Sell-through rate calculator.
Units sold ÷ units received. Tells you which orders worked and which are clogging the back room. The buyer's most useful number.
For this product / order
Defaults assume a small retail SKU after 6 weeks on shelf.
Sell-through rate
How this calculator works (the same formula nouz uses)
Sell-through rate answers one question a buyer asks constantly: did this order actually work? It's the share of an order that has sold within a set period — better than raw units sold (which ignores how much you bought) and better than revenue (which ignores time).
Sell-through % = units sold ÷ units receivedUnits sold per day = units sold ÷ days in periodEstimated days to sell out = units remaining ÷ units sold per day
The period is not optional. A sell-through figure with no time attached — "we sold 60%" — is meaningless until you say 60% in how long. Two products can both be at 60%: one that got there in three weeks is a hit you should reorder, one that took five months is stock you should have cleared long ago. Same percentage, opposite decisions.
A worked example
Using the defaults: you received 80 units and have sold 50 over 42 days (six weeks). Sell-through = 50 ÷ 80 = 62,5%. That's 50 ÷ 42 ≈ 1,2 units a day. You've 30 units left, so at that pace they clear in 30 ÷ 1,2 ≈ 25 more days. Read together: a solid order moving at a steady clip, on track to sell out in roughly nine weeks total — comfortably before you'd need to mark down. Nudge the sold figure up to 65 units and the picture changes fast: 81% sell-through, only 15 left, and about ten days of cover — the signal to reorder now before you stock out.
What a healthy number looks like
Common retail rules of thumb, benchmarked at four weeks on shelf:
| Sell-through at 4 weeks | Verdict |
|---|---|
| Under 40% | Order was too big — mark down, buy less next time |
| 40-60% | Normal — monitor weekly |
| 60-80% | Strong — reorder if you can |
| Over 80% | Under-ordered — likely lost sales, re-up now |
Adjust for seasonality: 60% on summer dresses by August is fine, but 60% on core basics by week four is alarming — basics should approach 100% before you reorder. The verdict always depends on where you are in the product's life: the same rate is reassuring early in a season and a red flag near the end of one.
Common mistakes
- Quoting a rate with no period. Without days attached the number can't be judged good or bad.
- Judging seasonal and core stock by the same target. They age on completely different clocks.
- Waiting too long to mark down. If "days to sell out" runs past the season, the markdown you'll take later only gets deeper.
- Ignoring a very high rate. Over-80% early isn't just good news — it's evidence you left sales on the table by under-buying.
When to use it — and what's next
Check it a few weeks into any new order or seasonal drop — it's the earliest reliable signal a boutique or shop gets that a buy is working or clogging the back room. Sell-through flags the problem; turnover and return-on-inventory tell you how much it's costing you. Pair it with the inventory turnover calculator and the GMROI calculator. And when you want sell-through, stock, and daily profit in one place instead of a spreadsheet you rebuild each season, that's what nouz for retail is for.
Common questions
What is sell-through rate and how do you calculate it?
Sell-through rate is the percentage of an order that has sold in a defined period, calculated as units sold divided by units received. Always measure it over a set window such as 4 weeks, 6 weeks, or a season, because without a time period the number cannot be judged good or bad.
Why is sell-through rate better than units sold or revenue for buyers?
It is the most useful buyer number because it is better than units sold, which ignores how much you ordered, and better than revenue, which ignores time. Sell-through ties what sold to both what you bought and how long it took, so it tells you whether the order itself was right.
Can you show a worked example?
With the defaults, 50 units sold out of 80 received over 42 days gives a sell-through of 62,5%. That is about 1,2 units a day, and with 30 units left they clear in roughly 25 more days. So the order is on track to sell out in about nine weeks, before any markdown is needed.
What is a good sell-through rate at 4 weeks?
Under 40% at four weeks means the order was too big, so mark down to clear and buy less next time. 40-60% is normal and worth monitoring weekly, 60-80% is strong and worth reordering, and over 80% means you under-ordered with likely lost sales, so re-up immediately if the supplier allows.
How should sell-through targets change for seasonal items?
Seasonal and core stock age on different clocks, so they need different targets. A 60% sell-through on summer dresses by August is acceptable because the season is ending. But 60% on core basics by week four is alarming, since basics should approach 100% before you place a reorder.
Why does the days-to-sell-out figure matter?
It converts the rate into urgency. A large number of days left signals you should mark down now rather than hold stock past its season, while a small number on a hot item means reorder immediately or risk a stock-out that sends customers elsewhere. It turns a percentage into an action.