MER (Gross Sales) measures what percentage of your gross order sales is spent on advertising—marketing efficiency before discounts and refunds.
MER (Gross Sales) = ( Total Ad Spend ÷ Gross Order Sales ) × 100
| Metric | Definition |
|---|
| Total Ad Spend | Combined spend across all advertising platforms |
| Gross Revenue | Order revenue before discounts and refunds |
| Metadata | |
|---|
| Type | Percentage |
| Data Source | Shopify, Meta Ads, Google Ads |
| Aggregation | Ratio |
Example
Your Shopify store spent $20,000 on ads and generated $200,000 in gross sales.
| Component | Value | Calculation |
|---|
| Ad Spend | $20,000 | Total advertising |
| Gross Sales | $200,000 | Before discounts |
| MER (Gross) | 10% | $20,000 ÷ $200,000 × 100 |
How It Works
MER (Gross Sales) uses gross revenue before discounts and refunds are applied. This shows marketing efficiency against your top-line sales number. Lower is better—a 10% MER means you spend 10 cents to generate every dollar of gross sales.
When to Use
| Scenario | Action |
|---|
| Tracking top-line efficiency | Monitor MER against gross revenue |
| Comparing to net MER | See how discounts impact efficiency |
| Benchmarking | Compare against industry gross MER standards |
| Budget planning | Set spend limits based on gross revenue targets |
| Metric | Relationship |
|---|
| MER | MER using total revenue |
| MER (Net Sales) | MER using net revenue |
| Gross Revenue | Revenue base for calculation |
