The ecommerce KPIs most small online stores need are sessions, conversion rate, average order value, revenue, cart abandonment rate, customer acquisition cost, repeat customer rate and refund rate. Check them once a week, compare each one with your own last few weeks rather than anyone else's store, and work on the one that's moved the most.
If you only have time for one, start with average order value. It's your revenue divided by the number of orders, it's easy to find in any store dashboard, and it's often the quickest number to move with a bundle, a free delivery threshold or a sensible add-on at checkout.
I've seen a lot of small business owners drown in dashboards. Shopify, WooCommerce and Google Analytics will all happily show you dozens of charts. You don't need dozens. You need a short list you look at every week, so you notice when something changes and you know what to do about it. Here's the list I'd use.
The 8 KPIs worth tracking
| KPI | Formula in words | What it tells you | How often to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions | Number of visits to your store in the period | Whether people are finding you at all | Weekly |
| Conversion rate | Orders divided by sessions, times 100 | How well the store turns visits into sales | Weekly |
| Average order value (AOV) | Revenue divided by number of orders | How much each customer spends per order | Weekly |
| Revenue | Total sales in the period, before refunds | The headline number, but never the whole story | Weekly |
| Cart abandonment rate | Carts not completed divided by carts created, times 100 | Where people are dropping out of checkout | Weekly |
| Customer acquisition cost (CAC) | Marketing spend divided by new customers won | What you're paying to win each new buyer | Monthly |
| Repeat customer rate | Customers who ordered more than once divided by all customers, times 100 | Whether people come back | Monthly |
| Refund rate | Orders refunded divided by all orders, times 100 | Product, description or delivery problems | Weekly |
Notice there are no target numbers in that table. That's on purpose. Every store is different, and the only comparison that helps you is your own trend. If you want help working out the maths, this guide walks through it step by step: the formula for conversion rate.
When a number moves the wrong way, do this
Sessions
If visits drop, look at where they came from before you panic. Is it one channel, like search, email or social, or all of them? A single channel falling usually has a single cause: an email you didn't send, a post that didn't go out, a page that slipped in search. Fix that channel first.
Conversion rate
A falling conversion rate with steady traffic usually means something on the site has changed. Test the checkout yourself on your phone. Check that payment methods work, delivery options show, and nothing is broken. Then work through an ecommerce conversion rate optimisation checklist one item at a time.
Average order value
If AOV slips, people are buying fewer items or cheaper ones. Try a bundle of products that go together, a 'goes well with' suggestion on product pages, or a free delivery threshold set a little above what most people spend now. Change one thing, then watch it for a few weeks.
Revenue
Revenue is the result of the other numbers, so don't try to fix it directly. Break it down: revenue is sessions times conversion rate times average order value. One of those three has moved. Find it and work on that.
Cart abandonment rate
People add to cart and leave. The usual reasons are surprise delivery charges, a forced account sign-up, too few payment options or a slow checkout. Show delivery costs early, allow guest checkout, and set up an abandoned cart email if your platform has one.
Customer acquisition cost
If CAC climbs, you're paying more to win each new buyer. Look at which ad campaign or channel brings customers in for the least spend and move budget there. Also check whether your product pages convert the traffic you're already paying for. Cheaper clicks don't help if the page loses them.
Repeat customer rate
If fewer people come back, start with the post-purchase experience. Was delivery on time? Did they get a thank-you email? Do they hear from you again with something useful? A simple follow-up email sequence and a reason to return, like a new product or a restock, do a lot here.
Refund rate
A rising refund rate is a warning sign. Read the reasons customers give. If it's sizing, add measurements. If it's 'not as described', rewrite the description and add better photos. If it's damage in transit, look at your packaging or your courier.
Want AI doing the heavy lifting in your marketing?
I build the systems that handle the boring 80 percent, so you get your week back. Done properly, with the human kept in.
A one-page weekly scorecard
Keep this simple. A spreadsheet with one row per week and a column for each KPI is enough. Every Monday, fill in last week's numbers and answer these:
- Sessions this week, and the change from last week
- Conversion rate, and the change from last week
- Average order value, and the change from last week
- Revenue, and the change from last week
- Cart abandonment rate, and whether checkout had any problems
- Refund rate, and the top reason customers gave
- Customer acquisition cost and repeat customer rate (fill these in monthly)
- The one number that moved most, and the one thing you'll try this week because of it
That last line is the important one. A scorecard that doesn't lead to an action is just a diary. If you sell on Shopify and want to know how your conversion rate looks over time, it helps to read about what counts as a good conversion rate for Shopify stores, so you judge it fairly.
Where to find each number
You don't need a fancy tool to start. Most of these numbers already sit in software you're using.
- Shopify analytics: sessions, conversion rate, average order value, total sales, returning customer rate and abandoned checkouts are all in the built-in reports.
- WooCommerce reports: the Analytics section shows revenue, orders, average order value, refunds and customers. For sessions you'll need a separate analytics tool.
- GA4 (Google Analytics): sessions by channel, and ecommerce events like add to cart and purchases if ecommerce tracking is set up on your store.
- Your payment provider: Stripe, PayPal, Square or Shopify Payments will show payments, refunds and disputes, which is a useful cross-check on your store figures.
- Your ad accounts: Google Ads, Meta and any other ad platforms give you spend, which you'll need for customer acquisition cost.
If the numbers in two places don't match, don't worry too much. Store platforms, analytics tools and payment providers count things slightly differently. Pick one source for each KPI and stick with it, so your week-to-week trend stays honest.
Make an ecommerce analytics tool? See how to get it featured on this list.
Frequently asked questions
What are the most important ecommerce KPIs?
For most small stores: sessions, conversion rate, average order value, revenue, cart abandonment rate, customer acquisition cost, repeat customer rate and refund rate. They cover traffic, sales, spend and whether customers come back.
How do you calculate average order value?
Divide your total revenue for a period by the number of orders in the same period. Use the same date range for both numbers so the result is fair.
How often should I check my ecommerce KPIs?
Weekly for sessions, conversion rate, average order value, revenue, cart abandonment and refunds. Monthly for customer acquisition cost and repeat customer rate, because they need more data to mean anything.
Should I compare my numbers with industry averages?
I wouldn't. Stores differ so much by product, audience and traffic source that outside averages can mislead you. Compare your numbers with your own previous weeks and months instead.
