GMV

GMV, gross merchandise value, is what the catalogue would have earned if nothing had been discounted: every line item at its original price times the quantity sold, VAT included and shipping excluded. It is the top line of a P&L, and its job is to make discounting visible.

The distance between GMV and gross revenue is exactly what you gave away in price reductions and discount codes, which is why the statement starts here rather than at the money that actually arrived. A store that only ever looks at revenue never sees what discounting is costing it.

It is not a vanity metric as long as the lines under it are shown too. On its own it is one of the easiest numbers in ecommerce to mislead yourself with, and it is the favourite headline of every report that wants growth to look free.

GMV is also where honest data hygiene starts: a compare-at price below the selling price would make revenue look inflated, so nouz treats it as unset and flags it rather than letting bad catalogue data print extra euros. The gap between what platforms headline and what a store keeps is the whole subject of what Shopify Analytics does not tell you.