Read the new vs returning customer report in Shopify
New customers keep the store growing, and returning customers keep it steady. The New vs returning customers report splits the month into first-time buyers and buyers who have ordered before, so you can see which side the month belonged to.
Written · Shopify admin, desktop steps · 6 minutes read
The worked example
| Period | October 2026 |
| First-time customers | 86 |
| Returning customers | 54 |
| Total customers | 140 |
| Returning rate | 38.57% |
Download the record: customer-report.csv (130 bytes).
A customer record for the worked example month. The two groups sum to 140 customers and $5,965.50 spent.
1Open the reports list
From your Shopify admin, go to Analytics then Reports. Click the Category filter and click Customers to show only the customer reports.
2Open New vs returning customers
Click New vs returning customers. It shows the number of first-time and returning customers for the period. A first-time customer placed their first order with your store, and a returning customer placed an order and already has at least one order in their history.
3Group the data by week
Click Group by and pick week. The table shows two rows for each time unit when both types of customer ordered: one row for first-time customers and one for returning customers.
4Read the returning customers list
Open the Returning customers report. It lists every customer whose order history includes two or more orders, with their first and most recent order dates, their number of orders, their average spend per order and their total spent.
5Read the one-time customers list
Open the One-time customers report. It lists every customer whose order history includes only one order, so the gap between the two lists is the group that has never come back.
6Allow for the lag
Customer reports might not show all activity from the past 12 hours, because of the way they are generated. The New vs returning customer report is the exception: when you open it, the data is up to date, give or take a few seconds.
7Export the report
Click Export to download the report as a CSV file. Use the export when you plan a win-back email, so the list you mail matches the list the report showed.
The arithmetic
| Customer group | Customers | Total spent |
|---|---|---|
| First-time | 86 | $3,120.40 |
| Returning | 54 | $2,845.10 |
| Total | 140 | $5,965.50 |
The returning rate is 54 returning customers divided by 140 customers, which is 38.57%. Average spend is $36.28 per first-time customer and $52.69 per returning customer.
Held at the counter
Customer reports can lag up to 12 hours. Most customer reports might not show all activity from the past 12 hours. Read the New vs returning customer report when you need the freshest count, and do not mail a list built from a stale export.
The report reads the whole order history. The data is based on the entire order history of the customers in the report, not only the orders placed in the selected time frame. A customer who first ordered in October still shows as a repeat customer if their second purchase lands in December.
The report counts customers, not orders. One returning customer with five orders is still one customer in the count. If you want order volume by customer type, read the First-time vs returning customer sales report instead of this one.
Sources
- Customers reports — Shopify's help pages: the New vs returning customers report, the Returning customers and One-time customers reports, and the 12-hour lag.