Shopify Sales Velocity: What It Is and Why It Matters for Growth

Every store has fast movers and slow movers. But most Shopify owners don’t stop to ask: how fast are my products actually selling — and what does that tell me?

That’s where Shopify sales velocity comes in. It’s the pace at which your products move — and it’s one of the most important (and underused) metrics in ecommerce.

What Is Sales Velocity?

Sales velocity measures how quickly a product sells over a specific period of time. It tells you how fast inventory is moving, how long something takes to turn into revenue, and whether that pace is helping or hurting your business.

It’s not just about how many units you sell — it’s about how fast you’re selling them.

For example:

• Product A sells 100 units in 10 days
• Product B sells 100 units in 30 days

Same volume, very different velocity.

Why It Matters

Faster sales velocity means:

• You recover your cost of goods sooner
• You get more cash back to reinvest in ads, inventory, or product launches
• You lower the risk of holding stale stock that doesn’t move

Slow sales velocity, on the other hand, can silently damage your business. You tie up money in inventory, you pay storage fees, and you start running discounts — not because you want to, but because you have to.

The Difference Between Sales Volume and Sales Velocity

Sales volume tells you how much you sold. Sales velocity tells you how fast you sold it.

You might have a product that sells 300 units in a month — but it only moved 20 units in the first two weeks, and the rest came from a single flash sale. That’s not high velocity. That’s a spike.

High-velocity products sell consistently and predictably — without heavy promotions.

How to Calculate Sales Velocity

The basic formula:

Sales Velocity = Total Units Sold / Time Period

Most store owners calculate this weekly or monthly. The key is consistency. Pick a timeframe and stick to it when comparing products.

Once you know your product velocity, you can:

• Set smarter reorder points
• Spot when something is slowing down
• Identify breakout products earlier

Where to Find Velocity in Shopify

Shopify’s default dashboard doesn’t show sales velocity directly. You’ll need to track total units sold per SKU over time, and then divide by your chosen time period.

A better option is to use something like the Total Items Sold Report from By the Numbers. It lets you view product-level performance and compare velocity across SKUs — without digging through multiple exports.

What High Sales Velocity Usually Means

When a product moves quickly without major promotions, it usually has:

• Strong product-market fit
• Good price-to-value perception
• Low friction on the product page
• Built-in demand from returning or referred customers

These are products to double down on — with bundles, upsells, and more visibility across your store.