How to See Best Selling Products on Any Shopify Store [Algorithm Explained]

TL;DR: Add ?sort_by=best-selling to any Shopify store's collection URL to see their top products. Example: store.com/collections/all?sort_by=best-selling. But here's what nobody tells you: Shopify ranks by order count, not units sold. A product in 10 orders beats a product with 20 units in 2 orders.

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Want to see what products are selling best on any Shopify store? It takes 5 seconds.

Every Shopify store has a built-in feature that shows best sellers. It's meant for customers, but anyone can use it. Competitors, researchers, agencies. There's no way to turn it off.

This guide shows you how to find best sellers on any store, explains how Shopify's ranking actually works (most guides get this wrong), and covers what to do with the data once you have it.

Why Shopify Best Seller Data Matters

Best seller data isn't just for copying products. Here's what different people use it for:

The real value: Best sellers show you what customers actually buy. Not what stores want to sell. Not what looks good. What converts.

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How Shopify Calculates "Best Selling" (The Part Nobody Explains)

Before you start researching, you need to understand how Shopify ranks products. Most guides skip this. But it changes how you interpret the data.

It's Order Count, Not Units Sold

Shopify's best-selling algorithm ranks products by how many orders include that product. Not how many units were sold.

Here's the difference:

T-Shirt A ranks higher even though T-Shirt B sold more units. Why? Because T-Shirt A appeared in more orders.

What this means for research:

• Products bought individually rank higher than bulk items
• Subscription products may rank lower (one order, many shipments)
• Gift items and impulse buys often dominate best seller lists

It's All-Time, Not Recent

Shopify's default best-selling sort uses all-time order data. There's no recency factor.

This creates a problem: older products that have been around longer will almost always outrank newer products. Even if a new product is selling faster right now.

Example: A store's best seller from 2022 with 500 lifetime orders will rank above a 2025 product with 100 orders this month.

What this means for research:

• Best seller lists skew toward older, established products
• New trending products won't appear at the top yet
• Seasonal products may stay in top spots year-round

Some stores use apps like Rank King to show recent best sellers (last 7 or 30 days) instead of all-time. But the default URL method shows all-time data.

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Method 1: The URL Hack (Free, 5 Seconds)

This is the fastest way to see any Shopify store's best sellers.

How It Works

Add ?sort_by=best-selling to any collection URL.

Step by step:

1. Go to any Shopify store
2. Navigate to a collection (like /collections/all for all products)
3. Add ?sort_by=best-selling to the end of the URL
4. Press Enter

Example:

Before: https://gymshark.com/collections/all
After:  https://gymshark.com/collections/all?sort_by=best-selling

The page reloads with products sorted by best-selling first.

Works on Any Collection

The URL hack works on any collection, not just "all products":

All Shopify Sort Parameters

Best-selling is just one option. Here are all 8 sort parameters you can use (these are part of Shopify's Liquid collection filters):

Pro tip: Use ?sort_by=created-descending to see a store's newest products. Good for tracking what competitors are testing.

When the URL Hack Doesn't Work

The URL method fails in a few cases:

Most Shopify stores (90%+) work with the URL hack. If one store doesn't work, move on. There are millions of others.

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Method 2: Browser Extensions (Free, Faster)

Extensions scan stores automatically so you don't have to edit URLs manually.

Store Inspector

Store Inspector is a free Chrome extension that detects apps, themes, and pixels on any Shopify store.

What you get:

• One-click store analysis
• Apps installed (72+ detected)
• Theme identification
• Traffic tier estimate
• Quick link to collections

While it doesn't show best sellers directly, it gives you context about the store. A store's apps tell you as much about their strategy as their products do.

Koala Inspector

Koala Inspector shows best sellers directly in their interface. The free version shows the top 3 products. Paid plans show more.

SimplyTrends

SimplyTrends tracks product sales over time. Useful for seeing how fast products sell, not just rank.

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Method 3: Spy Tools (For Scale)

If you're researching dozens of stores, manual methods don't scale. Spy tools automate the process.

