A successful eCommerce business depends on tracking sales data, customer behavior, and marketing performance. Without proper eCommerce reporting tools, it becomes difficult to measure conversion rates, monitor customer lifetime value (CLV), and optimize marketing campaigns.
An eCommerce reporting tool organizes eCommerce data, pulling insights from multiple sources, such as Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and Shopify Analytics. These tools generate comprehensive and custom reports, helping businesses improve customer retention, analyze key metrics, and adjust their marketing strategies.
This guide explains what eCommerce reporting tools do, the different types available, and how to choose the right reporting software based on your eCommerce platform, sales channels, and business performance needs.
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What Is an eCommerce Reporting Tool?
An eCommerce reporting tool collects and analyzes customer data and sales reports to track eCommerce metrics like conversion rates, average order value (AOV), and CLV. These tools consolidate all data from eCommerce platforms, marketing channels, and analytics tools like Google Analytics, providing insights into sales performance and marketing campaigns.
The best eCommerce reporting tools generate custom reports, helping you monitor sales channels, measure marketing performance, and improve customer retention. While eCommerce analytics software focuses on trends and forecasts, reporting software delivers real-time sales reports for data-driven decisions.
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Limitations of Built-In eCommerce Platform Reporting Features
While most eCommerce platforms offer some reporting features, they often lack flexibility and depth in key areas. If you rely solely on these built-in tools, you may face challenges in visualization, omnichannel analysis, report distribution, and scalability.
Visualization
Many eCommerce reporting tools provide only basic graphs and charts. The ability to create advanced visualizations is often limited, and most platforms do not allow users to combine multiple metrics into a single view
This restriction makes it difficult to analyze data in context, limiting your ability to tell meaningful stories with your data and extract actionable insights.
Omnichannel Analysis
Most eCommerce platforms do not allow seamless integration of data from multiple sources. If you want to analyze eCommerce data alongside marketing data from platforms like Facebook Ads or Google Ads, you need to manually export and combine datasets using third-party tools, such as Google Sheets or Excel.
This process is both tedious and time-consuming, making it harder to gain a clear view of marketing performance across different sales channels.
Distribution
Many built-in eCommerce analytics tools limit reporting to basic exports, such as spreadsheets or PDFs. If you need custom reports for internal teams or client-facing presentations, you have to manually format them using tools like Google Sheets or PowerPoint. This extra step adds complexity, especially for agencies or businesses handling multiple accounts.
Scalability
For agencies or larger eCommerce businesses, built-in reporting features become even more restrictive. If a marketing agency needs to generate reports for multiple clients, manually creating and formatting reports can consume tens or even hundreds of hours per month.
Without an automated reporting solution, scaling eCommerce analytics becomes difficult and inefficient.
The Problem With Manual Workarounds
Due to these limitations, businesses have to rely on workarounds that involve multiple tools and manual data entry. This increases the risk of errors and makes reporting a slow, labor-intensive process.
Managing data across different reporting tools, analytics platforms, and spreadsheets also complicates business performance tracking and decision-making.
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Different Types of eCommerce Reporting Tools
Not all eCommerce reporting tools function the same way. Some tools focus on data extraction and transformation, while others integrate marketing analytics, sales data, and customer behavior insights into a single platform.
Choosing the right reporting software depends on business needs, whether for custom reports, real-time dashboards, or automated sales reports. Below are the two main types of eCommerce analytics tools and how they compare.
Pairing ETL and BI Tools
Let’s go over ETL (extract, transform, load) and BI (business intelligence) tools to see how they work and what they offer.
What Are ETL and BI Tools?
ETL tools act as data connectors, pulling data from platforms like Shopify and Magento, as well as marketing channels like Google Ads and Facebook Ads. However, they do not offer built-in reporting features or dashboards.
You need to pair them with BI tools like Google Data Studio or Tableau to visualize key metrics such as conversion rates, customer lifetime value, and marketing performance.
Overview of ETL Tools
ETL tools, such as Funnel and SuperMetrics, aggregate marketing data from multiple sources and display it within BI tools. They also provide data cleaning, transformation, and normalization, which is useful when combining data from different platforms.
Unlike ETL tools that require an additional BI tool for visualization, TapClicks includes both data aggregation and reporting software, eliminating the need for multiple services. This allows businesses to track eCommerce metrics in a single environment.
Overview of BI Tools
BI tools like Tableau focus on data analytics and visualization, offering in-depth reporting across industries. They integrate customer data into external applications, providing structured sales reports and marketing insights.
However, most BI tools lack marketing-specific connectors, requiring additional API development to pull marketing data from platforms like Google Ads and Facebook Ads. TapClicks, in contrast, includes Smart Connectors that integrate both marketing data and offline data, like sales reports from eCommerce stores, offering a more comprehensive solution.
