What Is the Sales by Customer Report?
The Shopify Sales by Customer Report groups sales information by customer so you can see which shoppers contribute the most revenue within a chosen reporting period. It brings customer identity and sales totals into one practical view.
Use it to review gross sales, net sales, and total sales alongside the customer name recorded on an order, email address, and customer type. The figures are based on the sale-happened date specified in the report brief, rather than a payment or payout date.
This is useful for spotting valuable customer relationships, comparing customer types, and preparing focused follow-ups without manually collecting order figures.
Report Overview
- Reporting period
- Choose the sales period you want to analyze; sales are associated with the sale-happened date.
- Included fields
- Gross Sales, Net Sales, Total Sales, Customer Name (Order), Customer Email, Customer Type.
- Best for
- Finding high-contributing customers and comparing sales by customer type.
- Export options noted in the report brief
- Excel, CSV, TXT, and PDF.
- Delivery
- Save the premade report and, if needed, schedule email delivery daily, weekly, or monthly.
What Can You Learn from Customer Sales?
1. Which customers contribute the most sales?
Sort customers by Total Sales to see the strongest contributors in your selected period. This helps prioritize relationship and retention work.
Example: A hypothetical customer contributes $1,800 in total sales this month.
What you can do: Review whether a thank-you or relevant follow-up makes sense for high-value shoppers.
2. How do customer types compare?
Customer Type lets you examine sales for each available classification, such as types already used in your store’s data. Compare the contribution of each group without assuming a particular classification scheme.
Example: In a hypothetical export, one customer type accounts for more total sales than another.
What you can do: Filter to a customer type and review its sales contribution separately.
3. Where is the difference between gross and net sales?
Reading Gross Sales beside Net Sales highlights how deductions reflected in the report affect the sales picture for each customer. It does not directly show margin or customer profitability.
Example: A hypothetical customer shows $500 gross sales and $440 net sales.
What you can do: Check the configured sales definitions before interpreting the difference.
4. Can you identify customer records consistently?
Names can be repeated or entered differently. Customer Email provides an additional identifier when reviewing customers in an exported file.
Example: Two hypothetical orders share a customer name but list different email addresses.
What you can do: Check the underlying customer records before treating those rows as the same person.
What Should You Check First in This Report?
Start with the fields that best answer a customer contribution question:
- Total Sales: Sort descending to identify leading contributors for the selected period.
- Net Sales: Compare the retained sales figure with Gross Sales under the report’s definitions.
- Customer Type: Check whether differences between customer classifications matter to your analysis.
- Customer Email and Customer Name (Order): Verify identities before outreach or sharing the file.
When Should You Use This Report?
| When to Use It | How It Helps |
|---|---|
| Identifying customers with the largest sales contribution | Find customers contributing the largest sales amounts. |
| Reviewing sales by recorded customer type | Review contribution by the customer types present in the data. |
| Looking up a customer’s sales record | Use recorded names and emails to locate a customer’s sales row. |
| Checking gross net and total customer sales | Compare gross, net, and total sales without assuming they equal payouts or profit. |
| Scheduling recurring customer sales handoffs | Share an up-to-date report on a chosen schedule. |
How to Create This Report in Data Export
Start with the premade Sales by Customer report rather than building the layout from scratch.
- Open Data Export and find the premade Sales by Customer report.
- Open the report and review Gross Sales, Net Sales, Total Sales, Customer Name (Order), Customer Email, and Customer Type.
- Choose your reporting date range; adjust available filters or sort by Total Sales if useful.
- Save the report and export in a suitable available format, such as Excel or CSV.
- If you need recurring updates, configure daily, weekly, or monthly email delivery to approved recipients.
Make the Most of This Report
Four simple checks make customer-level sales exports easier to use accurately.
01 / PERIOD / Compare consistent periods: Use the same date range when comparing customer contribution across exports.
02 / SORTING / Rank carefully: Sort by Total Sales first, then read Net Sales alongside it.
03 / IDENTITY / Check records: Use email as an extra clue; do not assume a shared name proves the same customer.
04 / PRIVACY / Share selectively: Customer emails are personal data; limit exports and scheduled recipients to authorized people.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Shopify Sales by Customer Report show?
It shows Gross Sales, Net Sales, Total Sales, Customer Name (Order), Customer Email, and Customer Type for the reporting period you choose.
Can I find my highest-spending customers?
Yes. Sort the report by Total Sales to see the largest sales contributors within the selected date range.
Does Net Sales tell me customer profit?
No. Net Sales is a sales measure, not a profit or margin calculation; cost and other expense fields are not included in this premade report.
Which date does the report use?
The view is based on the sale-happened date. Confirm the selected date range before comparing it with other exports.
Can I export and schedule the report?
The supplied instructions list Excel, CSV, TXT, and PDF downloads and daily, weekly, or monthly scheduled email delivery. Available settings may vary by configuration.
