Ecommerce unit economics
Combines a primary dollar outcome with a second formula for margin %—the kind of dual-output layout growth teams embed next to pricing pages. Generate variants per SKU or channel with Calclet.
Example scenario
A Shopify-native supplement SKU sells for $79 landed on-site after bundle incentives, carries $28 landed COGS including blended overseas freight into the 3PL, and averages $6.50 of outbound shipping subsidy per purchase once branded boxes and zone-three parcel charges net against negotiated carrier incentives. Each unit therefore clears $44.50 before fixed salaries or paid acquisition—about 56.3% gross margin per unit—so moving 850 monthly units implies roughly $37.8k of contribution dollars before marketing overhead rather than operating profit.
Ecommerce unit economics
Order profit and margin % after landed costs
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How to use the ecommerce unit economics
- Input ASP net of channel discounts but inclusive of tax-exclusive shelf pricing—pull Shopify draft-order averages when promotions distort list tags.
- Load COGS from landed BOM plus inbound freight and duties amortized per finished good rather than supplier ExWorks quotes.
- Estimate shipping & fulfillment subsidy using blended outbound label cost minus customer-paid shipping revenue plus packaging consumables.
- Compare estimated monthly contribution with gross margin per unit, then stress-test units sold sensitivity before approving catalog-wide price lifts.
DTC unit economics context
- Contribution versus operating income
- Contribution layers variable fulfillment only—still subtract payment fees, returns reserves, and allocated fixed warehouse labor before comparing to EBITDA.
- Shipping subsidy realism
- Merchants often subsidize parcel expense on threshold promotions—average blended subsidy beats quoting gross carrier invoices alone.
- SKU-level benchmarking
- Comparable gross margin percentages diverge wildly across apparel, electronics, and consumables—benchmark internally by cohort rather than chasing anonymous sector averages.
Best use cases
- Forecasting and scenario planning
- Client education and pre-qualification
- Budget and performance decision support
FAQs
Should I deduct payment processing fees inside selling price?
Keep fees out of this skeleton—either reduce effective ASP offline or add an auxiliary row because Shopify Payments versus PayPal stacks shift by geography.
How do returns and shrink affect gross margin %?
Reserve expected refund rates or damaged inventory outside numerator dollars unless you convert inputs to net-realizable ASP and fully burdened COGS.
Does shipping subsidy include 3PL pick-and-pack labor?
Yes when your fulfillment invoice bundles variable touches; split fixed account management fees separately so contribution stays apples-to-apples month to month.
Can I use this for multi-item carts?
Only by modeling blended basket ASP and weighted-average subsidy—single-SKU math ignores cross-sell margin lift or kitting discounts unless you precompute composites.
Glossary
Scenario modeling
Testing multiple assumptions to estimate possible outcomes before execution.
Commercial intent
User behavior indicating readiness to buy, subscribe, or request a quote.
Related calculators
Category: Ecommerce profitability modelingTopics: Contribution margin per unit, COGS and landed cost, Shipping subsidy
Last reviewed: 2026-05-07
Reviewed by: Calclet Growth Team