Customer - Customer Cohort
Updated Thu 22 Oct 2026
Running the report
Report options
Between this start date / and end date,
The first and last trading day of the period. Both default to today. A trading day runs from your store's close-of-trade time to the same time the next day, so late-night sales after midnight count on the day they belong to (see The report at a glance).
show customers that...
The group of customers (the cohort) to list. Default: placed any order.
- placed their first ever order
- The customer's very first completed order at your store falls in the period. Anyone who ordered before the start date is left out, however long ago that was.
- placed their most recent order
- The customer ordered in the period and has not ordered since the end date. Useful for finding customers who have gone quiet.
- placed any order
- The customer had at least one sale in the period, including a sale that was later voided.
- did not place an order
- Every customer on your store's customer list who had no sale at all in the period.
- have a higher / lower than normal average order value
- The customer's average order in the period is above (or below) the store's average order for the same dates.
- order less frequently than normal
- The customer placed two or more orders in the period and the average number of days between their orders is more than the store's average.
- had a voided sale
- At least one of the customer's sales in the period was voided (with or without wastage).
Remove headings and formatting for exporting
Unticked by default. Tick it when you want to export the list to Excel or a mailing tool: the report then prints only the customer lines, with no page headings, column headings, totals or privacy notice.
The report at a glance
The date line shows the exact start and end of the period: from your close-of-trade time on the start date until close of trade after the end date. If your store closes trade at 02:00, the same dates print as between Tue 01 Sep 2026 02:00 and Thu 01 Oct 2026 02:00.
- The customer list: one line per customer in the group, A to Z.
- Store averages: how many customers matched, and the store's average order size and order frequency for the period.
- Privacy notice: how to handle the personal information in the report.
The customer list
Each line is one customer. The figures are for the period only and count completed sales; voided sales are left out of every figure.
| Customer name 1 | Customer phone number 2 | Customer email address | Customer reference | Number of orders 3 | Total order value 4 | Average order value 5 | Average order frequency (days) 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amy Daniels | 082 555 0101 | amy@example.com | VIP | 3 | 615.00 | 205.00 | 9 |
| Ben Fourie | 083 555 0102 | ben@example.com | 1 | 189.50 | 189.50 | ||
| Carla Nel | 084 555 0103 | Office | 4 | 1 240.00 | 310.00 | 7 | |
| Dev Pillay | 072 555 0104 | dev@example.com | 0 | 0.00 |
1 Customer name, email address and reference
As captured on the customer's record at your store. The list is sorted by name; click a column heading to sort by that column instead.
2 Customer phone number
Click the number to open the Individual Customer report for that customer: their addresses, favourite items and full order history.
3 Number of orders
Completed orders in the period. Dev shows 0 because his only sale in September was voided: he is in placed any order and had a voided sale, but has no completed order.
4 Total order value
The value of those orders including VAT, after discounts and including any delivery charge.
5 Average order value
Total order value divided by Number of orders: Amy spent 615.00 over 3 orders, so 205.00.
6 Average order frequency (days)
The average number of days between the customer's orders in the period. Amy ordered on 4, 12 and 22 September: gaps of 8 and 10 days, so 9. It is empty for anyone with fewer than two orders in the period, because there is no gap to measure.
Store averages
Under the list, three lines sum up the group and give the store's own figures for the same period to compare against.
| Number of customers matching this cohort: 1 | 4 |
| Store's Average order size: 2 | R255.56 |
| Store's Average order frequency: 3 | every 8 days |
1 Number of customers matching this cohort
How many lines the list has.
2 Store's Average order size
The average completed order of all your customers who ordered in the period, not only the ones listed. In the example, all eight orders by Amy, Ben and Carla come to 2 044.50, and 2 044.50 divided by 8 is 255.56. This is the "normal" that higher than normal and lower than normal are measured against.
3 Store's Average order frequency
The average number of days between orders, over every customer with two or more orders in the period. Amy's gaps (8 and 10) and Carla's (7, 7 and 7) average 7.8, printed as every 8 days. This is the "normal" for order less frequently than normal.
Privacy notice
The report lists names, phone numbers and email addresses, so it ends with a Privacy and Data Protection Warning. It reminds you to let only people who need the list run or see it, to shred printed copies when you are done with them and to delete exported files securely once they have served their purpose. Follow it, and your own company's privacy policy, every time you use the list.
Watch the video
A short walkthrough of the report options and how to read the customer list.
Can't see the video? Watch it on YouTube.
Frequently asked questions
Why does a customer show 0 orders?
Their only sale in the period was voided. Voided sales put a customer in placed any order and had a voided sale, but they are never counted in the order figures.
Why is the average order frequency empty for some customers?
The customer placed fewer than two completed orders in the period, so there is no gap between orders to measure. Choose a longer period to see it for more customers.
A customer ordered in my period, so why are they not under "placed their first ever order"?
They had a completed order at your store before the start date. This option looks at the customer's whole history, not only the dates you chose. Use placed any order to see everyone who ordered in the period.
Why is a customer under "placed their most recent order" missing when I run it again later?
They have ordered again since the end date, so their most recent order is no longer in your period. That is the point of the option: it finds customers who have not been back.
Why don't the totals match my sales reports?
This report only counts sales with a customer on them, and shows values including VAT and delivery charges. Sales reports include walk-in sales and may show figures excluding VAT, so they will usually be higher.
Which sales fall on which day?
The report uses your store's trading day, the same as your other store reports. If you close trade at 02:00, a sale at 01:30 on Thursday counts on Wednesday. The date line in the header shows the exact start and end time.
Someone ordered from us, so why are they not on the list?
The order was rung up without a customer, or under a different customer record (for example a second record with another phone number). Only sales linked to the customer's record count.
What does "normal" mean in "higher than normal" and "less frequently than normal"?
The store's own average for the same dates, printed at the end of the report as Store's Average order size and Store's Average order frequency. It is worked out from all customers who ordered in the period, not only the ones listed.
How do I get the list into Excel?
Tick Remove headings and formatting for exporting, run the report and export it. You get one line per customer with no headings or totals, ready to paste or import.
Glossary
- Average order frequency
- The average number of days between a customer's completed orders in the period. Needs at least two orders.
- Average order value
- A customer's total order value divided by their number of completed orders in the period.
- Close of trade
- The time your trading day ends, set for your store. Sales after midnight but before this time belong to the previous day.
- Cohort
- A group of customers who did the same thing in the period, for example placed their first ever order.
- Completed order
- A sale that was not voided. Only completed orders count in the figures.
- Customer
- A person captured on your store's customer list, usually by phone number, and linked to their orders.
- Trading day
- One day of trade, from close of trade to close of trade the next day.
- VAT
- Value-added tax or your country's equivalent sales tax. The order values in this report include it.
- Voided sale
- A sale cancelled after it was rung up, with or without wastage.