you create reports that connect related metrics in just a few clicks.
For example, say you want to find out if new or repeat customers are placing more orders. You might track average order value and total order quantity.
With TapClicks, you can view customer average order value and order quantity in one widget and see how they influence each other.
These insights can help you decide where to send traffic, such as your homepage or specific product pages.
Analyze Shopify Data Alongside Other Business Data
Shopify doesn’t support custom eCommerce reporting across platforms. Outside of connecting Google Analytics, there’s no built-in way to pull in data from other tools you rely on.
That’s a problem if you need more than just website activity. For stores focused on improving conversion rates, it’s not enough to track bounce rates or pageviews alone.
You need context, which means bringing in data from your full marketing stack.
TapClicks addresses this by giving you one dashboard where Shopify data lives alongside data from other sources. You can combine performance metrics from paid channels, organic search, and email in the same report.
Say you’re comparing checkout performance between traffic from Google and Facebook. With TapClicks, you can do that without exporting spreadsheets or switching between platforms.
Everything updates in real time, so you can act fast with a clear view of what’s working.
Create Attention-Grabbing, Customizable Reports in the Formats You Need
Shopify reports are limited when it comes to format and presentation. Data exports are restricted to CSV files, and the built-in visuals are basic at best.
TapClicks gives you more control. Reports can include:
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Geocharts
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Line charts
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Bar charts
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Pie Charts
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And more
Instead of relying on grids or static tables, you can build reports that make trends easier to spot and results easier to explain. You can also export your reports as PDFs, Excel files, or PowerPoint decks.
Imagine needing to show eCommerce performance by location. Shopify presents that as rows and columns. On TapClicks, you can make the same data into a custom map.
To take it further, TapClicks includes Report Studio, which lets you add dynamic text, visual effects, and even GIFs. The presentation mode also allows note-taking and real-time highlighting during meetings.
Key Metrics to Monitor
Monitoring core metrics provides valuable insights into your store’s health:
Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
CLV represents how much profit you expect to make from a single customer over time. If someone shops twice a year and spends $75 each time, and your profit margin is 30%, their CLV is $45.
Returning Visitors
This metric indicates the percentage of users who revisit your site after their initial visit. A higher percentage suggests that visitors found your site valuable and are interested in returning.
Time on Site
Time on site measures the average duration users spend on your site per visit. Longer times can indicate that visitors are engaging with your content and finding it useful.
Pages per Visit
Pages per visit calculates the average number of pages a user views during a single session. More page views usually mean higher interest.
Bounce Rate
Bounce rate represents the percentage of visitors who leave your site after viewing only one page without taking any action. A high bounce rate may indicate issues such as poor design, unmet expectations, or slow page loading times.
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
CAC shows the average cost of getting a new customer. If you spend $500 on ads and gain 10 new customers, your CAC is $50. Tracking your customer acquisition cost helps you see if you are using your marketing budget well.
Get Better Shopify eCommerce Reports With TapClicks
Shopify gives you basic store analytics, but for agencies and larger teams, the reporting often falls short. Switching between tools and merging spreadsheets can slow down your work and limit visibility.
TapClicks simplifies this by pulling Shopify data into one unified dashboard alongside your other marketing and sales sources.
You can track campaign performance, product trends, and customer behavior in one place without extra steps.
With visual, customizable reports and real-time insights, TapClicks helps you focus on strategy and gives you the clarity for more informed decision-making.
Ready to simplify and expand how you report your Shopify data? Try TapClicks for free!
FAQs About Shopify eCommerce Analytics
Does Shopify have built-in analytics?
Yes, Shopify has built-in analytics. It includes dashboards and reports that show data like sales, traffic, and customer behavior.
How much does Shopify analytics cost?
Shopify analytics is included with all plans, but access to advanced reports depends on your plan. Basic plans offer limited data, while the Shopify, Advanced, and Plus plans unlock more detailed reporting.
What is the best analytics for eCommerce?
The best eCommerce analytics tool depends on your needs. Shopify works well for store-level data. For a broader view that includes traffic sources and behavior across channels, many teams use TapClicks.
What is the difference between Google Analytics and Shopify analytics?
The main difference is scope. Shopify analytics focuses on activities within your store, such as sales and orders. Meanwhile, Google Analytics tracks website visitors’ interactions, including traffic sources, landing pages, and conversion paths.