The Drawbacks of Pairing ETL and BI Tools
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Customization and ease of use: BI tools like Tableau offer extensive customization but require technical knowledge. Simpler tools like Google Data Studio are easier to use but lack flexibility. TapClicks combines both customization and ease of use.
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Data distribution limitations: ETL and BI tools provide fewer options for automating and scheduling sales reports or creating custom branded reports. TapClicks offers more flexibility for reporting automation and client-facing marketing reports.
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Scalability issues: BI dashboard tools do not scale well for agencies managing multiple clients. TapClicks simplifies multi-client reporting, making it faster to manage multiple eCommerce analytics dashboards.
Conclusion
If you need only basic visualization, pairing an ETL tool with Google Data Studio can work. For advanced eCommerce analytics, using a BI tool like Tableau may be a better option, though reporting flexibility and scalability will be limited.
Marketing Reporting and Dashboard Software
This section explores marketing reporting and dashboard tools, their features, limitations, and how TapClicks provides a scalable, automated solution for businesses managing multiple eCommerce clients.
What Are Marketing Reporting and Dashboard Tools?
Platforms like TapClicks combine ETL functionality and BI visualization into a single tool, offering a marketing analytics platform that automates reporting.
These tools provide real-time custom reports, allowing stakeholders and clients to access sales reports, customer engagement metrics, and marketing performance in one place.
Overview of Dashboard and Reporting Software
There are various lightweight dashboards and reporting tools for marketers managing fast-paced campaigns. Examples include Klipfolio’s PowerMetrics and AgencyAnalytics, which provide customizable dashboards with varying levels of data source integrations.
Unlike TapClicks, these tools require manual configuration for each campaign, making the process slow and labor-intensive. TapClicks automates updates across multiple dashboards and provides widget-level customization, saving you time.
The Drawbacks of Marketing Reporting and Dashboard Software
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Limited scale and customization: Many tools restrict the number of data sources, campaigns, or clients they can support.
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Limited dashboard templates: Scaling dashboards across multiple clients can be challenging.
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Restricted widget customization: Most platforms require manual adjustments for each campaign, slowing down reporting processes.
How TapClicks Is Different From Other eCommerce Reporting Tools
Most eCommerce reporting tools require separate ETL and BI tools for data aggregation, analysis, and reporting. TapClicks eliminates this need, consolidating all your data into a single platform. Unlike other digital marketing tools, TapClicks tracks sales reports, monitors eCommerce metrics, and analyzes marketing performance without requiring multiple systems.
This section explores the TapClicks solution, showing why it ranks among the best eCommerce analytics tools for businesses seeking a comprehensive reporting tool to improve business performance and simplify eCommerce analytics.
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Number of Marketing Data Sources
Most eCommerce reporting tools limit marketing platform connections, with DashThis supporting 30 and AgencyAnalytics offering 60. TapClicks provides 250+ API connections to Google Ads, Facebook Ads, LinkedIn, SEO tools, CRM systems, and more, ensuring businesses can track all their data in one place.
For eCommerce platforms like WooCommerce or Shopify, TapClicks can set up a direct connection within an hour, with up to 12 months of historical data available for immediate insights. All integrations are fully managed, keeping data accurate, reliable, and up to date without manual maintenance.
Customizability and Scalability of Dashboard Templates
Not all eCommerce reporting tools offer the same level of dashboard customization. Some provide flexibility but require technical expertise, while others are easier to use but lack advanced customization. TapClicks balances both, offering customizable templates that update automatically.
Widget Customization
Customization levels vary across eCommerce analytics tools. BI tools like Tableau offer extensive customization but require more complexity. Google Data Studio provides a simpler interface but with fewer options. TapClicks combines flexibility and ease of use. This allows businesses to tailor their marketing dashboards to fit their needs.
TapClicks provides ready-made templates for PPC campaigns, social media marketing channels, ad networks, and email campaigns. Once created, these custom reports update automatically, eliminating the need for manual adjustments each week or month.
Each TapClicks dashboard consists of highly customizable widgets that can be modified or removed as needed. New widgets can be created to display specific eCommerce metrics, and businesses can adjust the date range for individual widgets to focus on relevant time periods.
TapClicks also enables seamless data integration from multiple customer data platforms, allowing businesses to blend eCommerce data into various visualization formats such as bar graphs, line graphs, and pie charts.
For example, businesses can compare Shopify data with Amazon data within a single custom widget, ensuring a clear and comprehensive view of sales performance across different sales channels.
You can customize colors and visuals, creating clear, stakeholder-friendly reports for easier data interpretation.
Apply Template Updates Across Multiple Dashboards
Most eCommerce reporting tools require manual updates to existing dashboards when modifying a template. Changes typically apply only to new dashboards, leaving businesses to update each live dashboard individually.
