How to Access Customer Cohort Analysis on Shopify

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This guide explains how to use an important metric, customer cohort analysis, and how to access the Customer Cohort Analysis tool on Shopify and the Cohort Retention Report on By the Numbers.

How to Access the Customer Cohort Analysis on Shopify

1- Click on Analytics > Reports once you’ve accessed your Shopify Store.

2- Click on or search for Customer Cohort Analysis

Here’s a Shopify’s Customer Cohort Analysis screenshot:

Could you analyze your cohort retention and segment the data so that you can know how your different customer segments behave? By the Numbers advanced segmentation capabilities allow you to go deep into the Cohort Retention report with just a few clicks. Learn more about your weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly retention and customers’ buying trends. Then, hit them with a tailored campaign through Klaviyo, Google Ads, Meta, and TikTok Ads and incorporate the data into your reports.

Keep reading if you want to know how:

How to Access the Cohort Retention Report on By the Numbers

Step 1: Install the By the Numbers App

Visit the Shopify App Store and install By the Numbers. This powerful tool will provide comprehensive insights into your store’s performance, giving you a deeper understanding of customer trends and patterns and boosting sales.

Step 2: Access the By the Numbers Dashboard and Navigate to the Reports Section

The Reports section is on the left-hand side of the menu.

STEP 3: Select the Cohort Retention Report

You can find the Cohort Retention Report by searching for the Products Sold by Vendor on the right side of the Reports section.

This is what the By the Numbers Cohort Retention report looks like:

Let’s go through the definitions of the columns:

Cohort: The group of Customers that made their first purchase in a given period.
Cohort size: The number of distinct Customers in a Cohort.
Retention: The number of Customers that returned to purchase from your Shop again after their first purchase.
Total sales: The total sales — that is, gross sales – discounts – returns + taxes + shipping charges.
Orders: The total number of orders placed by the Cohort.
AOV (Average Order Value): The Total Sales (not including returns) divided by the number of orders.
Frequency: This is the average number of orders placed by each customer in the Cohort.
Customer Value: This represents the average monetary value each Customer brings to your business. It is the average order value multiplied by the frequency.
Average LTV (Lifetime Value): This represents the average monetary value each Customer brings to your business over their lifetime.
Clicks: Interactions with your ad. Counted even if users don’t reach your site.
Impressions: Times your ad appears on Google search results. Low counts may indicate visibility issues.
Clickthrough Rate (CTR): This is a measure of your ad’s performance, Calculated by Clickings divided by impressions. For example, 5 out of 100 = 5% CTR.
Cost: The combined total of your cost-per-click (CPC) and cost-per-thousand-impressions (CPM) expenses over a given period across various ad campaigns.

This report, especially when integrated with Google Ads data, shows Customer retention rates by cohort. We can interpret this report as follows:

Look at the Cohort size in each Cohort, month over month. This represents the number of First-time Customers acquired in any given period. You should ask yourself: is this number thriving each month? Are there peaks and troughs in Cohort sizes? Is this what I had aimed for? For a growing business, the cohort size should grow steadily.
Next, we can examine the retention rates. Your business objective should be to improve retention. If you notice that you retained a higher percentage of new Customers who joined in Oct 2022 (21.5%) compared with those who joined in Nov 2022 (9.5%), you can identify which cohort did better. Utilizing insights from Google Ads can further help determine which ad campaigns are more effective in driving these key metrics.
Another metric we will look at is the rate at which we lose people. It is expected that, over time, retention will fall. This is why it is a good idea to continuously acquire new Customers! Suppose you can slow customer attrition so the decrease between each period becomes smaller. In that case, you will grow revenue and can focus more resources on serving existing customers vs. acquiring new Customers (which is more expensive).
By analyzing the Cohort Lifetime Performance, we can gain insight into customers’ purchasing behaviours, identify trends, and strategize more effectively. For example, increasing the average order value or purchasing frequency can significantly improve revenue and customer lifetime value.

The report provides alternative views that display the total number of Orders placed and Total sales generated by retained Customers (accessed via the Retention Metrics dropdown). Those views will help you track the success of your Customer acquisition, including the performance of your Google Ads campaigns, and provide insight into the impact on your business.

Advantages of utilizing By the Numbers to access your Cohort Retention Report

The most crucial aspect of attracting new customers is ensuring they return and remain.

One of By the Numbers’ most valuable features is Custom Segmentation. It helps you group all customers who share one or more characteristics, leading to more personalized and relevant interactions and boosting effectiveness and precision in your marketing activities.

Thanks to By the Numbers, you can review the Cohort Retention Report using custom and preset filters. This will allow you to identify trends, conduct a comparative analysis, and examine customer retention over different periods. Find out how long all those customers who bought one of your products for Christmas stayed around.

By the Numbers offers unparalleled retargeting capabilities. Imagine the possibilities of reaching out to your custom segments through targeted marketing campaigns. By Numbers integrates seamlessly with Klaviyo, Google ADS, TikTok, and Meta; you can use their data in your reports and retarget them through your preferred channel.

Custom Segmentation

Power your business using By the Numbers’ wide range of preset and custom segments to analyze the behavior of specific customer groups.

The quickest way to create custom segments:

1- Access BtN and find the segments section in the left-hand menu. There, you’ll locate Preset Segments and a tab called Custom Segments.

2-If you want to investigate the details of a specific audience group, navigate to the top right corner and find ‘Create a Segment’. Click on it, and a new window will appear, allowing you to choose the filters you want to apply.

Don’t forget to test your segment after you choose the filters! You’ll see if it’s appropriately set up and some relevant customer segment data.

By the Numbers’ App Integrations

Let’s talk about how you can integrate and make the most of the data you keep on other platforms such as Klaviyo, Google Ads, TikTok, and Meta. BtN lets you retarget selected customer segments. You can increase sales by re-engaging customers at risk of churning—those who have not placed an order in the last six to twelve months—using BTN’s integration powers. Moreover, you can import data from these applications and display it in your reports. This is another significant advantage offered by By the Numbers’ integrations.

This is the way to go when using Integrations in By the Numbers:

1- Access BtN and navigate to Integrations on the left-hand side menu within the settings section.

2- Choose the integration you aim to incorporate and follow the guidelines supplied.

With By the Numbers, you can access integrations with Klaviyo, Google Ads, Meta, and TikTok ads, enabling targeted engagement via your preferred channels. Another advantage of integrating these applications is the automatic importation of data into BtN’s reports. This enhancement extends your analytical capabilities and elevates your retargeting strategies.

Book a free session with a data expert if you need help understanding your BtN reports.

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