Gross margin is not enough for ecommerce. Marketplace fees, fixed fees, shipping, payment charges, return cost, ads, packaging and discounts change the actual money retained.
Profitability Terms referenceDefinitions, decision points and weekly checkpoints.
18%CM2+37%DRRLowRisk
AmazonPractical Guide
What sellers should know.
This page is written for ecommerce teams that need clear decisions, not surface-level definitions.
CM1 is useful for SKU pricing. CM2 is useful for ad and promotion decisions. CM3 helps the business understand whether growth is supporting company-level overhead.
Settlement and remittance should be reconciled regularly because deductions, returns and promotional charges can make reported revenue look stronger than cash received.
Apex uses contribution analysis to decide which SKUs to scale, which SKUs need price correction, and which products should be removed from paid promotion.
Action checklist
Use this as a quick review before changing budgets, inventory, pricing or channel strategy.
✓Build SKU-level contribution
✓Reconcile platform remittance
✓Include returns and ads
✓Review margin before deals
When to review
Review this weekly when revenue, ad spend, stock, returns or marketplace fees are changing.
Common mistake
The biggest mistake is reading this metric alone without checking contribution, inventory and customer behaviour.
Apex support
Apex connects this with catalog, ads, analytics, marketplace operations and profitability planning.
Next step
Use a related calculator, then speak with Apex for a practical growth audit.
Apply This
Turn This Into ActionNeed help applying this to your ecommerce business?
Apex can convert the guide into a SKU, platform, ads, inventory or profitability action plan.
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