> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.vortexiq.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Channel-Level Order Count, BigCommerce > Channel-Level Order Count for BigCommerce stores. Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre. How to read it, why it matters, and how to act on it. **Metrics type:** [Supporting Metrics](/nerve-centre/overview#metrics-types-explained) • **Category:** [Ecommerce Platform](/nerve-centre/connectors#connectors-by-type) > OpenSearch COUNT(\_id) GROUP BY channel\_id. Volume breakdown complementing the revenue mix, surfaces channels with high traffic but low AOV. ## At a glance > Order count per `channel_id` over the trailing 30 days, the volume companion to [BC Channel Revenue Mix](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/revenue-mix-by-channel) (revenue) and [BC Channel AOV](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/aov-by-channel) (price). Reading order count alongside revenue surfaces the high-volume / low-AOV channels (typically Amazon, Facebook Shop) that look small on revenue but dominate transaction count, and the low-volume / high-AOV channels (B2B portal) that look small on count but carry the revenue. | | | | ---------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **What it counts** | `COUNT(orders) GROUP BY channel_id` over the trailing 30 days, excluding Cancelled (`status_id = 5`) and Incomplete (`status_id = 0`). Each channel shows order count and percentage of store total. | | **API endpoint** | OpenSearch `COUNT(_id) GROUP BY channel_id` aggregating BC `/v2/orders` data. Channel display names from `GET /v3/channels`. | | **VAT / tax treatment** | n/a, count metric. | | **Shipping** | n/a. | | **Discounts** | n/a. | | **Refunds** | Included in count, refunded orders still occurred. | | **Cancelled orders** | Excluded. | | **`Incomplete` orders** | Excluded. | | **Currency** | n/a. | | **Channel coverage** | All BC channels. **B2B portal typically shows low order count** (5-15% of total) despite carrying 30-60% of revenue (because of high AOV). **Marketplaces typically show outsized order counts** relative to their revenue share (high volume, low AOV). | | **B2B Edition behaviour** | B2B portal contributes its order count normally. **The B2B order-count-vs-revenue gap is the structural pattern**: 10% of orders, 40% of revenue typical. | | **Multi-storefront** | Per-storefront breakdown via the storefront filter. Each storefront aggregates its channels by default. | | **POS terminal aggregation** | Each POS terminal is its own `channel_id`; aggregating is per-terminal by default. **For "All POS" rollup configure under Settings → Channel grouping.** | | **Time window** | `30D` rolling. | | **Alert trigger** | None on this card; pairs with [BC Alert Channel Revenue Drop](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/channel-revenue-drop-alert) for revenue-side alerting. | | **Roles** | owner, marketing, operations | ## Calculation Calculated automatically from your BigCommerce data. See the At a glance summary above for what the metric tracks and the worked example below for a typical reading. ## Worked example A US apparel brand on BigCommerce Pro, multi-channel with B2B Edition. Snapshot for 1 Apr to 30 Apr 26. | `channel_id` | Channel | Orders | % | Revenue (context) | AOV (context) | | ------------ | ---------------------- | --------- | ----- | ----------------- | ------------------------ | | `1` | DTC web | 4,820 | 60.5% | \$578,400 | \$120 | | `1019847` | Amazon Channel Manager | 1,140 | 14.3% | \$159,600 | \$140 | | `1019850` | Facebook Shop | 380 | 4.8% | \$19,760 | \$52 | | `1020111` | Walmart | 220 | 2.8% | \$21,120 | \$96 | | `12000004` | B2B portal | 612 | 7.7% | \$1,224,000 | \$2,000 | | `1020114` | POS Terminal A | 380 | 4.8% | \$24,700 | \$65 | | `1020115` | POS Terminal B | 422 | 5.3% | \$26,800 | \$63 | | **Total** | | **7,974** | | **\$2,054,380** | **\$258 (headline AOV)** | What's interesting: 1. **B2B portal at 7.7% of orders contributes 60% of revenue.** This is the structural B2B-vs-DTC pattern. **The order count makes B2B look small; the revenue makes it look huge.** Reading either alone misses the picture; reading both together is correct. 2. **Amazon at 14.3% of orders contributes 8% of revenue.** Lower revenue share than order share because Amazon AOV ($140) is below the headline ($258, B2B-inflated). On a DTC-only basis (excluding B2B portal), Amazon would be 16% of orders and 19% of DTC revenue, more proportionate. 