Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Work Hours
Monday to Friday: 7AM - 7PM
Weekend: 10AM - 5PM
Your store’s conversion funnel tells the story of every visitor’s journey. Some visitors browse and leave, others add items to cart but never buy, and a few complete their purchase. The Funnel Report shows you exactly where visitors drop off, so you can fix the biggest problems first.
Table of Contents
Let’s explore how to use Growth Suite’s Funnel Report to find and fix your conversion bottlenecks.
How to Access Your Funnel Report
Getting to your Funnel Report is simple:
- Open Growth Suite in your Shopify admin
- Click “Reports” in the left menu
- Click “Funnel Report” on the reports page
That’s it! Your funnel data will appear on the screen.
Choosing Your Date Range
By default, the Funnel Report shows data from the last 7 days. You can change this to see data from any time period you want:
- Click on the date selector
- Choose your preferred start and end dates
- The report will update automatically
Tip: Compare the same days of the week for more accurate insights. For example, compare Monday-Sunday with another Monday-Sunday period.
Understanding Your Funnel Stages
The Funnel Report breaks down every visitor’s journey into five clear stages. Each stage shows you how many sessions reached that point.
| Stage | What It Means | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Session Start | Total number of sessions that began | Your total traffic volume |
| Product View | Sessions where visitors looked at at least one product | How many visitors actually engage with your products |
| Add to Cart | Sessions where visitors added items to their cart | Shows product interest and buying intent |
| Checkout Begin | Sessions where visitors started the checkout process | Visitors who are ready to buy |
| Checkout Completed | Sessions that ended with a completed purchase | Your actual sales and revenue |
How to Read Your Funnel Report
Your Funnel Report shows both numbers and percentages. Here’s what to look for:
The Numbers Tell You Scale
The raw numbers show you the volume at each stage:
- 1,000 Session Starts = You had 1,000 sessions
- 600 Product Views = 600 sessions viewed products
- 150 Add to Cart = 150 sessions added items to cart
- 75 Checkout Begin = 75 sessions started checkout
- 45 Checkout Completed = 45 sessions made a purchase
The Percentages Show Your Drop-Off Rates
More important than the raw numbers are the conversion rates between stages:
- Session Start to Product View: 60% (600 ÷ 1,000)
- Product View to Add to Cart: 25% (150 ÷ 600)
- Add to Cart to Checkout Begin: 50% (75 ÷ 150)
- Checkout Begin to Completed: 60% (45 ÷ 75)
Finding Your Biggest Bottlenecks
The biggest drop-off between any two stages is your biggest bottleneck. Focus on fixing this first.
Common Bottlenecks and What They Mean
Low Session Start to Product View (under 50%)
- Visitors aren’t finding your products interesting
- Your homepage isn’t directing people to products
- You might have too much non-product traffic
Low Product View to Add to Cart (under 15%)
- Product pages aren’t convincing enough
- Prices might be too high
- Product descriptions or images need improvement
- Missing reviews or social proof
Low Add to Cart to Checkout Begin (under 40%)
- Cart page has issues
- Unexpected shipping costs
- Complicated checkout process
- Trust issues (security badges missing)
Low Checkout Begin to Completed (under 50%)
- Checkout process too long or complicated
- Unexpected fees appearing
- Payment options limited
- Mobile checkout problems
Industry Benchmarks to Compare Against
Here are typical conversion rates for each stage:
| Stage Conversion | Good Rate | Excellent Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Session to Product View | 50-70% | 70%+ |
| Product View to Add to Cart | 15-25% | 25%+ |
| Add to Cart to Checkout Begin | 40-60% | 60%+ |
| Checkout Begin to Completed | 50-70% | 70%+ |
How to Use Your Funnel Report for Improvements
Step 1: Identify Your Worst Conversion Rate
Look at the percentage drop between each stage. The biggest drop is your priority.
Step 2: Analyze Why It’s Happening
Use the common bottleneck explanations above to form hypotheses about what’s causing the drop-off.
Step 3: Make One Change at a Time
Don’t try to fix everything at once. Make one improvement and measure its impact over the next week.
Step 4: Monitor Your Progress
Check your Funnel Report weekly to see if your changes improved the conversion rate at that stage.
Advanced Funnel Analysis Tips
Compare Different Time Periods
- Compare this week to last week
- Compare this month to last month
- Compare before and after major changes
Look for Patterns
- Do certain days of the week perform better?
- How do holiday periods affect your funnel?
- What happens during sales or promotions?
Calculate Your Overall Conversion Rate
Your overall conversion rate is: Checkout Completed ÷ Session Start
For example: 45 ÷ 1,000 = 4.5% overall conversion rate
Common Funnel Report Mistakes to Avoid
- Focusing on total numbers instead of percentages: Percentages show efficiency, numbers show scale
- Comparing different time periods with different traffic sources: A paid traffic week vs. organic traffic week will look very different
- Making multiple changes at once: You won’t know which change caused the improvement
- Not giving changes enough time: Wait at least a week to see meaningful results
Conclusion
The Funnel Report is your roadmap to higher conversions. It shows you exactly where visitors drop off and helps you prioritize which problems to fix first.
Remember:
- Check your Funnel Report weekly
- Find your biggest bottleneck
- Make one improvement at a time
- Measure the results
- Repeat the process
By consistently using your Funnel Report to guide improvements, you’ll steadily increase your conversion rate and grow your revenue.
Start today: Open your Funnel Report and identify your biggest conversion bottleneck. That’s where your next improvement should focus.
