Key KPIs to Track for a Successful Preorder Campaign on Your Shopify Store

Preorder campaigns can be a game-changer for Shopify store owners looking to generate early revenue, validate product demand, and optimize inventory planning. However, tracking the right Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is crucial to ensure your preorder campaign is successful.

The importance is not only in the number of total preorders (though that’s important too). The real insights come from understanding how customers interact with your preorder campaign from start to finish.

In this article, we will break down each essential KPI, explain why it matters, and show you exactly what to do with the information in your Shopify store.

The preorder conversion rate helps you understand how well your Shopify preorder page is converting visitors into customers.

Formula: (Pre orders / total visitors) * 100

If you get 1,000 visitors and 20 people preordered, that’s a 2% conversion rate. To boost this number, try displaying a countdown timer until launch, showcasing early-bird pricing, or highlighting exclusive preorder bonuses.

What can you do to optimize your preorder conversion rate? Break it down by traffic source. You might find that Instagram visitors convert at 3% while Facebook visitors only convert at 1%. This tells you where to focus your marketing budget.

Using Timesact’s pre order system, Shopify stores can collect payment upfront, automate customer communications, and turn what was once their most stressful launch period into their most profitable quarter.

Your cart abandonment rate is your warning system. This metric shows the percentage of customers who add items to their cart but leave without completing the purchase. For preorder campaigns, it reveals how many potential customers get cold feet during the final stages of their buying journey.

Cart abandonment data is crucial for Shopify merchants because it highlights where you’re losing sales in your preorder funnel. 

Formula: (abandoned carts / total carts created) * 100

Let’s say 100 people add your product to the cart, but 70 leave without buying – that’s a 70% abandonment rate. Regular e-commerce on average sees a 70% abandonment rate.

A high abandonment rate may indicate friction in the checkout process, unexpected costs, or a lack of buyer confidence. 

You can set up exit-intent popups offering a small discount or extended warranty for pre order customers. Also, make your estimated delivery date super clear before customers reach checkout.

This KPI helps you track how many customers complete their preorders after initiating the checkout process. It reveals the percentage of customers who complete their purchase after starting the checkout process. Unlike cart abandonment, which shows initial interest, checkout conversion specifically measures how well you’re converting serious buyers who’ve taken the step to enter the checkout flow.

Formula: (completed preorders / checkout sessions) * 100 

Keep an eye on where people drop off in your checkout flow. Offer multiple payment options, including “Buy Now, Pay Later” services. After adding these payment alternatives, you can expect a boost in the checkout conversion rate. 

Note: A high cart abandonment rate but good checkout conversion might mean you’re attracting quality traffic that needs more convincing about your preorder terms. You should Consider adjusting your messaging or offering stronger preorder incentives to bridge this gap.

Traffic Tells the Real Story. It’s not just about how many users visit, but how they found your Shopify store and what they do when they get there.

This metric will cover all the infos about the number of visitors landing on your Shopify product page and analyze traffic sources (organic, paid, social, referral) to determine which channels drive the most interest.

Getting 10,000 visitors sounds great, but what if none are your target customers?

Break down your traffic into measuring all sources and getting as much data as

possible to make business decisions. Here is the one way:

• • Organic search: These visitors found you through Google
  • Paid ads: Your Facebook, Instagram, or Google ad clicks
  • Social media: Direct clicks from your social posts
  • Referrals: Traffic from other websites or influencers

Pro tip: In Shopify Analytics, create segments for each traffic source and track their conversion rates separately. You might find that influencer traffic converts at 2% while paid ads hit 5%. That’s valuable info for where to put your marketing dollars.

These two metrics work together to show how effectively your preorder page captures and holds visitor attention. Time on page measures how long visitors spend exploring your offer, while bounce rate shows the percentage of visitors who leave without taking any action. Together, they paint a picture of whether your preorder page is compelling enough to keep potential customers engaged.

For Shopify merchants, these metrics are critical indicators of your preorder page’s effectiveness. A high bounce rate may indicate unclear messaging or a lack of compelling incentives.

Generally, a higher time on the page does indicate greater engagement. If someone spends only 30 seconds, it’s unlikely they’re deeply reading all the details, especially for something complex like a preorder.

A 2-3 minute average time on the page would suggest that people are indeed taking the time to review the information. 

If your bounce rate is high, try out A/B testing different page layouts.

This is about finding your marketing sweet spot. The goal is to track where your traffic is coming from (social media, email, ads, influencers) to identify the most effective marketing channels for preorders.

Understanding referral sources is crucial because it directly impacts where you should focus your marketing efforts and budget. Different sources often show vastly different conversion rates and customer behaviors.

You can also match it with conversion rates. Maybe email brings less traffic but converts three times better than social media. That’s your signal to double down on email marketing.

This is your fundamental measure of campaign performance. Monitoring total revenue generated from preorders will assess the financial success of your campaign. 

It’s particularly important in the early stages of your campaign when you’re determining whether to proceed with production or adjust your strategy. This metric also helps you confidently project cash flow and plan inventory investments.

For instance, if you notice that 60% of your preorder revenue comes in the first week, followed by a sharp decline, you might need to plan strategic marketing pushes for weeks 2-3 to maintain momentum.

Calculate it by summing all preorder sales, including deposits and full payments.

Also known as revenue multiplier. AOV shows you how much each preorder customer spends on average and helps identify opportunities to increase revenue per transaction.

