Skip to main content
NC CM3 per Order answers “do we make money on a customer’s first order once the ads are paid for?” Positive means first orders pay for acquisition on their own.

​
Formula

NC CM3 per Order = ( NC CM2 − NC Marketing order fees − Total Ad Spend ) ÷ New Customer Orders

​
Formula Components

​
How It Works

Two choices in the calculation shape this number:
  1. All ad spend is charged to new customers. Upstack doesn’t split spend between acquisition and retention. Retargeting and campaigns aimed at past buyers are included.
  2. The denominator is new customer orders. Each customer has one first order, so this also matches the number of new customers.
Since CAC is total ad spend divided by new customer orders, the formula breaks down neatly: NC CM3 per Order = NC CM2 per Order − NC marketing order fees per new customer order − CAC Recurring expenses and Variable costs in the Marketing category are not included. They reduce dollar NC CM3 by the new customer share, but not this per-order figure.

​
Example

A home fragrance brand, one month: 1,640 new customer orders. Each first order leaves $5.50 after paying its share of all ad spend.

​
How to Interpret It

Because all ad spend sits on first orders, NC CM3 per Order is a conservative read on acquisition. If it’s positive, you’re profitable on the first order even under the harshest allocation.
  • Falling with flat NC CM2 per Order means CAC is rising. Check spend growth against New Customers.
  • Falling with flat CAC means first orders are getting less profitable: discounts, mix, or fulfillment.
  • Negative and steady can be a healthy acquisition strategy if returning customer margin recovers it. Compare the loss per customer to Cohort CM2 for the same acquisition month.

​
Common Pitfalls

  • Heavy retention spend makes it look worse. If a big share of your ad budget targets existing customers, this metric charges that spend to first orders anyway. Keep that in mind before cutting prospecting.
  • Doesn’t match NC CM3 ÷ new customer orders when you have recurring or variable marketing costs, because those only reach the dollar measure.

​
FAQ

It’s first-order contribution after ads, before agency fees, opex, and overhead. For those, see NC CM4 per Order.
Upstack charges total ad spend to each segment’s CM3 rather than splitting it. RC CM3 per Order also subtracts the full amount, so the two are separate views, not halves of a whole.
See all Contribution Margin metrics →