Margin should be after cost of goods, shipping both ways, payment gateway, packaging and your realistic return rate. Nothing is sent anywhere — this runs in your browser.
Spend under this and you're profitable on a 12-month view.
Compare it against blended cost per customer — total marketing spend divided by new customers — not what any single platform reports about itself. Platforms each claim conversions they influenced, so added together they routinely claim more sales than you made.
If your actual CAC is above the ceiling, the three levers are: raise average order value, improve repeat rate, or lower acquisition cost. The first two raise the ceiling, which is usually easier than lowering the cost.
The most you can pay to acquire a customer and still make money. It comes from your own gross profit per order, how many times a customer buys, and what share of that profit you're willing to spend on acquisition. It is not an industry benchmark — it's specific to your business.
Because a Rs 300 CAC is excellent for a Rs 2,000 order and ruinous for a Rs 400 one. Published benchmarks also usually come from brands with different margins, repeat rates and discounting habits, and most quietly leave returns out.
A third is a common, defensible answer for a business funding itself from cash flow. Higher is a growth decision that needs funding behind it and a plan, not an accident.
Yes. Use margin after cost of goods, shipping both ways, payment gateway, packaging and your realistic return rate. COD-heavy categories should be especially strict here, because return-to-origin eats the number.
You have three levers: raise average order value, improve repeat purchase rate, or lower acquisition cost. The first two raise the ceiling, which is usually easier than lowering the cost.
Send us the account. We'll tell you where the money is going and whether it's fixable.