Model ROI across paid media, promotions, staffing, and inventory in one place. Plan budgets with margin, shrink, and sell-through in mind so every dollar has a job.
Why it matters
Benefits
Retail ROI isn’t just revenue – it’s contribution margin after COGS, markdowns, fulfillment, payment fees, and returns. Model profit per unit and per order so campaigns are judged by net margin, not vanity ROAS.
Compare discount depths (10% vs 20%), bundles, and BOGO offers against expected lift and cannibalization. See the break-even point where incremental units no longer offset margin loss.
Avoid scaling ads into stockouts or pushing slow movers without enough demand. Tie budget to on-hand inventory, lead times, and sell-through targets so spend supports healthy turnover and fewer markdowns.
Estimate the return on added staffing, extended hours, or new POS hardware by linking costs to conversion rate, average transaction value, and throughput – especially during peak weekends and seasonal events.
Use cases
Challenge
You need to set budgets across paid search, paid social, email, and affiliate while margins tighten due to discounts and shipping surcharges. Finance wants a defensible forecast, and inventory is limited on best sellers.
Solution
Model multiple scenarios by channel using expected conversion rate, AOV, return rate, shipping cost per order, and discount depth. The planner highlights profit-maximizing spend caps based on inventory constraints and flags when incremental budget turns unprofitable.
Challenge
Weeks of supply is climbing in a category, and you’re deciding between a deeper markdown now or holding price and risking end-of-season clearance. You also worry about cannibalizing full-price sales.
Solution
Compare markdown options using sell-through lift assumptions, cannibalization rate, and remaining seasonality window. Calculate break-even markdown depth and the ROI of pairing discounts with targeted paid media to clear inventory with minimal margin erosion.
Challenge
You’re evaluating a new location or remodel, but footfall forecasts are uncertain and operating costs (rent, labor, utilities) are rising. Leadership needs payback period and sensitivity analysis.
Solution
Build a store P&L model that ties traffic, conversion, and average basket to gross margin and operating costs. Run sensitivities on footfall and labor rates, then output ROI, payback period, and required sales per square foot to hit targets.
More industries
FAQ
It models ROI on contribution margin, not just revenue. You can input discount depth, expected return rate, reverse logistics cost, shipping/fulfillment cost per order, payment processing fees, and shrink allowances. The result is an ROI view that reflects real retail profitability – especially important for apparel, DTC, and omnichannel where returns and shipping can wipe out gross margin.
Yes. Set channel-specific assumptions such as CAC or CPM, conversion rate, AOV, and attribution windows. For marketplaces, include referral fees and fulfillment costs; for in-store promos, include discount cost and expected traffic lift. The planner normalizes results into net profit, ROI, and payback so you can reallocate budget to the highest-margin growth.
Most teams start with: product gross margin by category or SKU, average discount rate, AOV, conversion rate, traffic or impressions, CAC/ROAS by channel, return rate, fulfillment cost per order, and fixed costs (labor, rent, tools). If SKU-level data isn’t ready, you can begin at category level and refine as merchandising data improves.
When inventory is the bottleneck, the best plan often isn’t the biggest marketing budget – it’s the most profitable use of limited units. The calculator lets you cap expected sales by available inventory and forecast the opportunity cost of stockouts. For long lead times, you can plan spend around replenishment dates, shift budget to categories with healthy weeks of supply, and avoid promo pressure that forces early markdowns.
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