Let’s be real for a second: running an eCommerce store can feel like juggling flaming swords while riding a unicycle on a tightrope. Between keeping your site alive, launching ads, dealing with customer DMs, and wondering why Karen returned her hoodie after wearing it “once,” you don’t have time to track 87 random metrics.
So let’s cut the fluff. Here are the 12 KPIs that actually matter if you want to grow your store, stay profitable, and stop crying into your Shopify dashboard.
1. Conversion Rate (CR) – AKA “Are People Buying Stuff?”
This one’s simple. If you’re getting traffic but nobody’s buying, something is broken.
Formula: (Total Orders ÷ Total Visitors) × 100
2. Average Order Value (AOV) – “How Big Was the Shopping Cart?”
Higher AOV means more money per customer without needing more traffic. And that’s the name of the game.
Formula: Total Revenue ÷ Total Orders
3. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) – “How Much Are You Paying to Get a Sale?”
Formula: Total Marketing Spend ÷ Number of New Customers
4. Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) – “How Much Are They Worth Over Time?”
Formula: AOV × Purchase Frequency × Average Customer Lifespan
5. Cart Abandonment Rate – “Why You Gotta Ghost Me Like That?”
Formula: (Abandoned Carts ÷ Total Carts Created) × 100
6. Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) – “Are Your Ads Paying Off?”
Formula: Revenue from Ads ÷ Cost of Ads
7. Gross Profit Margin – “Are You Making Money or Just Moving Product?”
Formula: (Revenue – Cost of Goods Sold) ÷ Revenue × 100
8. Repeat Purchase Rate – “Did They Come Back?”
Formula: Returning Customers ÷ Total Customers × 100
9. Website Traffic – “Who’s Coming to the Party?”
Track sources: organic, paid, email, social. Know where your traffic converts best.
10. Email Open & Click Rates – “Are They Even Reading Your Stuff?”
Benchmarks: Open rate: 20–30%, Click rate: 2–5%
11. Product Return Rate – “Are People Sending Stuff Back?”
Formula: (Returned Orders ÷ Total Orders) × 100
12. Net Promoter Score (NPS) – “Do They Like You Enough to Recommend You?”
Ask post-purchase: “How likely are you to recommend us to a friend?”
eCommerce KPI Benchmarks Chart
Here’s a handy visual reference for what “good” looks like:
Bonus KPI: Your Sanity
Are you making money, delighting customers, and not losing your mind? That’s the unspoken KPI we should all track.
Final Thoughts
You don’t need to obsess over 50 dashboards. Just track the stuff that actually moves the needle — sales, profit, repeat customers, and whether your ads are working.
Pick a few KPIs to monitor weekly. Set up simple reports. And remember: what gets measured gets managed. What gets ignored? That’s how stores end up with 500 abandoned carts and a $7,000 ad bill.
So be smart, stay scrappy, and let your numbers guide you — not stress you out.
