Reports

Shopify Reports – Sessions by Location (Simple Overview)

The Sessions by Location report shows where your website visitors are coming from. You can view traffic based on country, state/region, or city and understand how visitor activity changes over time.

This report is useful for:

  • Understanding which locations bring the most traffic

  • Planning marketing campaigns by region

  • Identifying high-potential cities or states


How to Open the Report

  1. Log in to Shopify Admin

  2. Go to Analytics → Reports

  3. Select Sessions by location


Report Controls (Top Section)

At the top of the report, you can adjust:

  • Date range
    (Today, Last 7 days, Last 30 days, Custom range)

  • Comparison (Optional)
    Compare traffic between two time periods

  • Currency
    (Example: INR ₹)

These settings help you view the correct time period and data format.


Understanding the Chart

When the report is in chart view:

  • Each bar represents a location (country / state / city)

  • Longer bars = more visits

  • Scroll down to view additional locations

This gives a quick visual idea of where your store traffic is coming from.


Right-Side Options (Explained Simply)

The right panel controls what data you see and how it is displayed.


1. Metrics (What You Measure)

What it means:
Metrics are the numbers shown in the report.

Main metric used here:

  • Sessions – Total number of visits to your store

Why this is important:

  • Shows how much traffic your store receives

  • Helps identify top-performing locations

  • Measures the impact of ads, social media, and promotions


2. Dimensions (How Data Is Grouped)

What it means:
Dimensions decide how sessions are organised.

You can group sessions by:

  • Session country

  • Session region (state)

  • Session city

Why this is useful:

  • Start with countries for a broad view

  • Drill down into states or cities for detailed insights

  • Identify strong and weak regions


3. Visualization (How Data Is Shown)

What it means:
This controls the format of the report.

Commonly used options:

  • Bar charts (easy comparison)

  • Tables (exact numbers & sorting)

Why this helps:

  • Charts are good for quick understanding

  • Tables are better for analysis and reporting

  • You can switch views anytime


4. Items Shown (Number of Rows)

What it means:
Controls how many locations appear in the report.

Examples:

  • Top 5

  • Top 10

  • Top 20

Why we use this:

  • Focus only on top-performing locations

  • Keep reports clean and readable


5. Filters (Clean & Focused Data)

What it means:
Filters decide which sessions are included.

You can filter by:

  • Date range

  • Session country (include/exclude regions)

  • Human vs bot sessions

Why this matters:

  • Remove bot traffic

  • Focus on real customer visits

  • Analyse specific regions or campaigns

This gives accurate and meaningful insights.


Switching to Table View

How to Switch

  • Click the table icon at the top-right of the chart area


What the Table Shows

The table view displays data in rows and columns such as:

  • Session country

  • Session region

  • Session city

  • Online store visitors

  • Sessions


Sorting the Data

  • Click on any column heading (example: Sessions)

  • Data will sort in ascending or descending order

This helps you quickly identify:

  • Highest traffic locations

  • Lowest performing regions


✅ Best Practices

  • Review this report weekly or monthly

  • Use city/state data for local marketing campaigns

  • Compare periods to measure campaign performance

  • Always exclude bot traffic for accurate insights

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