Shopify includes built-in analytics that provide essential insights about your store's performance. Understanding where they fall short helps you know when additional tools are needed.

Shopify's Built-In Analytics

Overview Dashboard

Total sales, online store sessions, returning customer rate, conversion rate, average order value, and total orders.

Sales Reports

Breakdowns by product, variant, channel, discount, and time period.

Acquisition Reports

How visitors find your store: organic search, direct, social media, referral, and email.

Behavior Reports

Top landing pages, top products viewed, and searches performed.

Limitations of Shopify Analytics

Limited customization -- especially on lower-tier plans. No cross-platform view for sites beyond Shopify. Basic attribution without sophisticated multi-touch models. Plan restrictions on advanced reports.

When to Add Third-Party Analytics

When you need privacy-compliant tracking without consent banners, cross-site analytics, detailed referral source analysis, goal and funnel tracking, UTM campaign tracking, or lightweight tracking scripts.

Key Metrics for Shopify Store Owners

Conversion rate by channel and device
Average order value trends
Customer acquisition cost by channel
Top entry pages that lead to purchases
Cart abandonment rate
Revenue per visitor

Best Practices

Use Shopify's analytics for sales and inventory insights
Add a third-party tool for broader website analytics
Set up UTM parameters on all marketing links
Monitor conversion rates by device type
Review analytics weekly and adjust spend based on revenue attribution