3. **Facebook Shop at 4.8% of orders contributes 1% of revenue.** Volume contributor without revenue contribution. The strategic question: is Facebook Shop's 380 orders/month at \$52 AOV worth the operational complexity of running it? **For most BC merchants, yes**, the orders are incremental (would not have come through other channels) and absorb little operational cost. But the read is honest. 4. **POS terminals together = 802 orders, 10.1% share.** A meaningful volume contributor on count terms; the two terminals' combined revenue is \$51,500 (2.5% of total). POS is a community / brand-presence channel as much as a revenue channel. 5. **The DTC web 60.5% order share is healthy.** A web-dominant store with diversified marketplace and POS contribution is the BC ecosystem norm; aspirational target around 55-65% web. Above 80% web is over-concentrated; below 40% suggests the web channel is under-performing. Action priority order: 1. **Read alongside [BC Channel Revenue Mix](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/revenue-mix-by-channel)**, count and revenue together is the right read. 2. **Compute order-share / revenue-share ratio per channel** to spot mix inefficiencies. 3. **For low-AOV high-volume channels** (Facebook), evaluate whether the order count justifies the operational burden. 4. **For high-AOV low-volume channels** (B2B), evaluate whether the revenue concentration is healthy or fragile (one big customer leaving = revenue collapse). 5. **For multi-storefront stores**, view per-storefront to spot storefront-specific channel patterns. ## Sibling cards merchants should reference together | Card | Why pair it with Orders by Channel | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ | | [BC Channel Revenue Mix](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/revenue-mix-by-channel) | Revenue side of the count / revenue dual read. | | [BC Channel AOV](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/aov-by-channel) | The price side; AOV × count = revenue. | | [BC Channel Revenue Trend](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/channel-revenue-trend) | Trend over time per channel. | | [BC Alert Channel Revenue Drop](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/channel-revenue-drop-alert) | Revenue-side alarm complementing the volume view. | | [Order Count](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/total-orders) | Headline rollup. | | [BC Channel Conversion Rate](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/conversion-rate-by-channel) | Surfaces whether order volume reflects healthy funnel. | | [BC Guest vs Registered](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/guest-vs-registered-orders) | Cohort context, B2B-heavy channels skew registered. | | [BC Orders by Device](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/orders-by-device) | Device decomposition for web-channel orders. | ## Reconciling against the vendor's own dashboard **Where to look in BigCommerce Control Panel:** [Analytics → Sales](https://login.bigcommerce.com/deep-links/manage/analytics/in-store-conversion) → "Sales by channel" view (Plus / Pro / Enterprise) shows per-channel order count alongside revenue. [Channel Manager → individual channel](https://login.bigcommerce.com/deep-links/manage/channel-manager) shows per-channel order list with totals. For B2B Edition: [Channel Manager → B2B Edition → Orders](https://login.bigcommerce.com/deep-links/manage/channel-manager) shows B2B portal orders separate from DTC. **Why our count may differ from BC Sales by channel:** | Reason | Direction | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------- | | **B2B Edition treatment**. We include B2B; BC main analytics excludes by default. | Vortex IQ HIGHER total | | **Multi-storefront aggregation**. We aggregate across storefronts; BC shows per-storefront. | Different denominators | | **POS terminal aggregation**. BC may roll all terminals; we surface each. | Different granularity | | **Cancelled / Incomplete handling**. We exclude both; BC's Sales tile in some plan tiers includes Incompletes. | Vortex IQ LOWER count | | **Refund attribution**. Refunded orders still count in our metric; BC's varies. | Vortex IQ HIGHER if refund-counted | **Cross-connector reconciliation (when marketplace integrations are connected):** | Card | Expected relationship | What causes legitimate divergence | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | | [`amazon_sp.amazon_order_count`](/nerve-centre/amazon_sp/amazon_order_count) | Amazon