Subscription CM2: Subscription Variable Margin

Subscription CM2 measures the variable margin from subscription orders after COGS and fulfillment—what’s available to cover marketing and overhead.

Formula

Subscription CM2 = Subscription CM1 − Subscription Fulfillment Costs

Formula Components

Metric	Definition
Subscription CM1	Gross margin from subscription orders
Subscription Fulfillment Costs	Shipping and handling for subscriptions

Metadata
Type	Currency
Data Source	Shopify, Upstack Costs
Aggregation	Sum

Example

Your Shopify store has $10,800 subscription CM1 with $2,700 fulfillment costs.

Component	Value	Calculation
Subscription CM1	$10,800	Gross margin
Fulfillment Costs	$2,700	Shipping and handling
Subscription CM2	$8,100	$10,800 − $2,700

How It Works

Subscription CM2 accounts for fulfillment costs on subscription orders. Subscriptions often have predictable shipping (same products, regular intervals), making CM2 more stable than one-time orders.

When to Use

Scenario	Action
Subscription economics	Measure true variable margin
Fulfillment optimization	Track shipping efficiency for subscriptions
Marketing budget	CM2 is available for marketing spend
Profitability analysis	Compare to one-time order CM2

Metric	Relationship
CM2	Overall variable margin
Subscription CM1	Before fulfillment
Subscription CM2 %	Margin rate

See all Contribution Margin metrics →