Analytics, Reporting, and Business Metrics
What to know
Know native reports: sales (orders, tax, invoiced, shipped, refunded), customers, products (best sellers, low stock, views), and marketing (cart price rule reports). Understand report refresh - many reports rely on aggregated tables refreshed by cron, so data may lag. Know Google Analytics / Adobe Analytics integration and data layer concepts, plus business metrics: conversion rate, AOV, cart abandonment, customer lifetime value, and repeat purchase rate.
Understand dashboards (lifetime sales, average order value, last orders, best sellers) and advanced reporting (Commerce Intelligence / business intelligence). Know how segments and promotions tie to measurable outcomes and how to define KPIs and attribution windows.
Traps
A common trap is expecting real-time reports - aggregated reports depend on cron refresh. Another is confusing AOV (revenue/orders) with revenue per visitor. Questions may test which report answers a question (e.g., low stock vs. best sellers). Also watch that analytics tracking requires correct tag/GTM configuration and consent handling.
Rule of thumb
Define the metric and its formula before choosing a report: AOV = total revenue ÷ number of orders; conversion rate = orders ÷ sessions. Verify data freshness from cron before trusting trends.
Worked example
A merchant wants to know which products drive revenue. Use the best-sellers report (quantity and revenue) rather than product views, which measure interest, not sales.