The 10 most important KPIs for every online store

Running an online store without tracking key performance indicators is like driving blindfolded—you might move forward, but you have no idea where you're going or whether you're headed toward success or disaster. Yet many e-commerce managers track dozens of metrics without knowing which ones actually matter, creating data overload without actionable insights. The truth is that a focused set of essential KPIs tells you everything you need to know about business health, growth trajectory, and where to focus improvement efforts.

The right KPIs transform overwhelming data into clear signals. Perhaps revenue looks great but profitability is declining. Or traffic surges but conversion rates plummet. These critical relationships become visible only when tracking the right metrics together. This guide identifies the 10 most important KPIs every online store must monitor regardless of platform, industry, or business model—the vital few that predict success and guide strategic decisions.

💰 Revenue and revenue growth rate

Revenue is the most fundamental KPI—total income from sales before expenses. But revenue alone is incomplete without growth rate showing whether your business expands, stagnates, or declines. Calculate revenue growth by comparing current period to previous period: ((Current Revenue - Previous Revenue) / Previous Revenue) × 100. Perhaps you generated $48,200 this month versus $44,800 last month—7.6% growth indicating healthy expansion.

Track revenue trends over time rather than fixating on single month results. Perhaps revenue grew 5%, 7%, 9% over three consecutive months—accelerating growth suggesting momentum. Or declined from 12% to 8% to 5%—decelerating trajectory requiring investigation. Revenue growth rate reveals business direction better than absolute revenue numbers.

Segment revenue by product category, customer type, and sales channel understanding what drives growth. Perhaps Product Category A generates 45% of revenue but grows only 3% monthly while Category B produces 22% of revenue growing 18% monthly. These insights guide inventory investment and marketing focus toward highest-growth opportunities.

📊 Conversion rate

Conversion rate measures the percentage of visitors who complete purchases, revealing how effectively your store turns traffic into customers. Calculate by dividing orders by unique visitors: (Orders / Visitors) × 100. Perhaps 9,200 visitors generated 276 orders—3.0% conversion rate. E-commerce stores typically convert 1-4% depending on industry and traffic quality.

Essential conversion insights include:

• By traffic source: Organic search often converts 3-5%, paid ads 2-4%, social 1-2%

• By device: Mobile typically converts 40-60% lower than desktop

• New vs returning: Returning visitors convert 2-4x better than first-timers

• By product: Which items convert visitors most effectively

Monitor conversion trends identifying improvements or degradation. Perhaps conversion improved from 2.7% to 2.9% to 3.1% over three months—positive momentum from optimization efforts. Or declined from 3.5% to 3.2% to 2.9%—concerning deterioration requiring urgent attention. Small conversion changes dramatically impact revenue—improving from 2.8% to 3.2% on 10,000 monthly visitors with $90 average order value generates $3,600 additional monthly revenue.

💵 Average order value (AOV)

Average order value measures typical transaction size revealing customer spending patterns. Calculate AOV by dividing total revenue by number of orders. Perhaps $48,200 revenue from 485 orders produces $99.38 AOV. Track AOV trends showing whether customers spend more or less per transaction over time.

Improve AOV through strategic tactics. Set free shipping thresholds just above current AOV encouraging customers to add items reaching the minimum. Create product bundles offering multiple items at attractive combined pricing. Implement cross-sell recommendations suggesting complementary products during checkout. Each tactic typically increases AOV 8-15%.

Segment AOV by customer type revealing spending patterns. Perhaps first-time buyers average $78 while returning customers show $115 AOV—48% higher. Or email subscribers spend $105 per order versus $85 for non-subscribers. Understanding these patterns guides customer acquisition and retention priorities toward segments showing higher transaction values.

👥 Customer acquisition cost (CAC)

Customer acquisition cost reveals how much you spend acquiring each new customer, determining whether growth is economically sustainable. Calculate CAC by dividing total marketing and sales expenses by new customers acquired. Perhaps $7,800 spent acquired 295 new customers—$26.44 CAC. Track CAC trends showing whether acquisition becomes more or less expensive over time.

