In brief
- ABC analysis ranks products by sales and cuts the list where the running total reaches about 80% (A) and 95% (B). Everything after is C.
- Shopify has a built-in ABC product analysis report. It grades variants on the last 28 days of revenue at retail price, excluding discounts, and the window cannot be changed.12
- For buying decisions, run it yourself over 6 to 12 months from the Total sales by product report, so one busy month does not decide the grades.3
- The useful part is the comparison: each class's share of sales against its share of the money in stock. C products holding far more stock than their sales justify are where cash is stuck.
What ABC analysis is
ABC analysis applies the Pareto idea to your catalogue: rank products by what they sell, then group them.
| Class | Rule | What it usually means |
|---|---|---|
| A | The top products that together make about 80% of sales | Few products; never let them run out |
| B | The next products, up to about 95% | Steady sellers; review regularly |
| C | The rest, and anything in stock that sold nothing | Many products, little revenue; buy carefully |
The 80% and 95% cut-offs match Shopify's own grading of 80%, 15% and 5% of revenue.2 Some stores use 70% and 90%; pick one and keep it.
Shopify's ABC report
In your admin, go to Analytics › Reports and filter by the Inventory category. The ABC product analysis report grades each product variant by its share of your revenue.1
- Window: the last 28 days. The time frame cannot be adjusted, and it updates daily.1
- Unit: product variants, not products.1
- Measure: revenue at the retail price of the items, excluding any discounts.2
- Plans: Shopify's ABC help page says Basic and Lite stores need a reporting app for ABC analysis, while its Basic plan page says Basic includes all reports.24 Check whether the report appears in your own admin.
Twenty-eight days is fine for spotting what is selling now. It is too short for buying decisions: a product that sold well last season and is between drops shows up as C, and one promotion can lift a product into A for a month.
Run it yourself over a longer period
- Export Total sales by product from Analytics › Reports for the last 6 or 12 months.3 Use net sales, so heavily discounted products are not overstated.
- Sort by net sales, highest first.
- Add a running total and divide it by total net sales, giving each product's cumulative share.
- Grade: a product is A if the products ranked above it make up less than 80% of sales, B if they make up less than 95%, and C otherwise. This keeps the product that crosses 80% in A.
- Add the products that sold nothing. They do not appear in a sales report. Take them from an inventory export and put them in C.
- Add stock value for each product: units on hand × cost per item, then total it per class.
A worked example
Ten invented products with $40,000 of net sales over 12 months:
| Product | Net sales | Share | Share above it | Running total | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linen duvet cover | $12,000 | 30.0% | 0% | 30.0% | A |
| Ceramic mug | $8,000 | 20.0% | 30.0% | 50.0% | A |
| Wool throw | $6,000 | 15.0% | 50.0% | 65.0% | A |
| Oak tray | $4,000 | 10.0% | 65.0% | 75.0% | A |
| Stoneware plate | $3,000 | 7.5% | 75.0% | 82.5% | A |
| Tea towel | $2,500 | 6.25% | 82.5% | 88.75% | B |
| Glass carafe | $1,800 | 4.5% | 88.75% | 93.25% | B |
| Linen napkins | $1,200 | 3.0% | 93.25% | 96.25% | B |
| Scented candle | $900 | 2.25% | 96.25% | 98.5% | C |
| Brass hook | $600 | 1.5% | 98.5% | 100% | C |
Invented figures. The linen napkins are B because the products above them make 93.25%, under 95%, even though the running total passes 95% with them.
Five of ten products bring 82.5% of sales, three bring the next 13.75%, and two bring the last 3.75%.
Compare sales with stock
Now add what each class holds in stock at cost. In the same invented store, with one more product in stock that sold nothing all year:
| Class | Products | Share of sales | Stock at cost | Share of stock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 5 | 82.5% | $6,600 | 33% |
| B | 3 | 13.75% | $4,400 | 22% |
| C | 3 | 3.75% | $9,000 | 45% |
Invented figures, $20,000 of stock at cost. The third C product is the one that sold nothing; it has no share of sales but holds stock.
