What Is the First Time Order Customers Report?
Every store gains new buyers, but they are easy to lose in a full customer list. The First Time Order Customers report pulls out only the people Shopify classifies as first-time customers, so you are looking at your newest buyers on their own.
In Shopify terms, a first-time customer is someone placing their first order with your store, while a returning customer already has at least one order in their history. This report keeps the view to that first group and shows each buyer by name, their lifetime order count, how much they have spent in total, and their customer type.
It is worth separating this from the First Time vs Returning Customers Sales report. That one compares new and repeat revenue as totals over a period. This report names the actual individuals behind the "new customer" number, which is what you need when the next step is outreach, a welcome offer, or a second-purchase nudge.
Which Fields Are Included in the First Time Order Customers Report?
These four fields identify each new buyer and show how much value they have brought to the store so far.
You can customize the pre-made report by adding, removing, or reordering fields, for example adding email or location, so the list matches how you plan to follow up with new buyers.
Important Insights You Can Find in This Report
Which first-time buyers already spent more than a typical single order?
Scan Total Spent against the size of a normal first order for your store. A new customer sitting well above that suggests a large opening basket or an early second purchase. These buyers are worth flagging for priority follow-up, since a strong first spend often signals higher long-term value.
Are some "first-time" customers now showing more than one lifetime order?
Compare Customer Type with Order Count (Lifetime). A row marked first-time but showing two or more lifetime orders means that buyer has already come back since their first purchase. That gap tells you your acquisition is converting into repeat behaviour, and it is worth checking how many first-time buyers cross into a second order.
Is your list of new customers growing across the periods you review?
Change the date range and watch how many first-time customers appear each time. A shrinking count over successive periods points to slowing acquisition, even if total revenue looks steady, and is a prompt to check where new buyers are coming from before it shows up in sales.
THE ANALYST'S READ: The Signal Most Merchants Miss
Shopify assigns customer type at the moment of each order, based on the buyer's history at that time. So a customer can be first-time on their opening order and returning on every order after. That is why a row here can read as first-time yet carry a lifetime order count above one: the label reflects acquisition, while Order Count (Lifetime) reflects everything since.
The signal to look for is the share of first-time buyers whose lifetime count has already moved past one. If that group is thin, you may be acquiring customers who rarely return, which pushes weight onto acquisition spend. If it is healthy, your first purchase is doing its job of starting a relationship. Compare this against the Returning Customers report to confirm whether new buyers are genuinely graduating into repeat customers.
How Can You Automate the First Time Order Customers Report?
Open the pre-made First Time Order Customers report in Report Pundit. The fields are already set, so you can save it and reuse it without rebuilding. Set your date range, then schedule it to email on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis so a fresh list of new buyers arrives on its own. Reports can also be exported to Excel, CSV, or PDF, or sent to Google Sheets or Google Drive, and delivered to teammates or your marketing tool on the same schedule.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a first-time customer in this report?
A first-time customer is someone placing their first order with your store. Shopify marks the buyer's customer type as first-time on that opening order, and this report filters the list to only those buyers.
Why does a first-time customer show more than one lifetime order?
Because customer type is set per order at the time it was placed. If the buyer was new on their first order, they stay tagged first-time for that order, while Order Count (Lifetime) keeps counting every order they place afterward.
How is this different from the First Time vs Returning Customers Sales report?
This report lists the individual people who are first-time customers. The First Time vs Returning Customers Sales report compares total sales from new versus repeat buyers over a period, without naming each customer.
Can I contact the new customers shown in this report?
The pre-made version shows name, lifetime orders, total spent, and customer type. Add fields such as email or phone to the report if you want to turn the list into a follow-up or welcome campaign.
Can I see first-time customers for a specific date range?
Yes. Set the date range before running the report to see the customers whose first order falls in that window, which is useful for measuring acquisition after a campaign or launch.