KPI grid — what each metric means

Wevion Analytics KPI grid per view: Advertising (Ad spend, CPM, CTR, ROAS, purchases, CVR) and Store & Business (MER, revenue, orders, CPO, AOV, TACoS).

Written By Salvatore Sinigaglia

Last updated 19 days ago

Wevion Analytics KPI grid per view: Advertising (Ad spend, CPM, CTR, ROAS, purchases, CVR) and Store & Business (MER, revenue, orders, CPO, AOV, TACoS).

KPI grid — what each metric means

The KPI grid is the row of metric cards at the top of each Analytics view. It has two catalogues: one for the Advertising view (platform-attributed media metrics) and one for the Store & Business view (blended and commerce metrics). Each card shows the value for the selected accounts and period, and — when Compare is on — a delta versus the previous period. Definitions below are taken directly from Wevion's KPI catalogue.

Who is this for

Anyone reading the top cards and wondering exactly what a metric measures or how it's computed. Reference for both views.

Advertising view KPIs

Attributed by the ad platforms.

KPIDefinitionBetter
Ad spendTotal ad spend of the selected accounts in the periodlower
CPMSpend ÷ Impressions × 1,000lower
CTRLink clicks ÷ Impressions × 100 (outbound link clicks, not total clicks)higher
ROASPlatform-attributed sales ÷ Spend (tends to overstate vs real MER)higher
Adds to cartAdd-to-carts attributed by the platform (not real Shopify ATC)higher
PurchasesPurchases attributed by the platform (can diverge from Shopify orders)higher
SalesAttributed sales value (≠ real Shopify revenue; includes view-through)higher
Cost per purchaseSpend ÷ attributed purchases (lower than real CPO due to over-attribution)lower
CVRAttributed purchases ÷ link clicks × 100 (differs from site CVR)higher

Picker-only extras: Impressions, Reach, Frequency (Impressions ÷ Reach; >3 can signal audience saturation), Link clicks, Leads and Cost per lead (CPL = spend ÷ leads).

Store & Business view KPIs

Blended (store ÷ ad spend) and pure-commerce metrics.

KPIDefinitionBetter
MERMarketing Efficiency Ratio = store revenue ÷ total ad spend; attribution-independenthigher
RevenueGross store revenue in the period, all channels (Shopify orders)higher
Ad spendSum of ad spend across selected accountslower
OrdersCompleted store orders in the period, all channelshigher
CPOReal cost per order = ad spend ÷ Shopify orderslower
AOVAverage order value = revenue ÷ ordershigher

Picker-only extras: Site CVR (Shopify orders ÷ sessions × 100), Sessions (all channels; storefront-gated), TACoS (ad spend ÷ revenue × 100), Profit (revenue − estimated CoGS, excludes ad spend), Refunds (approved refunds) and Refund % of revenue (refunds ÷ revenue × 100; above 5% warrants analysis).

Platform ROAS vs blended MER

The single most important distinction in this grid:

  • ROAS (Advertising view) is what the ad platforms claim they drove. It over-counts because of view-through and cross-device attribution.
  • MER (Store & Business view) is total store revenue divided by total ad spend. It doesn't care how platforms attribute conversions.

When platform ROAS looks great but MER is flat, the platforms are claiming credit for sales they didn't cause. Trust MER for budget decisions. See an-111 ROAS explained.

Delta vs previous period

With Compare to previous period enabled in the date picker, each card shows the current value plus a delta. Colour follows the metric's "better" direction:

Metric typeGreen (good)
ROAS, MER, revenue, orders, AOV, CTR, conversionsup
CPM, CPC, CPA/CPO, TACoS, refunds, frequencydown

Trust the math over the colour when in doubt.

Storefront KPIs auto-appear

Sessions and Site CVR depend on a live storefront source. Wevion offers them in the picker and shows them in the grid only once the connected store has session data (from the ShopifyQL collector, after reconnecting with the read_reports scope). Until then they stay hidden — never empty cards.

Caveats

  • Postback lag: purchase-based metrics (Purchases, Sales, ROAS, Cost per purchase, and MER/CPO on the commerce side) settle over 24-72h. Use last_7d minimum for these. See Data freshness — how often analytics update.
  • Platform vs Shopify divergence: attributed metrics (Purchases, Sales, Adds to cart) will not equal Shopify orders/revenue — that's expected, not a bug.

FAQ

What metrics are in the Wevion Advertising KPI grid?

The Advertising view opens with Ad spend, CPM, CTR, ROAS, Adds to cart, Purchases, Sales, Cost per purchase, and CVR — all attributed by the ad platforms. The KPI picker adds Impressions, Reach, Frequency, Link clicks, Leads, and Cost per lead. CTR is based on outbound link clicks, and ROAS is platform-attributed sales divided by spend.

What is MER and why does Wevion lead with it?

MER (Marketing Efficiency Ratio) is total store revenue divided by total ad spend, and it leads the Store & Business view because it's attribution-independent. Unlike platform ROAS — which over-counts via view-through and cross-device attribution — MER simply measures how much store revenue each unit of ad spend is associated with. That makes it the most reliable number for cross-platform budget decisions.

Why don't attributed purchases match my Shopify orders?

They measure different things. "Purchases" and "Sales" in the Advertising view are conversions the ad platforms attribute to themselves, including view-through, so they typically exceed real Shopify orders and revenue. The Store & Business view's Orders and Revenue come from Shopify directly. Comparing platform ROAS to blended MER, or attributed purchases to Orders, exposes exactly how much platforms over-attribute.

Why is today's ROAS or CPO incomplete?

Purchase-based metrics depend on postback data that settles over 24-72 hours, so the most recent day or two will keep rising as conversions land. This affects Purchases, Sales, ROAS, and Cost per purchase in Advertising, and MER and CPO on the commerce side. Use a last_7d minimum window when these metrics drive a decision.