Compare CAC across channels identifying efficient acquisition sources. Perhaps organic search shows $18 CAC, paid search $42, social media $58, and email $9. These dramatic differences should guide budget allocation toward low-CAC channels delivering efficient acquisition. However, balance CAC with customer quality—sometimes higher-CAC channels bring more valuable long-term customers.

Calculate CAC payback period showing how long until customer profits cover acquisition cost. If CAC is $26 and average first-order profit is $32, you recover acquisition cost immediately—excellent economics. If first-order profit is only $12, you need 2-3 additional orders for payback. Shorter payback periods enable faster reinvestment and growth.

🔄 Customer lifetime value (CLV)

Customer lifetime value predicts total profit each customer generates over their complete relationship with your store. Calculate using: (Average Order Value × Purchase Frequency × Customer Lifespan) × Profit Margin. Perhaps customers average $99 orders, purchase 3.5 times yearly, remain active 2.2 years, with 34% margins. CLV = ($99 × 3.5 × 2.2) × 0.34 = $259.

Compare CLV to CAC ensuring acquisition economics work. Customer lifetime value should exceed CAC by at least 3:1 for sustainable business. If CLV is $259 and CAC is $26, ratio is 9.96:1—excellent economics supporting aggressive growth investment. Ratios below 3:1 require either reducing acquisition costs or improving customer value through retention optimization.

Track CLV trends revealing whether customer relationships strengthen or weaken. Perhaps CLV increased from $215 to $238 to $259 over recent cohorts—positive trajectory indicating retention improvements. Or declined from $285 to $268 to $259—concerning degradation requiring retention program investment.

🔁 Repeat purchase rate

Repeat purchase rate shows what percentage of customers make second or additional purchases, directly indicating customer satisfaction and business sustainability. Calculate by dividing customers with 2+ orders by total customers. Perhaps 380 of 1,200 customers made repeat purchases—32% repeat rate. Focus on customers acquired 90+ days ago giving adequate time to repurchase.

Key repeat purchase indicators:

• Strong product-market fit when rates exceed 35-40%

• Adequate performance at 25-35%

• Concerning problems below 25%

• Trends more important than absolute rates

• Segment differences revealing customer quality

Improve repeat rates through retention initiatives. Implement post-purchase email sequences nurturing first-time buyers toward second purchases. Create loyalty programs incentivizing repeat transactions through points or rewards. Focus on first-purchase experience quality since it determines whether customers return. Retention improvements dramatically boost profitability since retaining customers costs far less than acquiring new ones.

📉 Cart abandonment rate

Cart abandonment rate shows the percentage of shoppers who add products to cart but don't complete purchases, revealing checkout friction and recovery opportunities. Calculate: (Carts Created - Orders Completed) / Carts Created × 100. Perhaps 720 carts created with 245 completed orders yield 66% abandonment rate. E-commerce abandonment typically ranges 65-75%.

Analyze abandonment patterns revealing why customers don't complete purchases. Perhaps 40% abandon after seeing shipping costs—unexpected expense shock. Or 28% abandon during payment entry—security concerns or complexity. Identifying specific drop-off points guides targeted friction removal.

Implement cart recovery campaigns converting abandoners into customers. Send automated recovery emails 1-4 hours post-abandonment with cart contents and purchase link. Follow up at 24 hours with additional benefits, and 72 hours with incentive or urgency messaging. Recovery campaigns consistently convert 8-15% of abandoners into completed sales.

💸 Gross profit margin

Gross profit margin measures the percentage of revenue retained after product costs, revealing fundamental business profitability. Calculate: (Revenue - Cost of Goods Sold) / Revenue × 100. Perhaps $48,200 revenue with $31,300 COGS yields 35.1% gross margin. This shows how much money remains for operating expenses and profit after covering product costs.

Track margin trends ensuring profitability maintains or improves with growth. Declining margins suggest pricing pressure, rising supplier costs, or product mix shifts toward lower-margin items. Improving margins indicate successful pricing optimization, cost reduction, or mix shifts toward premium products. Sustainable growth maintains healthy margins—not just revenue increases while profitability erodes.

