Cohort CM2: Contribution Margin After Fulfillment by Cohort

Cumulative contribution margin after fulfillment and transaction costs per customer, showing profit before marketing spend.

Metric	Definition
Cumulative CM2	Total CM2 (CM1 − Fulfillment − Transaction Costs) from cohort
Cohort Customers	Number of customers in the acquisition cohort

Metric

Definition

Cumulative CM2

Total CM2 (CM1 − Fulfillment − Transaction Costs) from cohort

Cohort Customers

Number of customers in the acquisition cohort

Metadata
Type	Currency
Data Source	Shopify, Upstack Costs
Aggregation	Average

Metadata

Type

Currency

Data Source

Shopify, Upstack Costs

Aggregation

Average

Period	Cumulative CM2/Customer	vs CM1
Month 1	$18	64% of CM1
Month 3	$32	67% of CM1
Month 6	$50	69% of CM1
Month 12	$76	72% of CM1

Period

Cumulative CM2/Customer

vs CM1

Month 1

$18

64% of CM1

Month 3

$32

67% of CM1

Month 6

$50

69% of CM1

Month 12

$76

72% of CM1

How It Works

Cohort CM2 extends CM1 by also subtracting fulfillment costs (shipping, handling) and transaction costs (payment processing). This represents the profit available to cover marketing and fixed costs. As cohorts mature and order more, fulfillment efficiency often improves. Costs are configured in your Upstack Cost Settings.

Scenario	Action
Determining marketing budget	CM2 is the max you can spend on marketing profitably
Evaluating fulfillment efficiency	Compare CM2 to CM1 across cohorts
Calculating payback period	How long until CM2 covers CAC
Comparing shipping strategies	Free shipping cohorts may have lower CM2

Scenario

Action

Determining marketing budget

CM2 is the max you can spend on marketing profitably

Evaluating fulfillment efficiency

Compare CM2 to CM1 across cohorts

Calculating payback period

How long until CM2 covers CAC

Comparing shipping strategies

Free shipping cohorts may have lower CM2

Metric	Relationship
Cohort CM1	CM1 before fulfillment costs are deducted
Total Fulfillment Cost	Costs subtracted from CM1 to get CM2
CAC	Compare to CM2 for payback analysis
Contribution Margin	Non-cohort contribution margin

Metric

Relationship

Cohort CM1

CM1 before fulfillment costs are deducted

Total Fulfillment Cost

Costs subtracted from CM1 to get CM2

CAC

Compare to CM2 for payback analysis

Contribution Margin

Non-cohort contribution margin

METRICS

Cohort CM2: Contribution Margin After Fulfillment by Cohort

Formula

Formula Components

Example

How It Works

When to Use

​Formula

​Formula Components

​Example

​How It Works

​When to Use

​Related Metrics

Formula

Formula Components

Example

How It Works

When to Use

Related Metrics