For a small online store, you don't need 20 dashboards. You need 7 numbers every Monday, you will know exactly what to fix.
1. Traffic - How many people entered your shop?
This is total visito rs to your website, WhatsApp catalog, or Instagram shop. Measure it by source: How many came from Google, Instagram, WhatsApp Status, referrals? If traffic drops, your problem is marketing. If traffic grows but sales don't, your problem is inside the store.
2. Conversion Rate - How many visitors bought?
Formula: (Number of Orders / Number of Visitors) x 100.
A small online store should do 1% to 3%. If 100 people visited and only 1 bought, your price, pictures, delivery fee, or trust is the problem. This is the most important metric for a small store.
3. Average Order Value (AOV) - How much does each customer spend?
Total Revenue / Total Orders. If AOV is N4,000, you know you need 25 orders to make N100k. To increase it, you need bundles: "Buy 3 cold drinks + ice block for N5,500" instead of selling one bottle.
4. Total Revenue and Profit After Costs
Don't just track sales. Track: Revenue - Product Cost - Delivery - Ads - Data - Packaging = Real Profit. Many small stores sell plenty but profit is zero because delivery is eating them. Do this calculation every Sunday night.
5. Customer Acquisition - Where are paying customers really coming from?
Out of 10 sales last week, how many came from WhatsApp Status? How many from Google? How many from referrals? Stop spending time on platforms that bring likes but no sales. Double down on the one that brings cash.
6. Repeat Purchase Rate - Are people coming back?
(Repeat Customers / Total Customers) x 100. If nobody comes back, you are spending money to find new customers every week. That's expensive. For drinks, ice, groceries - repeat should be 30%+. If it's low, start a broadcast list and follow-up message.
7. Complaints, Returns and Reviews
Count how many complaints, how many requests for refund, and how many new reviews you got. 1 complaint is data. 3 complaints about "delivery late" means you have a delivery problem to fix that week, not next month.
How to do it simply:
Create one Google Sheet with 7 columns for these 7 numbers. Every Monday morning, fill last week's numbers. After 4 weeks you will see a pattern. You will know if you need more customers, or you need to make the customers you have spend more.
The goal of weekly measurement is not big grammar. It's to answer one question: "What is the ONE thing I must fix this week to make more profit?"