45% of the money in stock sits in products that bring under 4% of sales, while the products that carry the store hold a third. That is the finding: the next purchase order should shift money from C to A. It is also where to look for dead stock.
What to do with each class
- A: never run out. Give them the most safety stock, check their reorder points weekly, and put them where traffic is: the home page, the top of collections, the ads. Check that they also keep a healthy margin; see profit by product.
- B: review monthly. Some are tomorrow's A products; some are sliding towards C.
- C: buy less, or stop. Keep the ones that complete a range or bring customers who then buy A products. Clear the rest with a markdown that stays above cost, or a bundle with an A product.
Pitfalls
- Short windows. Twenty-eight days grades what sold this month, not what the store depends on.
- Variants split a product. A shirt in eight sizes can be A as a product and B or C in every size. Grade by product to decide what to range, by variant to decide what to buy.
- New products. A product launched three weeks ago has had no time to earn a grade. Leave it out until it has a full window.
- Revenue is not profit. An A product sold mostly on discount can keep less than a B product at full price.
- Unsold stock is invisible. A sales report only lists what sold. The products holding stock with no sales are the most important C products, and you have to add them yourself.
Doing it automatically
Store Diagnosis is our free, read-only Shopify app. Every night it grades each product A, B or C on net sales after discounts over the order history it can read, with the 80% and 95% cut-offs above, adds every stocked product that sold nothing to C, and totals each class's share of sales and of the money in stock at cost. When more than a quarter of the stock value sits in C products, it says so, in money.
Next to the grades it shows what each product keeps after discounts, refunds, product cost and payment fees. Where cost per item is missing it assumes a 50% margin and marks the figure as estimated.
Store Diagnosis, free and read-only.
- ABC classes by product
- Stock value per class
- Profit by product, after fees
- Dead stock and stockouts
Frequently asked questions
What is ABC analysis in Shopify?
A way of grading products by how much of your revenue they bring. In Shopify's own report, A-grade variants together make up about 80% of revenue, B-grade the next 15% and C-grade the last 5%. It tells you which few products carry the store and which make up the long tail.
Where is the ABC report in Shopify?
In your Shopify admin under Analytics › Reports, in the Inventory category, as ABC product analysis. It grades each product variant on the last 28 days of revenue at retail price, excluding discounts, and the time frame cannot be changed.
How do I do ABC analysis over a longer period?
Export the Total sales by product report for 6 or 12 months, sort by net sales from highest to lowest, and add a running total as a share of all sales. A product is A while the products ranked above it make up less than 80% of sales, B while they make up less than 95%, and C after that. Products with stock that sold nothing are C.
What should I do with C products?
Buy less of them. Check how much of your stock value sits in C products; if it is far more than their share of sales, that cash would work harder in A products. Keep C products that complete a range or bring customers who then buy A products, and clear the rest.
Should ABC analysis be by revenue or by profit?
Start with revenue, because it is what Shopify reports and it shows what customers choose. Then check what each product keeps after discounts, refunds, cost and fees: an A product with a thin margin needs a different decision from an A product with a healthy one.
Is ABC analysis by product or by variant?
Shopify's report grades variants. That is right for reordering, since you reorder a size or colour, but it can split a strong product into several B and C variants. Run it by product to decide what to range and promote, and by variant to decide what to buy.
Sources
- Shopify Help Center. Inventory reports: ABC product analysis, graded by variant on the last 28 days, time frame not adjustable, checked 25 Sep 2026. vendor-published
- Shopify Help Center. ABC inventory analysis: 80%, 15% and 5% of revenue, revenue at retail price excluding discounts, and a reporting app for Basic and Lite, checked 25 Sep 2026. vendor-published
- Shopify Help Center. Sales reports: Total sales by product and the definition of net sales, checked 25 Sep 2026. vendor-published
- Shopify Help Center. Basic plan: access to all reports, including custom reports, checked 25 Sep 2026. vendor-published
Every worked figure on this page is invented for illustration. Report names are quoted from the linked pages as of September 2026.