At a glance
Follower Count is your shop’s standing audience on Depop, the people who see your new listings first in their feed. On a platform where the algorithm favours follower-active sellers, net follower growth is a leading indicator of future reach. The card surfaces the live number and its trend, so net-negative growth shows up as what it really is: a systematic loss of free visibility that will drag saves and sales behind it.
| What it counts | The total number of Depop accounts following your shop, with its growth trend over the window. |
| Sample type | Backend API data from Depop, refreshed on the standard data refresh. |
| Why it matters | Followers are your owned reach on Depop. New listings surface to followers first, seeding the early saves that decide whether the algorithm pushes an item wider. Stalled or shrinking follower growth quietly caps how far each new listing can travel. |
| Reading the value | Read the trend, not just the level. Steady net growth means your activity and content are compounding reach. Flat or negative growth is the alert: visibility is leaking. |
| Currency | count |
| Time window | RT (real-time) |
| Alert trigger | growth stalled or net-negative |
| Sentiment key | dep_follower_count |
| Roles | owner, marketing |
Calculation
Follower Count is the live total reported by the Depop integration, tracked over time so Vortex IQ can compute net growth (new followers minus unfollows) across the window. The growth signal that drives the alert is derived from successive snapshots rather than a single point reading.Worked example
A representative reading of Follower Count for a typical streetwear reseller on Depop. The shop sat at 8,400 followers and had been adding around 120 net per week. Over a fortnight in May 26 net growth flipped to minus 30 per week even though listing volume was unchanged. Vortex Mind tied the reversal to a pause in daily relisting: with fewer fresh items appearing in feeds, the shop dropped out of follower discovery loops and a normal trickle of unfollows was no longer offset. Resuming a steady listing cadence returned net growth to positive within ten days. For a quick read on which weeks reversed, ask Ask Viq for follower growth by week this quarter.Sibling cards merchants should reference together
| Card | Why merchants reach for it |
|---|---|
dep_save_rate | Engagement sibling: followers drive the early saves that widen reach. |
dep_marketplace_health_score | Composite sibling: follower growth is a core input to shop health. |
dep_stale_listings_30d | Listing Health sibling: stale catalogues stall follower discovery. |
dep_total_listings | Catalogue sibling: listing volume and cadence feed follower growth. |
dep_revenue_trend | Outcome sibling: reach changes show up in the revenue trend. |
Reconciling against Depop
Where to look in Depop’s own dashboard: Your follower total is shown directly on your shop profile in the Depop app. The live number there should match the Vortex IQ card closely; small gaps are almost always timing between refreshes. Why the Vortex IQ value may legitimately differ:| Reason | Direction | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Refresh timing. The profile updates instantly; Vortex IQ refreshes on a cadence. | Marginal | Force a manual refresh to confirm. |
| Net vs gross. The profile shows the current level; Vortex IQ also reports net growth, which nets out unfollows. | Variable | Compare the level to the profile, the growth to the trend. |
| Snapshot boundary. Growth is derived from successive snapshots. | Marginal | Allow one refresh cycle for new follows to register. |