What Is the Sales Over Time Report?
The Shopify Sales Over Time Report shows how your store performs from one calendar date to the next. Each row represents a date, making it easy to compare daily order volume and sales amounts across a selected reporting period.
It brings together order count, gross sales, discounts, returns, net sales, shipping, tax, duties, and total sales. Instead of checking multiple figures separately, you can review which dates were stronger or weaker and how adjustments affected each day.
This is a daily report, not an hourly breakdown. Use it to review a promotion, compare weekday patterns, or keep a regular record of sales performance.
Report Overview
- Reporting period
- Select the date range you want to review.
- Granularity
- One row per date; no hourly or intra-day detail.
- Data included
- 10 fields covering order count and key sales amounts.
- Best for
- Spotting daily changes in demand, discounts, returns, and total sales.
- Delivery
- Export as Excel, CSV, TXT, or PDF; optionally schedule delivery in Data Export.
What Can You Learn from Daily Sales Trends?
1. Identify your strongest and weakest sales dates
Compare Total Sales and Order Count by date to see whether high-revenue days also brought more orders.
Example: In a hypothetical week, Friday has the highest total sales and order count.
What you can do: Review the activity or promotion associated with that day.
2. Understand the effect of discounts
Read Gross Sales alongside Discount and Net Sales to see when promotional activity changed reported sales.
Example: Two hypothetical dates show similar gross sales, but one has much larger discounts.
What you can do: Compare promotional dates with your usual daily sales pattern.
3. Notice return-heavy dates
Compare Returns with Gross Sales and Net Sales to find dates where returns were a larger part of the sales picture.
Example: A hypothetical Monday shows a sharp rise in returns relative to nearby days.
What you can do: Investigate the underlying orders or products in a separate detailed report.
4. See components of the total
Review Shipping, Tax, and Total Duties alongside Total Sales to understand how the reported daily total is composed.
Example: A hypothetical day has similar net sales but a higher total because other components differ.
What you can do: Explain the difference before sharing the daily summary with your team.
What Should You Check First in This Report?
Start with the daily totals, then review the figures that help explain changes.
- Total Sales by Date: Locate unusually high or low dates across the selected range.
- Order Count: Check whether a sales change coincided with more or fewer orders.
- Gross Sales, Discount, and Returns: Understand changes between the starting sales amount and net sales.
- Shipping, Tax, and Total Duties: Review these components before comparing net sales with total sales.
When Should You Use This Report?
| When to Use It | How It Helps |
|---|---|
| Checking daily order counts and total sales | See which dates produced stronger or weaker order counts and total sales. |
| Reviewing daily sales during a promotion | Compare daily gross sales, discounts, and net sales during a campaign. |
| Identifying dates for deeper order-level investigation | Identify days worth investigating further in order-level reports. |
| Preparing a dated sales summary at period close | Export a consistent daily summary of sales amounts, tax, and duties. |
| Scheduling date-level sales updates | Share scheduled date-level figures with stakeholders. |
How to Create This Report in Data Export
Start from the premade Sales Over Time template; its ten columns are already selected.
- Open Data Export and find the premade Sales Over Time report.
- Open the report and review the Date, Order Count, and sales amount columns.
- Choose your reporting date range and adjust available columns or relevant filters if needed.
- Click Save to keep the report configuration.
- Export the result, or schedule it for daily, weekly, or monthly email delivery to your chosen recipients.
Make the Most of This Report
Use these four checks to keep day-to-day comparisons meaningful.
01 / DATE RANGE
Use a complete period: Compare full weeks or matching date ranges so partial periods do not distort the pattern.
02 / COMPARE
Read more than revenue: Pair Total Sales with Order Count before drawing conclusions from a daily increase.
03 / EXPLAIN CHANGES
Check adjustments: Review Discount and Returns before treating a gross-sales increase as stronger net sales.
04 / SHARE
Deliver the right view: Export the daily summary or schedule it for teammates who need recurring updates.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this report show sales by hour?
No. It uses date-level rows only, so it supports daily comparisons rather than hourly or intra-day analysis.
Which sales figures are included?
It includes Gross Sales, Discount, Returns, Net Sales, Shipping, Tax, Total Duties, and Total Sales, plus Date and Order Count.
Can I change the reporting period?
Yes. Choose the date range you need when configuring the report in Data Export.
Can I turn the results into a chart?
The source guidance describes a chart view, including a line graph for sales trends. Available visualization options depend on the report view and configuration.
Can I export or schedule the report?
The source lists Excel, CSV, TXT, and PDF exports, plus scheduled delivery by email. Review your Data Export settings for the destinations and schedule available to your store.
