Foot traffic
The number of people who enter your store in a period, usually counted at the door. Also called footfall or visitors.
Example A counter records 1,240 entries on Saturday.
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Retail metrics
glossary.
37 store metrics in plain language, each with its formula, a worked example and a free calculator where one exists. Link straight to any term.
Traffic
Passer-by traffic
People who walk past the storefront, whether or not they come in. Landlords and malls often quote this figure.
Example 3,000 people pass the window between 10am and 6pm.
Capture rate
The share of passers-by who walk in. It measures how well the window, signage and entrance pull people inside.
Formula Visitors ÷ passers-by × 100
Example 240 visitors ÷ 3,000 passers-by = 8%.
Dwell time
How long a visitor stays in the store, from entry to exit. Usually reported as an average or median.
Example Visitors stay a median of 11 minutes.
Peak hour
The hour of the day with the most visitors. Staffing and breaks are usually planned around it.
Example Saturday 1–2pm brings 190 of the day’s 1,240 visitors.
Traffic index
A period’s traffic relative to a base period set to 100, used to compare weeks, stores or years on one scale.
Formula Visitors this period ÷ visitors in base period × 100
Example 5,000 this October vs 5,200 last October = 96.
Bounce rate (in-store)
The share of visitors who leave within a short threshold you choose (for example, under two minutes) without engaging. Definitions vary by vendor, so state the threshold.
Formula Short visits ÷ visitors × 100
Example 150 of 1,000 visits under 2 minutes = 15%.
Conversion & basket
Conversion rate
The share of visitors who make a purchase. In stores it is transactions divided by visitors, because a receipt can’t be tied to one person.
Formula Transactions ÷ visitors × 100
Example 40 transactions ÷ 200 visitors = 20%.
Transactions
Completed sales (receipts) in your POS for the period. Exclude returns, voids and online orders when pairing with door counts.
Example 312 receipts on Friday.
Average transaction value (ATV)
The average amount spent per transaction. Also called average sale, average ticket or average basket value.
Formula Net sales ÷ transactions
Example $15,600 ÷ 312 = $50.
Units per transaction (UPT)
The average number of items in each sale. Rises with add-ons, bundles and good service.
Formula Units sold ÷ transactions
Example 780 units ÷ 312 transactions = 2.5.
Average unit retail (AUR)
The average selling price per unit sold, after discounts. ATV = UPT × AUR.
Formula Net sales ÷ units sold
Example $15,600 ÷ 780 units = $20.
Sales per visitor
Revenue divided by everyone who walked in, buyers or not. It combines conversion and ATV into one number.
Formula Net sales ÷ visitors, or conversion × ATV
Example 20% × $50 = $10 per visitor.
Sales & space
Net sales
Gross sales minus returns, discounts and allowances, excluding sales tax. The base for most ratios here.
Formula Gross sales − returns − discounts
Example $52,000 − $1,500 − $2,500 = $48,000.
Like-for-like sales
Sales growth counting only stores open in both periods, so openings and closures don’t distort it. Also called same-store or comparable sales.
Formula (Sales now − sales before) ÷ sales before × 100, same stores only
Example $520,000 vs $500,000 = +4%.
Sales per square foot
Annual net sales divided by selling area. Measures how productive your floor space is.
Formula Annual net sales ÷ selling square feet
Example $520,000 ÷ 2,400 sq ft = $217.
Sales forecast
An estimate of future sales, often built from expected traffic × conversion × ATV for each period, adjusted for seasonality.
Formula Visitors × conversion × ATV
Example 6,000 × 20% × $50 = $60,000 for the month.
Seasonality index
A period’s sales relative to the average period, where 1.0 is average. Used to shape a forecast.
Formula Period sales ÷ average period sales
Example December $90,000 ÷ $60,000 average = 1.5.
Staffing & labor
Sales per labor hour (SPLH)
Net sales divided by staff hours worked. A core measure of labor productivity.
Formula Net sales ÷ staff hours
Example $48,000 ÷ 800 hours = $60.
Labor cost %
Payroll cost, including taxes and benefits, as a share of net sales.
