Overview
This document provides the definitions, formulas, and explanations behind each Triple Whale metric on the Summary page.
For a comprehensive treatment of each metric and data point available in Triple Whale, please consult our Data Dictionary.
Custom Metrics
The blended stats found in your Custom Metrics section offer a comprehensive snapshot of your business's performance, integrating data from orders, refunds, ads, and custom expenses.
Net Profit
Net profit is the total revenue from product sales after deducting all costs, including advertising spend, cost of goods, shipping costs, payment gateway costs, handling fees, taxes, and any other operational expenses.
Net Profit = Total Sales − Blended Ad Spend − Total Costs (COGS, Shipping, Handling, Payment Gateways, Taxes, Custom Spends)
Blended ROAS (Return on Ad Spend)
Blended Return on Ad Spend (Blended ROAS) is the ratio of order revenue to the total advertising expenditure, including both channel ad spend and custom ad spend, across all channels.
Blended ROAS = Order Revenue / Blended Ad Spend
MER (Marketing Efficiency Ratio)
Marketing Efficiency Ratio (MER) indicates how much revenue is generated relative to total marketing expenditure.
MER = (Ad Spend + Custom Ad Spend) / Order Revenue
Net Margin
Net Margin, expressed as a percentage, measures the profitability of a business after all expenses have been subtracted from revenue. By tracking increases and decreases in its net margin, a company can assess whether current practices are working and forecast profits based on revenues. Because companies express net profit margin as a percentage rather than a dollar amount, it is possible to compare the profitability of two or more businesses regardless of size.
Net Margin = Net Profit / Sales x 100
RPS (Revenue Per Session)
RPS (or RPV, Revenue per Visitor) is a measurement of the amount of money generated each time a customer visits your website. It is calculated by dividing the total revenue by the total number of visitors to your site and is a method of estimating the value of each additional visitor. RPS can also be used to determine how much you can afford to spend on paid user acquisition.
RPS = Sales / Web Sessions
Returns Rate %
Return Rate (Returns %) refers to the total value of returns as a percentage of order revenue.
Returns % = Refunds / Order Revenue
Blended Ad Spend
Blended Ad Spend refers to the total amount of money spent on advertising across all channels and platforms (including custom ad spend).
Blended Ad Spend = Ad Spend + Custom Ad Spend
NCPA (New Customer Cost Per Acquisition)
New Customer Cost per Acquisition (NCPA) is the total advertising spend (including both channel ad spend and custom ad spend) divided by the total number of orders by new customers.
NCPA = (Ad Spend + Custom Ad Spend) / New Customer Orders
Cash Turnover
Revenue after subtracting costs and expenses
Cash Turnover = Order Revenue - Shipping - Payment Gateway Costs - Taxes - Blended Ad Spend - Returns
New Customer ROAS (Return on Ad Spend)
New Customer Return on Ad Spend (NC ROAS) measures the efficiency of your marketing efforts in acquiring new customers.
NC ROAS = New Customer Order Revenue / (Ad Spend + Custom Ad Spend)
BA ROAS (Blended-Attributed ROAS)
Blended Attributed Return on Ad Spend (BA ROAS) refers to the ratio of revenue to channel-attributed advertising expenditure, across all channels and platforms (including custom ad spend).
BA ROAS = Channel-Reported Conversion Value / Ad Spend
Store Metrics
Order Revenue
Order Revenue refers to the total revenue generated across all sales channels (e.g. Shopify, Amazon).
Order Revenue = Total order revenue across all shops
Total Sales
Total sales is the total revenue from product sales after deducting all costs (including cost of goods, shipping costs, payment gateway costs, handling fees, and taxes).
Total Sales = Order Revenue - (Refund Money - Refunded Tax)
NOTE: Shopify uses the following definitions for their Sales reports, which may cause confusion when comparing sales between your Triple Whale and Shopify dashboard.
Gross Sales = Total Units Sold x Original Sales PriceNet Sales = Gross Sales - Discounts - Allowances - Returns
Orders
Orders Count is the total number of orders placed, calculated by tallying up the total number of order records.
Orders Count = The total count of order records
Gross Sales
The total revenue of the products in the order, before adjustments such as discounts, shipping, returns, fees, and taxes.
Gross product sales = Product price x quantity sold
Returns
Total Refunds represents the total amount refunded, not including cost of goods, tax, and shipping. Note that the refunded amount applies on the refund date, not on the original date of sale.
Total Refunds = The total amount from all refunded orders
Taxes
Taxes is the total amount buyers paid in taxes on all orders.
Taxes = The total taxes of all orders.
True AOV (Average Order Value)
True Average Order Value (True AOV) is the average order value (minus shipping and taxes) for orders with a positive revenue.
True AOV = (Positive Order Revenue - Shipping Price - Taxes) / Orders Count
AOV (Average Order Value)
Average Order Value (AOV) calculates the average amount spent by customers per order, after shipping and taxes.
AOV = (Order Revenue - Shipping Price - Taxes) / Orders Count
CPA (Cost Per Acquisition)
Cost per Acquisition: Average cost to acquire an order.
CPA = Ad Spend / Customer Orders
New Customers %
Percentage of New Customers represents the proportion of first-time customers within a specific period relative to the total number of customers.
Percentage of New Customers = (New Customers / Total Customers)
Returning Customers %
Percentage of Returning Customers represents the proportion of returning customers within a specific period relative to the total number of customers.
Percentage of Returning Customers = (Returning Customers / Total Customers)
Units Sold
Total Items Sold refers to the total number of individual units or products that were purchased by customers.
Total Items Sold = The total quantity of units ordered
New Customer Revenue
New Customer Revenue refers to the total revenue generated from first-time buyers.
New Customer Revenue = Total Order Revenue from New Customers
Returning Customer Revenue
Returning Customer Revenue refers to the total revenue generated from customers who have made more than one purchase.
Returning Customer Revenue = Total Order Revenue from Returning Customers
LTV
Unique Customers
Number of unique customers who have placed an order.
Unique customer = count(distinct customer_id) unique_customers
LTV (Lifetime Value)
Lifetime Value (LTV) represents the total revenue you can expect from a single customer account throughout the business relationship.
LTV = Order Revenue / Unique Customers
Frequency
The average number of times Unique Customers place a purchase.
LTV/CPA
The LTV:CPA ratio will tell you the ROI of marketing spend in the time period over which Customer LTV is calculated.
Lifetime Value / Cost Per Acquisition
Expenses
Payment Gateways
Payment Gateway Costs refer to the fees charged the the seller by the payment gateway provider for processing transactions. These can be configured in Settings > Cost Settings.
Payment Gateway Costs = Total amount of payment gateway costs to seller
COGS (Cost of Goods Sold)
Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) refers to the direct costs associated with producing the goods that a company sells. The data is imported directly from the shop platform, and can also be configured in Settings > Cost Settings.
COGS = The costs of materials and labor directly used to create the product
Handling Fees
Handling fees is a custom expense that relates to the seller's costs towards boxing and packaging services. These can be configured in Settings > Cost Settings.
Shipping
Shipping Costs refers to the sum of all shipping costs paid by the seller.
Shipping Costs = Total amount of shipping costs to seller
Custom Expenses
Custom Expenses refers to the sum of all expenses not otherwise accounted for (including custom expenses marked as ad spend), as manually set in Triple Whale admin. These expenses are deducted when calculating Net Profit. Custom Expenses can be configured in Settings > Cost Settings.
Custom Expenses = The total amount of custom expenses