What this guide helps you evaluate
Shopify merchants building a repeat-purchase and contribution-margin view of customer value.
Prepared by the PROFENG Editorial & Engineering Team. This page is designed to help you compare the moving parts, organize due diligence and ask better questions before you commit money, sign a contract or change an operating process.
What to compare first
- Customer-level revenue and order history
- Refunds, discounts, COGS and fulfillment cost
- Cohort start date and observation window
- Acquisition source and first-order cost
- Repeat rate, purchase frequency and retention
Step-by-step process
- 01
Export or query customer and order data with stable customer identifiers.
- 02
Choose a consistent cohort definition such as first purchase month.
- 03
Calculate net revenue after refunds and discounts.
- 04
Subtract variable costs to produce contribution value, not only sales.
- 05
Compare cohorts by acquisition source and enough elapsed time.
Common mistakes and risk checks
- Calling gross revenue LTV.
- Comparing new cohorts with mature cohorts over unequal time windows.
- Ignoring refunds, shipping subsidies and payment fees.
How to use and verify this guide
Use the comparison criteria and questions as a decision framework, then verify current prices, legal requirements, technical specifications, service terms and regulatory obligations with the primary or official references listed above. PROFENG explains its source, calculation and review principles on the methodology page.