Churn Analytics Software: Run Shopify's Free Reports First
On Shopify, you already own churn analytics. Which Shopify and Recharge reports show who left, what Klaviyo charges extra for, and when a paid tool pays off.
Michal Hlavacek, founder of WDNN · LinkedIn
10 years building retention systems for US ecommerce brands.
On Shopify, you already own churn analytics software. Shopify's cohort report shows which buyers never came back. If you sell subscriptions, Recharge's dashboards split churn by cause. Pay for a tool only when you need both in one view.
On Shopify, you already own churn analytics software. Shopify's cohort report shows which buyers never came back. If you sell subscriptions, Recharge's dashboards split churn by cause. Pay for a tool only when you need both in one view.
Every churn analytics list on page 1 is written for SaaS. They rank Gainsight, ChurnZero and Mixpanel. None of the 5 we read names Shopify, Klaviyo or Recharge. Those tools are built around logins and seats. You sell products. Start with the reports you already have.
What is churn analytics software?
Churn analytics software shows you who stopped buying, when, and why. Churn means a customer who stops buying from you. It looks backward. It counts what already happened.
That is the line between this and churn prediction. Prediction scores who might leave next. Analytics tells you who left and where the drop happens. If you want the scores, read our churn prediction software article. This one covers the reports.
For a DTC store, the main view is the cohort. A cohort is a group of customers who placed their first order in the same month. You follow each group and see how many come back.
Which churn reports does Shopify already give you?
More than most brands use. Shopify's Customers reports page lists these:
Shopify report What it answers Customer cohort analysis Of the buyers who first ordered in a month, how many came back One-time customers Who bought once and stopped Returning customers Who placed 2 or more orders New vs returning customers The mix of first-time and repeat buyers in a period RFM customer analysis Who has gone quiet, including an "At risk" groupThe cohort report groups customers by the date of their first order. You can switch the metric to customer retention rate, sales or average order value. You can group by week, month or quarter.
Here is the odd part. That help page never uses the word "churn." It is still the churn report a product brand needs. If a cohort's line falls hard after the first order, that is your churn.
The RFM report helps too. RFM means recency, frequency and monetary value. Shopify's "At risk" group is customers "without recent purchases, but with a strong history of orders and spend." That is a winback list, ready to export.
The help page does not say which Shopify plans include each report. Check yours under Analytics.
What does Klaviyo add?
Less than you might think, unless you pay more. Klaviyo has a cohort report. Its help center says it is "not included in Klaviyo's standard marketing application, and a subscription is required."
That subscription is the Personalization add-on. Klaviyo's getting started page says it starts "at $100 per month for up to 13,500 active profiles." It adds cohort analysis, an RFM report and a CLV report. CLV means customer lifetime value.
Our view: do not buy it for cohorts alone. Shopify's cohort report gives you a similar cut at no add-on price. Buy it if you want those cohorts next to your flows and segments in one place.
What if you sell subscriptions?
Then Shopify's reports miss the main event. They count orders. None of them shows a cancel, a skip or a failed card. You need the billing view.
Recharge's Analytics page says it "provides all merchants with access to key store analytics." Its subscription dashboards show:
- Churn rate and churned MRR. MRR means monthly recurring revenue.
- Churn by type: Active, Passive and Expired. Passive means subscriptions lost "as a result of unsuccessful dunning." Dunning is the retry process for failed cards.
- Cohort retention by month and by order number.
The split by type is the part to use first. A failed card needs a payment fix. A cancel needs a better offer or a pause option. Our subscription churn article shows how to count both.
One trap. Recharge's churn rate follows your date filter, per its churn rate page. Pick a quarter and you get a quarterly rate. Compare months to months. Our subscription churn rate article covers the math.
When is a paid churn analytics tool worth it?
Our view: when your question needs 2 apps at once.
Shopify knows orders. Recharge knows subscriptions. Klaviyo knows emails. Each one reports on its own slice. If you need to ask "do subscribers who skip twice also stop opening email," you need a tool that pulls the data together.
Lifetimely is one example. Its Klaviyo page says it builds Klaviyo segments from "Shopify LTV, churn risk and profitability," and syncs both ways. Its pricing page charges by monthly orders, with a free plan up to 50 orders a month. Check the paid tier for your volume before you book a demo.
Skip the SaaS tools on the lists. They expect logins, seats and a success team.
Before you buy anything, run the free reports for 1 month. Our customer churn analysis article shows how to read them per product. For how the pieces fit together, start at the ecommerce customer retention hub.
Talk it through
Not sure which report answers your churn question, or whether you need a paid tool? Book 30 minutes. Show us your Shopify and Klaviyo accounts and we'll tell you what your data can support, whether you hire us or not.