With TapClicks, template changes automatically apply across all dashboards using that template, eliminating the need for manual updates. This improves efficiency and simplifies managing multiple eCommerce store dashboards at scale.
You can also update individual dashboards as needed, allowing for both broad updates across multiple eCommerce accounts and customized adjustments for specific clients.
See how TapClicks can simplify eCommerce reporting, track marketing performance, and automate custom reports. Schedule a demo now!
Manage Multiple Dashboards in One Platform
Many eCommerce reporting tools limit the number of clients or campaigns that can be managed. For example, AgencyAnalytics restricts certain pricing tiers to 15 or fewer campaigns, making it difficult for agencies and businesses with multiple eCommerce accounts to scale effectively.
TapClicks removes these limitations, allowing businesses to manage Shopify data, Facebook Ads, Google Ads, and other sales and marketing dashboards in one place. Designed for scalability, TapClicks enables grouping multiple accounts under a single client with no cap on the number of campaigns.
With Smart Connectors, all eCommerce data flows seamlessly into one platform for aggregation, analysis, and reporting. If you’re managing multiple Shopify accounts, you can create a shared dashboard template for all clients while also customizing individual widgets as needed.
Extensive Reporting Options for Distribution
The following explores dashboard access control, customized reporting with ReportStudio, and automated report scheduling, demonstrating how TapClicks simplifies eCommerce reporting while saving time and improving scalability.
Provide Dashboard Access
Most eCommerce reporting tools allow client access but offer limited control over data visibility. TapClicks provides customizable permissions. This allows you to restrict sensitive information while giving clients access to performance metrics at any time.
With widget-level customization, you can:
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Hide specific data points, such as mark-up costs, ensuring sensitive information remains private.
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Grant selective access so clients view only the analytics relevant to their needs.
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Reduce manual reporting, eliminating the need to send frequent custom reports.
Clients can access their TapClicks dashboards on demand, streamlining eCommerce reporting and minimizing last-minute data requests.
ReportStudio
Most eCommerce reporting tools restrict report exports to spreadsheets or PDFs, requiring businesses to manually create custom reports using tools like Google Sheets, PowerPoint, or Google Analytics. This process becomes time-consuming, especially for marketing agencies managing multiple eCommerce clients.
With TapClicks ReportStudio, you can:
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Create PowerPoint-style reports that present key performance indicators (KPIs) in a visually compelling format.
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Generate last-minute reports quickly, eliminating the need for manual data assembly.
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Customize client dashboards, granting controlled access to specific eCommerce analytics.
TapClicks offers a suite of professionally designed report templates, or businesses can upload their own, ensuring reports match branding and client needs. Clients can access reports on demand, providing real-time insights into marketing performance whenever needed.
TapClicks provides white-label templates, allowing businesses to apply branding and match client color schemes for a professional appearance. Automated reports eliminate manual effort and deliver eCommerce analytics and marketing performance insights on schedule.
Schedule Automated Reports in Multiple Formats
TapClicks simplifies reporting by allowing businesses to schedule recurring reports, saving time and ensuring timely delivery of eCommerce analytics and marketing performance insights.
Unlike other marketing platforms or BI tools, TapClicks allows full control over recurring report scheduling. You can choose daily, weekly, or custom intervals without restrictions.
Reports can be sent for a specific time frame, such as a sales period, and are available in PDF, PPT, and CSV formats. This flexibility and automation make scaling eCommerce reporting seamless for businesses managing multiple clients.
Why TapClicks Is the Best Choice for eCommerce Reporting
Businesses with a small number of eCommerce stores may manage with a BI tool paired with Google Data Studio or a lightweight marketing dashboard.
For agencies and businesses handling multiple eCommerce clients, a more comprehensive solution is necessary. TapClicks consolidates all your eCommerce data with marketing analytics from platforms like Google Ads, providing seamless data aggregation, analysis, and reporting in one platform.
With TapClicks ReportStudio, you can create visually appealing reports at scale, automate delivery, and provide accurate insights without manual effort.
FAQs About eCommerce Reporting Tools
What is the best tool to analyze eCommerce?
The best tool depends on business needs. TapClicks is a great choice for businesses looking to consolidate eCommerce data, marketing performance, and sales reports into a single platform.
What is eCommerce reporting?
eCommerce reporting involves tracking and analyzing sales data, customer behavior, and marketing performance to help businesses make informed decisions.
How to report eCommerce?
Businesses can use eCommerce reporting tools like TapClicks to automate data collection, generate custom reports, and track key performance indicators (KPIs) in real-time.
What is the most used reporting tool?
Popular options include Google Analytics, Google Data Studio, and TapClicks, which provides advanced reporting automation and multi-platform integration.
Why is eCommerce reporting important?
Accurate eCommerce reporting helps businesses measure sales performance, customer retention, and marketing ROI, leading to better decision-making and increased profitability.