Formula Labor cost ÷ net sales × 100
Example $7,200 ÷ $48,000 = 15%.
Shopper-to-staff ratio
Visitors per staff member on the floor in an hour. A rising ratio during busy hours often shows up as falling conversion.
Formula Visitors in the hour ÷ staff on the floor
Example 120 visitors ÷ 3 staff = 40.
Staff hours
Total hours worked by all employees in a period, the denominator for SPLH and the driver of labor cost.
Example 4 people × 8 hours × 25 days = 800 hours.
Margin & inventory
Gross margin
What’s left of net sales after the cost of goods sold, as dollars or a percentage of sales.
Formula (Net sales − COGS) ÷ net sales × 100
Example ($48,000 − $24,000) ÷ $48,000 = 50%.
Markup
Profit as a share of cost rather than price. Easy to confuse with margin: a 100% markup is a 50% margin.
Formula (Price − cost) ÷ cost × 100. Margin = markup ÷ (1 + markup)
Example $20 cost, $40 price: 100% markup, 50% margin.
Cost of goods sold (COGS)
What you paid for the stock you sold in the period, including freight in.
Formula Opening stock + purchases − closing stock, at cost
Example $30,000 + $22,000 − $28,000 = $24,000.
GMROI
Gross margin return on inventory investment: gross margin dollars earned per dollar of average inventory at cost, usually annual.
Formula Annual gross margin $ ÷ average inventory at cost
Example $120,000 ÷ $60,000 = 2.0.
Inventory turnover
How many times you sell through your average stock in a year.
Formula Annual COGS ÷ average inventory at cost
Example $120,000 ÷ $60,000 = 2 turns.
Days of inventory on hand
How many days your current stock would last at the current rate of sale.
Formula 365 ÷ annual inventory turns
Example 365 ÷ 2 = 183 days.
Sell-through rate
The share of stock received that has sold in a period. Used to judge a buy and time markdowns.
Formula Units sold ÷ units received × 100
Example 120 sold ÷ 200 received = 60%.
Shrink
Inventory lost to theft, damage, admin errors or supplier fraud: the gap between book and counted stock.
Formula (Book inventory − counted inventory) ÷ net sales × 100
Example $1,500 missing ÷ $100,000 sales = 1.5%.
Markdown
A permanent or promotional price reduction. Markdown rate is markdown dollars as a share of net sales.
Formula Markdown $ ÷ net sales × 100
Example $4,000 ÷ $48,000 = 8.3%.
Open-to-buy
The budget left to purchase stock for a period without overstocking.
Formula Planned closing stock + planned sales + planned markdowns − opening stock − stock on order (at retail or cost, consistently)
Example $60k + $50k + $3k − $55k − $20k = $38k.
Profit & planning
Break-even point
The sales level where gross profit exactly covers fixed costs: no profit, no loss.
Formula Fixed costs ÷ gross margin %
Example $18,500 ÷ 50% = $37,000 a month.
Margin of safety
How far sales can fall before you reach break-even, as a share of current sales.
Formula (Current sales − break-even sales) ÷ current sales × 100
Example ($46,000 − $37,000) ÷ $46,000 = 19.6%.
Incremental profit
The extra profit a decision creates compared with not making it, such as a promotion or longer hours.
Formula Gross profit with change − gross profit without − extra costs
Example $8,349 − $7,500 promo GP over a week, minus $400 cost = $449.
Cannibalization
Sales a new initiative takes from your existing sales instead of creating new ones, such as late-hour shoppers who’d have come earlier.
Formula Moved sales ÷ sales in the new initiative × 100
Example $250 of $1,000 late-evening sales moved from earlier = 25%.
Payback period
How long an investment takes to return its upfront cost from the extra profit it creates.
Formula Upfront cost ÷ monthly incremental profit
Example $300 ÷ $150 a month = 2 months.
Most of these start at the door.
Conversion, capture rate, sales per visitor and shopper-to-staff ratio all need a visitor count. Dor counts everyone who walks in and pairs it with your POS.
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