Overview
When analyzing your store’s performance in Polar, you’ll often see metrics like Total Orders and Product Quantity. While they may seem similar at first glance, they measure two very different things — and understanding the difference is critical for accurate reporting, forecasting, and decision-making.
In this article, we’ll cover:
What Total Orders means
What Product Quantity represents
How these metrics differ in real-world scenarios
When to use each metric for better insights
By the end, you’ll know exactly which metric to rely on depending on the business question you're trying to answer.
Section 1: What Is Total Orders?
Total Orders refers to the number of completed transactions placed in your store during a selected time period.
Each order counts as one, regardless of how many products were purchased within it.
Example
If a customer places:
1 order containing 1 product → 1 Total Order
1 order containing 5 different products → 1 Total Order
3 separate purchases → 3 Total Orders
In all cases, the metric only counts the number of checkout transactions — not the number of items sold.
When to Use Total Orders
Total Orders is useful when analyzing:
Conversion performance
Customer purchasing behavior
Order frequency trends
Average Order Value (AOV)
Revenue per order
For example, if you're measuring how a marketing campaign affected purchasing behavior, you’ll likely focus on how many new orders were generated — not how many items were inside each order.
Section 2: What Is Product Quantity?
Product Quantity (sometimes referred to as Units Sold) measures the total number of individual items sold across all orders.
Unlike Total Orders, this metric counts each unit within an order.
Example
If customers place:
1 order with 2 units of Product A → Product Quantity = 2
1 order with 1 unit of Product A and 3 units of Product B → Product Quantity = 4
3 separate orders each with 1 product → Product Quantity = 3
Here, we’re counting total units — not transactions.
When to Use Product Quantity
Product Quantity is especially useful for:
Inventory forecasting
Best-seller analysis
Product performance tracking
Bundling analysis
Supply chain planning
If you’re evaluating how many units of a specific SKU were sold during a promotion, Product Quantity is the metric you’ll want to use.
Section 3: Why the Difference Matters in Reporting
Confusing these two metrics can lead to incorrect conclusions.
Scenario 1: Revenue Is Up — But Orders Are Flat
If:
Total Orders stay the same
Product Quantity increases
This likely means customers are buying more items per order (higher basket size).
That insight could indicate:
Successful upselling or bundling
Effective product recommendations
Improved merchandising
Scenario 2: Orders Increase — But Product Quantity Stays Flat
If:
Total Orders increase
Product Quantity remains similar
Customers may be placing more frequent but smaller orders.
That could suggest:
Lower AOV
Subscription-style buying behavior
Changes in shipping incentives or pricing
Understanding the relationship between these two metrics helps you:
Diagnose performance shifts
Optimize marketing strategies
Improve merchandising decisions
Accurately calculate AOV and Units per Order
Note:
The blended metric for quantity in Polar (that sums together the total items ordered from all orders from both Shopify and Amazon) is titled "Product Quantity"
The Shopify metric for quantity (that includes only items ordered from Shopify orders) is titled "Net Product Quantity" as it's net of returns
The Amazon metric for quantity (that includes only items ordered from Amazon orders) is titled "Quantity Ordered" as it's the overall number of units ordered
Conclusion
While Total Orders and Product Quantity are closely related, they answer very different business questions:
Total Orders = How many transactions occurred
Product Quantity = How many individual items were sold
Using the right metric ensures you’re making data-driven decisions based on accurate interpretation.
Next Steps:
Review your dashboards in Polar and compare Orders vs. Units Sold over time.
Analyze your Average Order Value alongside Product Quantity to uncover purchasing trends.
Explore related metrics like Revenue, AOV, and Conversion Rate for deeper insights.
If you’re unsure which metric to use in a specific report, reach out to our team — we’re happy to help you get the most out of your data in Polar.