Shopify Analytics adds category attributes and metaobject fields: what to check

Shopify merchants can now use category metafields and referenced metaobject fields to group and filter Analytics reports. Two 28 September 2026 changelog entries explain how product attributes and structured store data become reporting dimensions, making questions about materials, designers or customer tiers easier to investigate inside Shopify.

The setup differs between the two features. Existing category attributes need no extra activation. Merchant-owned metaobjects are already enabled for reporting, while app-created metaobjects remain off until you or the app enable the relevant definition.

Compare sales by the attributes on your products

Shopify’s category metafields announcement says attributes such as colour, material, fit and size are available as dimensions and filters in Reports, Explore and the query editor. If your products are already categorised, their existing attributes are available without another switch.

For an apparel merchant, a useful starting question might be which materials account for sales during a chosen period. Group by material, then narrow the report to a particular value when you need a closer look. Shopify says products with multiple values for an attribute keep those values together on one row, avoiding duplicate sales counts from that grouping.

Use structured data from metaobjects

The metaobject announcement covers metaobjects attached through metafields to products, variants, customers or orders. In the report configuration, look under Metaobjects, then select the resource, definition and field. A designer’s country or a customer loyalty tier could become the basis for grouping a report.

To change a definition’s reporting availability, go to Settings → Metafields and metaobjects, open the metaobject and use Filter or group data in Analytics. Check whether the definition is merchant-owned or app-created before assuming it needs activation.

Check the reference type if a field is missing

Shopify’s report-editing documentation says the connecting metafield must be a single metaobject reference or a list of metaobject references. Mixed-reference metafields are not supported for this purpose, and not every metaobject field type can be used in reports.

Our recommendation is to start with one business question and a small set of products or customers whose data you know. Check that their attributes and references are populated consistently before trusting a wider comparison. A blank field should prompt a data check, not an immediate conclusion about customer demand.

These reporting dimensions also serve a different purpose from September’s change to session measurement. If you are comparing conversion rates across that period, read our sessions-baseline guide alongside the new reports. Better grouping makes analysis more useful; it does not remove the need to understand how each metric is measured.