Glossary/Contribution margin
What is contribution margin?
Contribution margin is revenue minus the variable costs of selling one more unit — COGS, marketplace fees, ad cost, fulfillment, and seller-funded discounts. It is the profit each unit contributes toward fixed costs and net profit. Unlike gross margin, contribution margin includes ads and platform fees, so it reflects real per-unit economics.
01/Formula
Formula
Contribution margin = Revenue − COGS − marketplace fees − ad cost per unit − fulfillment − vouchers
Example
A SKU sells for ฿499. Per-unit costs: ฿180 COGS, ฿50 marketplace fees, ฿70 attributed ads, ฿40 fulfillment, ฿25 voucher. Contribution margin = 499 − 180 − 50 − 70 − 40 − 25 = ฿134 (about 27%). Each sale contributes ฿134 toward covering fixed costs and profit.
02/Why it matters
The trap, in one paragraph.
GMV and platform-reported revenue can grow while contribution margin shrinks — the classic sign of a shop scaling itself out of business. Contribution margin per SKU is the cleanest way to decide what to promote, what to retire, and which discounts are actually paying off.
03/In DataGlass
How Contribution margin is used in DataGlass.
DataGlass computes contribution margin per SKU in close to real-time and ranks every product, campaign, and discount against it. The decision queue is driven by which moves are projected to lift contribution margin the most.
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