Understanding Metrics
Learn how SortLab calculates and interprets revenue, orders, units, CTR, add-to-cart rate, sort runs, lift, and attribution.
SortLab analytics are built for merchandising decisions. Use them to compare collections, detect stale strategies, and measure sorting impact. Use Shopify reports for full financial accounting.
Revenue
Revenue is gross product revenue from order line items attributed to managed collections. It does not include shipping, taxes, or full-store financial adjustments.
If a product appears in multiple managed collections, revenue can be attributed to more than one collection. That is useful for collection-level comparison, but it means collection revenue totals should not be treated as store-level accounting totals.
Orders
Orders count transactions that include products attributed to a managed collection. One order can count for multiple collections if it contains products that belong to multiple managed collections.
Orders are useful when revenue changes need context. Rising revenue with flat orders can mean higher average item value; rising orders with flat revenue can mean lower-priced products are driving volume.
Units Sold
Units Sold counts product quantities from attributed order line items. It is the clearest velocity signal for product movement.
Use units alongside revenue and margin. A strategy can increase units by pushing low-priced products, or increase revenue by surfacing higher-priced products with fewer units.
Revenue Trend
Trend compares the selected period with the previous period of the same length. A 30-day trend compares the last 30 days with the 30 days before that.
| Trend | Read it as |
|---|---|
| Positive | Revenue is up versus the previous equivalent period. |
| Flat | Performance is stable or the change is not meaningful. |
| Negative | Revenue is down; investigate stock, traffic, seasonality, promotions, and strategy. |
CTR and Add-to-Cart Rate
CTR and add-to-cart rate come from SortLab's Shopify Web Pixel.
| Metric | Meaning |
|---|---|
| CTR | How often collection product impressions become product clicks. |
| ATC Rate | How often product engagement becomes add-to-cart behavior. |
These metrics help explain why revenue moved. A strategy can improve clicks without immediately improving revenue, or improve add-to-cart behavior before orders catch up.
Sort Runs
Sort Runs show how many times SortLab reordered a collection in the selected period.
| Trigger | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Manual | A merchant clicked Sort Now or Save & Sort. |
| Scheduled | The collection ran on its configured schedule. |
| Webhook | A relevant Shopify change triggered a sort path. |
| A/B Test | The test switchback schedule applied a variant. |
Expected scheduled sort volume depends on plan and frequency: daily is about 30 runs per month, 4x/day is about 120, and hourly is about 720.
Revenue Opportunity
Revenue Opportunity estimates potential upside from unmanaged collections or stronger sorting coverage after SortLab has enough history. Use it to prioritize where to configure next.
Revenue Opportunity is not a promise. It is an estimate based on available collection and performance data.
Revenue Share
Revenue Share in collection detail shows how much of the store's attributed revenue came from that collection during the selected period. It helps identify collections that deserve the most careful strategy work.
Sell-Through Rate
Sell-through compares units sold with available inventory. A low sell-through rate can point to slow-moving stock; a high sell-through rate can point to strong demand or inventory risk.
Revenue by Position
Revenue by Position shows where product revenue is coming from in the collection order. It helps answer whether top positions are earning their space and whether lower-ranked products deserve promotion.
Engagement Funnel
The Engagement tab connects collection views, product impressions, clicks, add-to-cart behavior, and conversion. Use it when revenue is not enough to explain shopper behavior.
Common reads:
- High impressions but low clicks: top products may not be compelling.
- High clicks but low add-to-cart: product pages, pricing, variants, or availability may be the issue.
- High add-to-cart but low orders: checkout, shipping, discounting, or stock state may need review.
Sort Impact and Lift
Sort Impact compares performance before and after sort runs when enough data exists. It can show cumulative lift, revenue before/after, CTR before/after, and sort history.
Lift needs repeated runs and enough traffic. If the view says there is insufficient data, keep the collection active and revisit after more sorts.
Good Measurement Habits
- Use the 30-day view as the default.
- Compare similar collections instead of comparing a tiny category to the store's main collection.
- Wait 7 to 14 days after a strategy change before ordinary evaluation.
- Use A/B testing for high-stakes changes.
- Keep product availability and promotions in mind before blaming a strategy.
Next Steps
- Analytics Dashboard - Navigate the dashboard and detail pages.
- A/B Testing - Run controlled comparisons.
- Sorting Strategies - Connect metrics back to strategy choice.