074 - Shopify App Analytics with Alexander Hupfer: Churn, LTV & MRR

<p>In this episode of the Liquid Weekly Podcast, hosts Karl Meisterheim and Taylor Page are joined by Alexander Hupfer, founder of Fusion Metrics and a solo Shopify app developer.</p><p><br></p><p>The conversation digs deep into the current state of Shopify app analytics following Mantle&#39;s shutdown, why certain metrics are far more subjective than they appear, and how AI agents are changing the way developers query their own data.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Sponsor</strong> - <a href="https://www.thesupportheroes.com/?utm_source=liquid_weekly&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=sponsorships" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">The Support Heroes</a></p><p><br></p><p>STAY CONNECTED</p><p>Subscribe to Liquid Weekly for more expert insights: https://liquidweekly.com/</p><p><br></p><p>EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS</p><p>- Alexander&#39;s Origin Story</p><p>- Why Shopify Doesn&#39;t Build This</p><p>- The Mantle Shutdown</p><p>- Metrics That Aren&#39;t Black and White</p><p>- Installs as a Vanity Metric</p><p>- AI Agents + Analytics: Using MCP servers and agents like Claude Code and Codex to write SQL queries </p><p>- Build vs. Buy vs. Self-Host</p><p><br></p><p>ABOUT ALEXANDER HUPFER</p><p>Alexander is the founder of Fusionmetrics, an analytics platform built specifically for Shopify apps. Coming from a theoretical physics background, he moved into the analytics space in 2022 and pioneered install attribution by linking Google Analytics events with Partner API data.</p><p><br></p><p>FIND ALEXANDER ONLINE &amp; RESOURCES</p><p>- Fusion Metrics: https://fusionmetrics.com/</p><p>- Alexander&#39;s Twitter/X: https://x.com/alexanderhupfer</p><p>- PartnerMetrics by Björn Forsberg (open source): https://github.com/forsbergplustwo/partner-metrics</p><p>- Matt De Sousa / Blair (ex-Mantle) conversation on attribution: https://orange-aphid-848.notion.site/Live-with-Blair-Beckwith-Shopify-Mantle-Growth-the-Future-of-Shopify-Apps-3c15075fb6d680a5bd14d8ec230430e4</p><p>- Alexander&#39;s talk from last year&#39;s Mantle event on churn modeling: https://youtu.be/9g7N7VdHfWU?si=48yb1k9xM6sb9VwX</p><p>- Darius&#39;s Dev Dashboard revamp screenshots: https://x.com/darius_gai/status/2087916085794283800?s=20</p><p>- Alexander on Ilias&#39; Podcast talking analytics: https://youtu.be/eC8i9ex6xnQ?si=97o59ZK31c-SfCgf</p><p><br></p><p>TIMESTAMPS</p><p>00:00 - Cold open: The mask-selling business</p><p>00:30 - Introduction &amp; the bat/rabies saga</p><p>02:20 - Alexander&#39;s origin story: COVID masks to Shopify apps</p><p>06:42 - Moving into analytics &amp; the physics background</p><p>11:03 - Current state of Shopify app metrics &amp; the Mantle shutdown</p><p>13:49 - Why Shopify doesn&#39;t provide revenue analytics (the ROI question)</p><p>16:43 - The Dev Dashboard revamp &amp; transaction vs. MRR</p><p>21:57 - Reconstructing MRR from the Partner API event stream</p><p>25:11 - Installs as a vanity metric &amp; search ranking</p><p>27:28 - Churn and LTV: the most complicated metrics</p><p>34:11 - App acquisition &amp; assessing performance objectively</p><p>36:40 - The three Rs: Acquisition, Retention, Revenue</p><p>37:06 - Attribution &amp; app store conversion rates</p><p>38:28 - Using AI agents &amp; MCP to query analytics</p><p>43:01 - GA4 attribution on the App Store vs. storefront</p><p>45:31 - App Store optimization &amp; keyword-stuffed titles</p><p>48:17 - Build vs. Buy vs. Self-Host</p><p>53:17 - Picks of the Week</p><p>56:35 - Dev Changelog</p><p><br></p><p>DEV CHANGELOG</p><p>- Oxygen is now available on development stores: https://shopify.dev/changelog/oxygen-is-now-available-on-development-stores</p><p>- WebMCP support for Liquid and Hydrogen storefronts: https://shopify.dev/changelog/webmcp-liquid-hydrogen</p><p>- Standard storefront events and actions now support cart attributes: https://shopify.dev/changelog/events-and-actions-cart-attributes-support</p><p>- Hydrogen developer preview update, August 18, 2026: https://shopify.dev/changelog/hyd