SP-API order count matches Amazon channel slice within 1% | SP-API may include orders not yet synced to BC; sub-1% gap. | | [`facebook.fb_shop_orders`](/nerve-centre/facebook/fb_shop_orders) | Facebook Shop order count matches Facebook channel slice | Meta's reporting includes some pending orders; we count completed only. | | [`google_analytics.ga_purchase_events`](/nerve-centre/google_analytics/ga_purchase_events) | GA4 purchase events should match web channel within 10-25% | GA4 misses orders due to consent-mode and ad-blockers. | **The orders-by-channel view is BC-aligned with similar cards on Shopify (per `source_name`) and Adobe Commerce (per `store_id`); merchant-facing semantics are equivalent.** ***
Same-metric documentation cross-reference (for agencies running multiple platforms) * [`shopify.orders_by_channel`](/nerve-centre/shopify/orders_by_channel) (planned) * [`adobe_commerce.orders_by_store`](/nerve-centre/adobe_commerce/orders_by_store) (planned)
## Known limitations / merchant FAQs **My headline order count is 7,974 but BC reports 7,500. Why the gap?** Likely B2B Edition inclusion. BC's main analytics excludes B2B by default; we include. The B2B portal contributed 612 orders here, close to the 474-order gap (the rest is Incomplete handling differences). Filter to DTC-only in Vortex IQ to match BC. **Why does my Facebook Shop have so few orders relative to web?** Facebook Shop is a discoverability channel; most BC merchants see 1-5% of order count from it. Higher percentages (>10%) usually indicate a viral moment or a specific ad strategy. Lower (\<1%) usually indicates Meta ad spend isn't directing to the Facebook Shop properly. **My B2B portal has only 612 orders but my B2B revenue is huge. Real?** Yes, B2B order count is structurally low because each order is large. 612 wholesale orders at $2,000 AOV = $1.22M revenue, that's the B2B-vs-DTC math. **Reading order count alone undersells B2B**; always pair with revenue. **Should I count Incomplete orders as orders?** No. Incompletes are abandonments; they didn't place a real order. Including them inflates count without reflecting business activity. We exclude by default. **My Amazon channel order count dropped 30% MoM. Should I be alarmed?** Yes, but check whether revenue dropped too. If revenue is flat with order count down 30%, your Amazon AOV grew (basket size up, fewer baskets, same dollars), often the result of curating to higher-AOV bundles. If revenue dropped proportionally, that's a real channel issue. Cross-reference with [BC Channel Revenue Trend](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/channel-revenue-trend). **Multi-storefront stores: do counts aggregate or split?** By default per-storefront. Each storefront has its own channels; aggregation produces meaningless rollups. Use the storefront filter to switch. **My POS terminal A and B together = 802 orders. Should I see them as one POS row or two?** Configurable. Default per-terminal (each terminal is its own `channel_id`). For aggregated POS, configure under Settings → Channel grouping → POS rollup. Multi-terminal stores often prefer aggregated for executive views and per-terminal for operational reads. **Why doesn't this card alert?** Because count alone isn't enough information for an alert; revenue impact varies by AOV. The corresponding alarm is [BC Alert Channel Revenue Drop](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/channel-revenue-drop-alert) which incorporates revenue context. Configure custom count-based alerts under Settings → Custom alerts if needed. **My new channel launched 14 days ago and shows just 12 orders. Is something wrong?** Probably ramp-up. New channels typically show 0-50 orders in their first 30 days. **Expect channel velocity to plateau by day 60-90**; if a channel is still \<100 orders/30days at day 90, the channel may not be working for your category. **Can I export the channel-count breakdown?** Yes, click the export button on the card. CSV / XLSX with per-channel count, revenue, and AOV columns. *** ### Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre *Orders by Channel* is one of hundreds of KPI pulses Vortex IQ tracks across BigCommerce and 70+ other ecommerce connectors. Nerve Centre runs the detection layer; Vortex Mind investigates the cause when something moves; Ask Viq lets you interrogate any number in plain English. [Start for free](https://app.vortexiq.ai/login) or [book a demo](https://www.vortexiq.ai/contact-us) to see this metric running on your own data.