Product profitability
Ranking products by revenue tells you what is popular. Ranking them by contribution tells you what is worth selling.
The problem
Sales reports credit a product with its full selling price. They do not subtract the discount it was sold under, the parcel it needed, the payment fee or the share of it that came back as a return.
The result is a bestseller list that quietly contains loss-makers, and a long tail of quiet earners that never get merchandising attention.
How to measure it
Contribution per unit = price − allocated discount − COGS − payment fee − packaging − real shipping share − (return rate × cost per return).
Group the catalogue into profit engines, quiet earners, traffic magnets and drains, then sort by monthly contribution rather than percentage margin.
What to change
- ◆Cap or block discount codes on products with thin contribution.
- ◆Reprice or repackage heavy items whose shipping cost outgrew their price.
- ◆Bundle traffic magnets with quiet earners instead of discounting them alone.
- ◆Renegotiate or retire persistent drains, checking basket contribution first.
Estimates, not your numbers. Everything on this page is based on public ecommerce benchmarks and the signals a public storefront exposes. It is an indication of where profit typically leaks — not a measurement of your finances. Connect your store to replace estimates with your actual numbers.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need cost of goods filled in for every product?+
For connected-store accuracy, yes — COGS is the one input nothing else can infer. The free scan works without it by using category benchmarks, which is why its output is an estimate.
Does percentage margin or absolute contribution matter more?+
Absolute monthly contribution decides what to act on. A 70% margin on two units a month is worth less attention than 18% on eight hundred.