Formula: (total revenue / total preorders)

Your AOV calculation is straightforward: $50,000 in revenue ÷ 500 preorders = $100 AOV.

For Shopify stores, AOV is crucial because it helps optimize your preorder strategy and marketing spend. A higher AOV means you can afford to spend more on customer acquisition while maintaining profitability.

Key optimization strategies:

• Create pre order-exclusive bundles
• Offer tiered pricing based on order timing
• Implement strategic upsells that complement your preorder item

A Shopify store can increase its preorder AOV by offering exclusive early-bird bundles with complementary products.

CAC tells you how much you’re spending to acquire each new preorder customer and determines whether your marketing efforts are cost-effective. This metric is essential because preorder campaigns often require higher marketing investments to convince customers to buy products that aren’t immediately available.

Formula: (total marketing spend/number  of new preorder customers)

If your Facebook ads had a $45 CAC while email marketing CAC was only $12. 

One way to optimize is:

• Reducing Facebook ad spend by 40%
• Investing in email list growth
• Created preorder-specific email sequences

CAC definitely helps you identify which marketing channels are worth scaling and which are eating into your profits without delivering results.

This metric measures how many people open promotional emails and text messages and, more importantly, how many click through to your preorder page. In essence, it’s measuring the effectiveness of your direct communication channels in generating interest and action for your preorder campaign.

These rates are crucial for Shopify stores because email and SMS marketing typically have the highest ROI among all marketing channels during preorder campaigns. These channels let you reach people who already know your brand and are more likely to preorder, making them essential for driving early sales and building momentum.

Formula: open rate/click rate

You can optimize by A/B testing subject lines, personalizing content, and timing sends based on your audience’s active hours.

Here you can find pre-order email sequences to increase Shopify store sales.

This metric captures how your audience interacts with your preorder content across social platforms, including likes, shares, comments, saves, and direct clicks to your preorder page. It measures both the reach and resonance of your social media marketing efforts.

Social engagement directly correlates with preorder success for Shopify merchants because it creates organic visibility and social proof. When potential customers see others excited about your upcoming product, they’re more likely to preorder themselves. Plus, high engagement often leads to improved algorithmic reach on platforms like Instagram and TikTok.

Formula: (total engagements / total followers) × 100

For example, If a post gets 500 engagements from 10,000 followers, that’s a 5% engagement rate. To optimize, analyze which content formats perform best, and shift your content strategy accordingly.

Evaluate how effectively your influencer and affiliate partners drive preorders through their unique tracking links or discount codes. It measures the quantity of sales and the quality of traffic these partnerships generate.

Formula: (revenue generated – partner costs) / partner costs × 100. 

For Shopify stores, tracking influencer and affiliate performance is essential because these partnerships often require significant investment – whether in product, money, or both. Understanding which partners drive actual sales helps you allocate your marketing budget more effectively and identify which types of collaborations work best for your store.

This metric shows the percentage of customers who cancel their preorders before fulfillment, revealing potential issues with your preorder strategy, wait times, or communication effectiveness. It directly reflects how well you maintain customer confidence throughout the waiting period.

Formula: (canceled preorders / total preorders) * 100

This rate is particularly critical for Shopify merchants because every cancellation isn’t just a lost sale – it’s a signal that something in your preorder experience needs attention. High cancellation rates can impact your cash flow predictions and inventory planning, potentially disrupting your entire preorder strategy.

If you have 500 preorders and 25 cancellations, your rate is (25/500) × 100 = 5%. Industry standards suggest keeping this under 7% for preorder campaigns.

This metric measures how well you deliver on your preorder promises, tracking both the percentage of orders fulfilled on schedule and the accuracy of your estimated delivery dates. It’s the ultimate test of your operational efficiency and communication accuracy.

For Shopify stores, maintaining high fulfillment accuracy builds the foundation for future preorder success. Today’s fulfillment performance becomes tomorrow’s customer reviews and repeat purchase decisions.

Track how efficiently you fulfill preorders and whether you meet estimated delivery timelines. Delays can impact future customer trust and brand reputation.

Focus your marketing budget on channels showing the best conversion rates and lowest CAC. You know where to invest if Instagram converts at 3% while Facebook hits 1.5%. 

Study your page analytics to refine product messaging – if technical specs get more attention than lifestyle images, adjust accordingly. 

Reduce checkout friction by adding multiple payment options and clear shipping timelines to your Shopify product page where you see high cart abandonment. 

Most importantly, maintain customer confidence through regular updates and community building – engaged customers are less likely to cancel and more likely to become brand advocates.

By tracking these KPIs, you’ll have the insights needed to make data-driven decisions that boost conversions and keep customers excited. 

Yet every successful pre-order campaign needs the right tracking tools in your corner. While Shopify Analytics gives you the basics, combining it with Google Analytics helps you dive deeper into customer behavior. Tools like Klaviyo excel at tracking email engagement, while Triple Whale offers a comprehensive view of your marketing performance. And for understanding user behavior, Hotjar’s heatmaps show exactly how customers interact with your pre-order page.

Timesact stands out as the go-to app for Shopify merchants running pre order campaigns. It makes preorder management simpler and helps you boost revenue with the right approach. Features like automated customer communications make preorder management more successful.

Check it out today on Shopify app store or book a demo to learn more.