MER (Net Sales): Marketing Efficiency on Net Revenue

MER (Net Sales) measures what percentage of your net order sales is spent on advertising—marketing efficiency after discounts and refunds.

Formula

MER (Net Sales) = ( Total Ad Spend ÷ Net Order Sales ) × 100

Formula Components

Metric	Definition
Total Ad Spend	Combined spend across all advertising platforms
Net Revenue	Order revenue after 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 $160,000 in net sales.

Component	Value	Calculation
Ad Spend	$20,000	Total advertising
Net Sales	$160,000	After discounts/refunds
MER (Net)	12.5%	$20,000 ÷ $160,000 × 100

How It Works

MER (Net Sales) uses net revenue after discounts and refunds. This is the most conservative MER calculation, showing efficiency against actual realized revenue. Higher discounts and refunds will increase your net MER versus gross MER.

When to Use

Scenario	Action
Conservative efficiency tracking	Use net MER for realistic marketing efficiency
Measuring discount impact	Compare net MER to gross MER to see discount effect
Profitability planning	Net MER aligns closer with true revenue
Setting efficiency targets	Use net MER for conservative budget planning

Metric	Relationship
MER	MER using total revenue
MER (Gross Sales)	MER using gross revenue
Net Revenue	Revenue base for calculation

See all Performance metrics →

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​Formula

​Formula Components

​Example

​How It Works

​When to Use

​Related Metrics

Formula

Formula Components

Example

How It Works

When to Use

Related Metrics