E-commerce Guide

How to Calculate E-commerce Profit Per Order

Product profit requires more than subtracting product cost from price.

Direct costs

Consider product cost, payment fees, marketplace fees and shipping.

Returns

Expected returns and refunds can materially reduce contribution.

Marketing

For full profitability, include acquisition cost separately from per-order fulfillment economics.

Practical takeaway

Use the metric that matches the business question you are trying to answer. When several metrics describe different stages of the same workflow, compare them together rather than optimizing one in isolation.