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How Heat Score Works

We believe in transparency. The StoreXray score is calculated using clear mathematical algorithms based strictly on the target store's publicly available storefront data.

RESPECT MANIFESTO //

Our Respect Manifesto

StoreXray is built to study winning storefronts respectfully. Our algorithms do not pass judgment on business quality, profitability, or founder talent. The Heat Score is a real-time technical assessment of storefront activity and automation.

We do not artificially inflate or deflate scores. This is a clean, independent benchmark reflecting the active pulse of e-commerce infrastructure.

6 Components of the Heat Score Formula (v4)

Momentum WEIGHT 20%

Measures catalog expansion velocity over 90 days and time since the latest release.

Score = 0.7 * clamp(log10(new_90d+1)/log10(26)*100) + 0.3 * clamp(100 - days/120*100)

100% score reached at 25+ new products within 90 days, and less than 120 days since last release.

Merchandising WEIGHT 20%

Calculates the quality of catalog structure: photo density, variant counts, discount activity, and price range.

Score = (imagesN + variantsN + discountN + priceN) / 4

Evaluates photo count (4+ = 100%), variants depth (10+ = 100%), discounts share (30%+ = 100%), and 20x price spread.

Growth Stack WEIGHT 20%

Measures deployment of key high-impact growth tools and apps.

Score = clamp((growth_apps_count / 6) * 100)

We analyze categories: reviews, upsell, email, loyalty. 100% score reached at 6+ growth apps.

Catalog Scale WEIGHT 15%

Logarithmic size of active product catalog.

Score = clamp(log10(products) / log10(500) * 100)

100% score is achieved with a catalog of 500+ active products.

SEO Audit WEIGHT 15%

Rule-based audit of fundamental SEO configurations on the homepage HTML.

Score = sum of 9 signals scores (0-100)

Evaluates title tags, meta description, H1s count, canonical, viewport, Open Graph, schema.org JSON-LD.

Rhythm WEIGHT 10%

Measures catalog updates consistency across the last 6 calendar months.

Score = (months_with_releases / 6) * 100

100% score is achieved if at least one product was added in each of the last 6 calendar months.

SIGNAL INTEGRITY //

Missing Data Never Zeroes You Out

Merchandising, Growth Stack, Catalog Scale and SEO Audit come straight from the store's public product feed and homepage HTML, so they are always available. Momentum and Rhythm are the two signals that depend on knowing the publish date of products — if dates aren't exposed by the store, they are excluded from the formula instead of being counted as 0%, and the remaining signals' weights are redistributed so they still sum to 100%. Every report shows exactly how many signals were used, e.g. BASED ON 4/6 SIGNALS, so you know precisely how complete the read is.

Reviews (count and rating) are shown separately as a storefront metric, not scored into Heat Score. A lot of Shopify stores run review apps like Yotpo or Okendo that render the review count client-side via JavaScript, with no public number in the page source. We detect the app and are upfront about it — Reviews via Yotpo · count not public — rather than inventing a number.

INPUT STREAM SOURCE //

What Data Sources Do We Use?

All data is fetched programmatically in real-time, strictly from publicly available endpoints:

Public product catalog — Standard public storefront product feed (containing titles, variant pricing, and publish dates).
Homepage HTML & metadata — Title, meta tags, headings, canonical link, JSON-LD structured data, app signatures and review widget integrations (Judge.me, Loox, Yotpo) on the store's homepage.

FIELD NOTE //

We Ship Daily 🚀

StoreXray is a live build, not a finished product — new signals, sharper formulas, and new detectors ship constantly. This algorithm page will keep changing as we do.

Our growth curve is basically your growth curve: every scan sharpens our detection, every share on X puts a teardown in front of someone who scans another store, who shares another teardown. More scans, more shares → faster we build. So scan a competitor, hit Share on X, and watch this thing compound. 🛰️

StoreXray is not associated, affiliated, or endorsed by Shopify Inc. or any of the analyzed brands. All trademarks belong to their respective owners.