Unlocking Multi-SKU Order Insights in BigCommerce: A Comprehensive Guide

Understanding customer purchasing patterns is crucial for any e-commerce business. A common challenge for BigCommerce merchants is efficiently identifying and compiling a list of orders that contain multiple unique products or SKUs. This insight, drawn from a BigCommerce forum discussion, provides a comprehensive guide to tackling this reporting need, offering solutions ranging from simple exports to advanced API integrations.

The Challenge: Identifying Multi-SKU Orders

Merchants often need to analyze orders containing more than one product for various reasons: understanding bundling effectiveness, calculating commissions, managing inventory, or identifying cross-selling opportunities. The core problem is extracting this specific data from the BigCommerce platform without manual, tedious review.

Solution 1: Quick & Practical Export with Spreadsheet Logic

The most accessible method for most BigCommerce users involves leveraging the platform's built-in order export functionality combined with spreadsheet tools like Excel or Google Sheets. This approach is ideal for one-off reports or when dealing with moderate data volumes.

• Step 1: Export Detailed Orders

  Navigate to Orders → View Orders. Filter by Order Status = Completed (or relevant status). Click Export and select “Detailed Orders”. This ensures each product/SKU within an order is a separate row in the exported file.

• Step 2: Analyze in Excel/Google Sheets

  Open your detailed export. Orders with multiple SKUs will appear as multiple rows sharing the same Order ID.

  • Method A: Using a Pivot Table (Recommended for Clean Output)

    Create a Pivot Table. Drag Order ID to 'Rows', and SKU (or Product Name) to 'Values' (set to Count). Filter 'Count of SKU' to show values greater than 1. This provides a clean list of multi-SKU Order IDs.

  • Method B: Using COUNTIF (Simpler, but less clean output)

    Add a new column (e.g., "SKU Count"). Use a formula like =COUNTIF([Order ID Column], [Current Order ID Cell]). Filter this column for values greater than 1 to highlight multi-SKU order rows.

Solution 2: Leveraging the BigCommerce API for Scalability and Automation

For large order volumes, frequent reports, or automated dashboard integrations, the BigCommerce Orders API is the superior solution. It offers greater flexibility, no row limits, and integration capabilities.

• Key API Endpoints:
  • /v2/orders: Fetch order details, filter by status_id=10 (Completed) and date_created.
  • /v2/orders/{id}/products: Retrieve product line items for a specific order.
• Logic for Multi-SKU Identification:

  Loop through fetched orders. For each order, call /v2/orders/{id}/products. If the returned product array has a length > 1, the order contains multiple SKUs. This logic is ideal for scheduled reports, custom dashboards, and complex analysis.

Expert Considerations

• Export Row Limit: The "Detailed Orders" export can sometimes cap around 2,000 rows. For larger datasets, the API is essential.
• Partner Solutions: For highly customized or recurring reporting needs, consider engaging a BigCommerce partner like Codinative.com for tailored tools or custom report endpoints.

By implementing these methods, BigCommerce merchants can gain valuable insights into their multi-product orders, enhancing their analytical capabilities and informing strategic business decisions. Whether through a quick spreadsheet analysis or a robust API integration, the tools are available to unlock this critical data.