Sales are up. Great. But is your store making more money? A sneaker shop and a snus store could bring in the same revenue and end up with very different profits. Revenue alone won’t tell you why. These 20 ecommerce KPIs show where sales slip away, what growth costs, and why customers return.
Sales conversion rate
This is orders divided by store sessions, times 100. Check it by device and traffic source. A strong overall rate can still hide a mobile checkout problem.
Average order value (AOV)
Divide revenue by orders to find what shoppers spend per purchase. Test bundles or free-shipping thresholds, but make sure bigger baskets still earn a profit.
Customer lifetime value (CLV)
CLV estimates how much a customer spends over time. Track repeat orders, then compare lifetime customer profit with what you paid to acquire them.
Cart abandonment rate
Around 70% of online carts are abandoned. Surprise shipping fees and forced sign-ups can kill a sale. Find where people leave before spending more on ads.
Customer acquisition cost (CAC)
Divide sales and marketing spend by new customers. Compare CAC across channels and against customer profit. Cheap traffic can bring expensive customers.
Return on investment (ROI)
ROI measures profit relative to an investment’s cost. For ads, track ROAS too: ad-attributed revenue divided by ad spend. High ROAS doesn’t guarantee profit.
Gross margin
Subtract the cost of goods sold from revenue, then divide by revenue. This shows what remains before other expenses. Shipping and payment fees still matter.
Net promoter score (NPS)
Ask buyers how likely they are to recommend you, from 0 to 10. NPS is the share scoring 9–10 minus the share scoring 0–6. Their comments explain why.
Website traffic
Track sessions by channel, not just total visitors. A viral post might send thousands of people your way, but traffic only helps when the right people arrive.
Bounce rate
In Google Analytics 4, bounce rate is the share of sessions that weren’t engaged. It doesn’t simply mean someone viewed one page. Read it alongside sales.
Email open rate
Email privacy features can inflate opens. Use open rate as a rough signal, then check clicks, purchases, and revenue to judge what your emails achieve.
Click-through rate (CTR)
CTR is clicks divided by impressions, times 100. It tracks interest in ads, emails, and search results. Lots of clicks but few orders? Check the landing page.
Social media engagement rate
Measure comments, shares, saves, and other interactions against reach or impressions. Be consistent. Then see whether engaged followers visit your store.
Customer retention rate
This is the share of existing customers you keep over a period, excluding new buyers. Pair it with repeat purchase rate to see who comes back to shop.
Refund and return rate
Track returned items against items sold, and refunded revenue against sales. They’re different measures. Check them by product to catch fit or quality issues.
Time on site
GA4’s average engagement time measures how long your site is in focus, not how long a tab stays open. Compare it with add-to-cart activity.
Page load time
Use PageSpeed Insights to check Core Web Vitals: loading (LCP), responsiveness (INP), and layout shifts (CLS). Start with mobile product pages and checkout.
Product reviews and ratings
Watch rating trends and read critical reviews. They can reveal confusing sizes, poor photos, or delivery problems before those issues cost more sales.
Stock turnover rate
Divide cost of goods sold by average inventory value. Slow stock ties up cash. But turnover that’s too fast can leave popular products unavailable.
Cost per click (CPC)
CPC is ad spend divided by clicks. Use it to monitor paid traffic costs, not to judge success alone. A pricier click may lead to a better sale.
Start with conversion rate, AOV, CAC, CLV, and gross margin. Add other KPIs when you have a clear question to answer. The best dashboard is one you actually use.