When to use spy tools:

• Researching 20+ stores regularly
• Need sales estimates (not just rankings)
• Want historical data and trends
• Building product sourcing workflow

When to skip them:

• Occasional research (URL hack is enough)
• Tight budget (free methods work fine)
• Just qualifying a few leads

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What Best Sellers Tell You About a Store

Here's where most guides stop. They show you how to find best sellers but not what to do with the data.

Best seller data tells you a lot about a store's maturity, strategy, and opportunities.

Product Concentration

How many products make up the bulk of sales?

For agencies: Stores with 1-2 hero products and no email app are leaving money on the table. Their entire business depends on a few products, but they're not building customer relationships. Easy pitch.

Price Point Signals

What price range dominates best sellers?

Product Type Patterns

Best sellers reveal what customers actually want:

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Using Best Sellers to Qualify Leads

For agencies and SaaS vendors, best seller data helps qualify leads before outreach.

The Product Count Signal

We analyzed 4,898 Shopify stores. Here's what we found about product counts:

What to look for:

• Store with 500+ products but only 2-3 best sellers? Catalog management problem.
• Store with 20 products and clear best sellers? Focused, knows their customer.
• Store with 1,000 products and no analytics app? Flying blind on what works.

Combining Best Sellers with Tech Stack

The most qualified leads have gaps you can fill.

Use Store Inspector to see what apps a store uses. Combine that with best seller data for a complete picture.

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Limitations and Honest Caveats

Let's be real about what this data can and can't tell you.

What Best Sellers DON'T Show

Accuracy Questions

• How current is it? Shopify updates rankings regularly, but "regularly" isn't defined publicly. Assume daily or weekly.
• Can stores fake it? Technically yes (fake orders), but most don't bother.
• Does it count returns? Yes, returns that were initially completed orders still count.

The Ethics Question

Is using this data ethical? Here's a simple framework:

The URL hack uses publicly available data. It's no different from visiting a store as a customer. Just be reasonable about it.

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FAQ

How does Shopify calculate best-selling?

By order count, not units sold. A product that appears in 100 orders ranks higher than one with 200 units sold in 50 orders. The ranking uses all-time data, not recent sales.

Can stores hide their best sellers?

Not really. Some stores use custom JavaScript filtering that can break the URL hack, but they can't disable the underlying sort. Switching collections or using an extension usually works.

How often does the best seller ranking update?

Shopify doesn't publish this, but testing suggests daily or near-real-time updates. Don't expect hourly precision.

Does this work on all Shopify stores?

About 90% of stores. It won't work on password-protected stores, some headless setups, or heavily customized storefronts.

What's the difference between best-selling and featured?

Best-selling is based on actual order data. Featured (or "manual" sort) is whatever the store owner decides to highlight. Featured is marketing. Best-selling is performance.

Can I see best sellers for a specific time period?

Not with the URL hack. Shopify's default is all-time. Some spy tools offer time-filtered data, and stores can use apps to display recent best sellers to their customers.

Is it legal to view competitor best sellers?

Yes. You're accessing publicly available information that Shopify exposes to every visitor. Just don't misrepresent yourself or violate terms of service.

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Summary

Finding best sellers on any Shopify store takes 5 seconds:

store.com/collections/all?sort_by=best-selling

But knowing what to do with that data is what matters.

Key takeaways:

The complete sort parameter reference:

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Want to go deeper on competitor research?

For individual store analysis: Install the free Store Inspector Chrome extension. See apps, pixels, themes, and traffic tier on any Shopify store.

For bulk research with contact data: StoreInspect lets you filter 8,900+ stores by apps, traffic, and category. Export with verified founder emails.

Get Store Inspector Free → | Browse Top Stores →

Related guides:

• How to Analyze Shopify Competitors - Full framework for competitive research
• What Apps Do Top Shopify Stores Use? - Data from 513 stores
• How to See What Apps a Shopify Store Uses - 4 detection methods