Shopify KPI Reports: Build a Dashboard in Shopify or Looker
Shopify KPI reports can live in Shopify itself: the Analytics page is a dashboard of metric cards you can add, resize, group into sections and give targets, and any report can be edited and saved on every plan. Build your KPI board there first. Move to Looker Studio only when you need to put Shopify numbers next to ad spend, Google Analytics or another sales channel in one place.
Shopify facts come from the Help Center pages on the Analytics dashboard, reports and customer reports, read on October 23, 2026. Connector vendors are named as examples; check their current pricing pages.
The KPIs worth a dashboard
Pick six to eight; a board with twenty numbers is hard to read in a minute.
| KPI | Where it comes from in Shopify | When it moves, check first |
|---|---|---|
| Net sales | Sales reports | Orders and average order value, to see which one moved |
| Orders | Sales reports | Sessions and conversion rate |
| Average order value | Sales reports | Discounts used, bundles, shipping thresholds |
| Conversion rate | Conversion rate breakdown, Conversion rate over time | Which funnel step moved: cart, checkout or purchase |
| Sessions | Analytics overview, behavior reports | Traffic sources and the September 2026 measurement change |
| Returning customers | New vs returning customers | Last month’s first-time buyers, post-purchase emails |
| Gross profit | Profit reports (needs a cost per item on products) | Discounts and product mix |
| Fulfillment time | Fulfillment metrics on the Analytics page | Stock, staff and carriers |
Every KPI should have one action attached. If conversion rate drops, you open the funnel report; if returning customers drop, you look at the one-time customers list.
Build the dashboard in Shopify Analytics
- Open Analytics. The overview shows sales, sessions and fulfillment metrics for all channels, updated within about a minute, for any date range, with a comparison period.
- Remove the cards you do not use and add cards for your KPIs. There is a card for every available report.
- Group the cards into labeled sections, for example “Sales”, “Customers”, “Fulfillment”, and resize the ones that matter most.
- Set metric targets for the KPIs you have goals for, such as monthly net sales, to track progress against them.
- For anything the cards do not show, open a report under Analytics > Reports, adjust it in the configuration panel (metrics, dimensions, filters, visualization), and save it as a custom data exploration. Saving works on every Shopify plan.
- Read the ShopifyQL query above each report if you want to know exactly how a number is calculated. You can edit the query and click Run, or ask Sidekick to write one.
Use the comparison menu in reports to compare against the previous period or against a target, and the currency menu if you sell in several currencies; conversions use the historical rate on the day of each transaction.
How each part of the Analytics area works, and which metrics confuse people, is in our guide to the Shopify analytics dashboard.
When Looker Studio is worth it
Shopify’s dashboard covers your store. Looker Studio, Google’s free dashboard tool, earns its setup time when:
- You want ad spend from Google, Meta or other networks on the same chart as Shopify sales, to see cost per order.
- You report on several stores or sales channels that are not all in Shopify.
- Several people outside the Shopify admin need to see the numbers, such as an accountant or an investor.
- You need a scheduled PDF or email report in a fixed format.
If you only need Shopify numbers, the Analytics page is quicker to maintain and always current.
Connect Shopify to Looker Studio
There are two routes.
Export and upload. Shopify reports can be exported for analysis in spreadsheet programs. Export the reports you need and bring them into Looker Studio through one of Google’s own connectors, such as Google Sheets or a CSV file upload. It costs nothing, but you repeat the export whenever you want fresh numbers.
A partner connector. For a live Shopify connection you use a third-party connector from the Looker Studio connector gallery; vendors such as Supermetrics, Windsor.ai, Porter Metrics and Power My Analytics offer Shopify connectors. Pricing differs by vendor, and some, such as Windsor.ai, list a free tier with limits. Check the current price and which Shopify fields each connector pulls before choosing; we have not tested them.
A privacy note: a connector that pulls customer-level data (names, emails) copies personal data to another company. Pull only aggregated sales data unless you need more, and make sure your privacy policy covers the tools you use. Your customer privacy settings and data request obligations in Shopify still apply.
Other reporting topics are in the running a store hub; adding Google Analytics 4 data is covered in GA4 on Shopify, and ad metrics in Shopify ad performance metrics.
Four ways a KPI board misleads
- Comparing sessions and conversion rate across September 21–23, 2026, when Shopify changed session measurement. Annotate the date.
- Reading total sales as income: Shopify’s total sales include shipping and taxes. Use net sales for the trend.
- A dashboard with 25 numbers and no targets.
- Profit KPIs on products without a cost per item: Shopify reports profit only for items that had a cost recorded when they sold.
Frequently asked questions
What KPIs should a Shopify store track? Start with net sales, orders, average order value, conversion rate, sessions and returning customers, and add gross profit once product costs are entered. Track six to eight numbers, each with a clear action when it moves.
Can I export Shopify reports? Yes. Shopify reports can be exported for analysis in spreadsheet programs such as Google Sheets or Excel.
Does Shopify connect to Looker Studio directly? Not with a live Shopify connector built by Google. You can bring exported Shopify reports in through Google’s own connectors (Google Sheets or a CSV file upload), or use a third-party Shopify connector from the Looker Studio connector gallery.