Segment margins by product category identifying which offerings drive profitability. Perhaps Category A shows 42% margins while Category B shows only 18%. Understanding profitability differences guides strategic decisions about which products to emphasize in marketing, which to optimize, and which to potentially discontinue.

📈 Traffic and traffic sources

Traffic volume shows how many visitors your store attracts, while traffic sources reveal where they come from—organic search, paid ads, social media, email, direct. Track total visitors and breakdown by source understanding your audience reach and acquisition channels. Perhaps 9,200 monthly visitors include 3,800 from organic search (41%), 2,400 from paid ads (26%), 1,600 from social (17%), 900 from email (10%), and 500 direct (6%).

Analyze traffic quality by comparing conversion rates across sources. High traffic from low-converting sources provides limited value while lower traffic from high-converting sources drives better results. Perhaps organic search delivers moderate traffic but excellent 4.2% conversion while social drives higher traffic at only 1.8% conversion. Quality matters more than quantity.

Monitor traffic trends identifying growth opportunities and problems. Perhaps organic search traffic grew 15% monthly over three months—strong SEO momentum. Or paid traffic declined 22%—campaign problems or budget cuts requiring attention. Traffic trends predict future revenue since more qualified visitors eventually generate more sales.

🎯 Return rate

Return rate shows what percentage of orders get returned, revealing product quality issues, description accuracy problems, and customer satisfaction. Calculate by dividing returned orders by total orders. Perhaps 58 of 485 orders returned—12% return rate. E-commerce return rates typically range 10-30% depending on product category, with apparel showing highest rates due to fit issues.

Analyze return reasons revealing specific problems. Perhaps 42% cite "doesn't match description," 31% say "quality below expectations," 18% report sizing problems, and 9% indicate shipping damage. Return reason patterns guide improvements—better descriptions, quality enhancements, sizing guides, or packaging improvements addressing documented issues.

Track return rate by product identifying problematic items. Perhaps Product A shows 8% returns while Product B shows 28%—3.5x difference signaling Product B issues requiring investigation. High-return products destroy profitability through refund costs, return shipping, processing labor, and often unusable returned inventory. Identifying and fixing or discontinuing high-return items dramatically improves margins.

📊 Building your KPI dashboard

Tracking these 10 KPIs requires organized dashboards making metrics visible and actionable. Use tools like Google Analytics, your e-commerce platform's native analytics (Shopify Analytics, WooCommerce Analytics), or dedicated analytics solutions consolidating data from multiple sources.

Create monthly scorecards tracking all 10 KPIs with comparisons to previous periods and targets. Perhaps show current month values, prior month comparison, year-ago comparison, and target achievement. This comprehensive view reveals performance across all dimensions—not just revenue but conversion, profitability, customer value, and operational efficiency.

Set realistic targets for each KPI based on industry benchmarks and your specific business. Perhaps target 8% monthly revenue growth, 3.2% conversion rate, $105 AOV, $28 CAC, $260 CLV, 35% repeat rate, 68% cart abandonment, 34% gross margin, 12% traffic growth, and 13% return rate. Targets create accountability and focus for improvement efforts.

Schedule regular KPI reviews—perhaps weekly for operational metrics like traffic and conversion, monthly for strategic metrics like CLV and repeat rate. Regular review cadence transforms KPIs from interesting numbers into actionable intelligence driving continuous business improvement and strategic decision-making.

These 10 KPIs—revenue growth rate, conversion rate, average order value, customer acquisition cost, customer lifetime value, repeat purchase rate, cart abandonment rate, gross profit margin, traffic sources, and return rate—provide complete visibility into e-commerce business health. By tracking them consistently, understanding what each reveals, comparing across segments and time periods, and acting on insights, you transform from flying blind to data-driven management.

Try Peasy for free at peasy.nu and get automated daily reports with sales, orders, AOV, conversion rate, sessions, top products, top pages, and top channels—the core metrics every store needs.