Eight metrics, seven verticals, one 0-100 score. See where your store leaks profit and what to fix first.
Takes about 5 minutes if you have your numbers handy.
Eight metrics. Eight benchmarks. One 0 to 100 score, weighted by which metrics actually move profit for a Shopify store at your stage. Here is the framework we apply to your numbers.
Every major metric sits at or above your vertical median. Nothing is bleeding margin. Defend what is working before chasing more.
Most metrics are healthy. One or two are pulling the score down. The leak ranking shows which, and how much each is costing per week.
Three or more metrics are below their vertical median. Profit is leaving on multiple fronts. Fix the top-ranked leak this week.
The math is not in your favor. Most metrics are below median; the heaviest weighted ones are dragging hard. Start with the leak ranked first.
Shopify gives you 80 metrics across 14 reports. We pick 8, weight them, benchmark them, and rank the leaks by dollar impact. The job is not to show you everything; it is to tell you what is leaking the most money this week.
We benchmark your store against the typical numbers for your category and revenue stage, not against the entire internet. Here are the medians we use for each of the 7 verticals we cover.
Apparel runs the highest return rates of any DTC category and leans on lifecycle email for repeat behavior. CAC ceilings are set by AOV.
Supplements have the strongest repeat-purchase profile in DTC. Subscription and email lifecycle do most of the heavy lifting after the first order.
Beauty bridges apparel and supplements. Strong gross margins absorb expensive paid traffic; repeat behavior leans on sample-and-restock cadence.
Food and beverage runs thinner margins than most categories with high replenishment. Subscription and email do the work; paid acquisition has to clear a low CAC bar.
Home goods carry higher AOVs and slower repeat cycles. First-purchase economics weigh harder in the score for this category.
Pet trends toward subscription and replenishment with thinner margins than supplements. Email and lifecycle metrics carry real weight.
Fashion (benchmarked separately from apparel) skews toward higher-AOV considered purchases with variable margin tiers.
A single point-in-time score will not tell you. Healthy stores have CAC, MER, gross margin, repeat purchase rate, email revenue share, AOV, site conversion rate, and return rate that all sit at or above the vertical median for their category and revenue stage. Score yourself on all 8 to see where you actually sit, weighted by which metrics move the most profit.
It depends on your vertical and your gross margin. As a rough floor, a Shopify store at 50 percent gross margin needs a 2.0x MER to break even on ad spend overall. Apparel and beauty stores at the same revenue stage typically run between 2.5x and 3.5x; supplements run higher because of strong repeat behavior. The right read is your MER vs your vertical median, not against a generic threshold.
Healthy CAC is whatever leaves you with positive contribution after gross margin, returns, and shipping. The rule of thumb is CAC at or below 30 percent of first-order AOV times gross margin. A more reliable read is comparing your CAC against the vertical median for your category and revenue stage; the score weights it accordingly.
Apparel benchmarks around 60 to 70 percent. Beauty around 65 to 75 percent. Supplements around 55 to 70 percent. Food and beverage around 40 to 55 percent. Pet around 45 to 60 percent. Below those ranges, every other lever in the score compounds harder against you. Above those ranges, you have room to absorb a higher CAC or lower MER without bleeding.
Site-wide conversion rates of 1.5 to 3 percent are typical for ecommerce; over 3 percent is strong; under 1.5 percent points to product detail, checkout friction, or trust issues. The score benchmarks your rate against the vertical median for your specific category, because apparel converts differently than supplements.
The 8 we score are the highest-leverage ones at most stages: gross margin, CAC, MER, AOV, repeat purchase rate, email revenue share, site conversion rate, and return rate. Gross margin and CAC carry the most weight because they compound through every order. Site conversion and repeat purchase rate matter most for stores doing real ad volume.
A point-in-time score is most useful before you decide what to fix this quarter. Check it once a month if you are running paid ads, once a quarter if you are mostly organic. The score is designed to point you at the biggest leak; once you have it, fix that leak for 4 to 6 weeks before re-scoring.
This is the snapshot. Arlo runs it every Monday with your live Shopify data, ranks the action items by dollar impact, and tells you what to fix this week.
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