New Customer %: First-Time Buyer Order Share

The percentage of total orders placed by first-time customers.

Formula

New Customer % = ( NC Orders ÷ Total Orders ) × 100

Formula Components

Metric	Definition
NC Orders	Orders placed by first-time buyers
Total Orders	Complete count of all orders in the period
customer_type = new_customer	Filter applied to identify first-time buyers

Metadata
Type	Percentage
Data Source	Shopify
Aggregation	Ratio

Example

Your store processed 2,450 orders in March with 980 from first-time buyers:

Customer Type	Orders	Share
New Customers	980	40%
Returning Customers	1,470	60%

How It Works

Shopify tracks whether each customer has previous orders. New Customer % divides orders from customers with no prior purchase history by total orders. This ratio reveals your acquisition vs retention balance.

When to Use

Scenario	Action
Evaluating acquisition efforts	Higher % indicates successful new customer acquisition
Assessing retention health	Lower % suggests strong repeat purchase behavior
Seasonal trend analysis	Compare % across periods to spot shifting customer mix
Marketing strategy alignment	Balance acquisition spend against retention initiatives

Metric	Relationship
Returning Customer %	The inverse (100% − New Customer %)
Orders	Total orders (the denominator)
New Customers	Distinct first-time buyers
New Customer Gross Revenue	Revenue from first-time buyers

See all Customers metrics →

Returning Customers Returning Customer %

⌘I

​Formula

​Formula Components

​Example

​How It Works

​When to Use

​Related Metrics

Formula

Formula Components

Example

How It Works

When to Use

Related Metrics