Sell-Through Rate

Sell-through rate is the percentage of received inventory that sold in a given period. It answers the most basic question in merchandising — is this selling as fast as we assumed when we bought it?

The formula

Sell-through rate = units sold ÷ units received × 100

Measured over a defined window. A style that sold 300 of 1,000 units received has a 30% sell-through for that period. The period matters as much as the number: 30% in four weeks and 30% in six months describe completely different situations.

What counts as good

There is no universal benchmark, because the right rate depends on how long the season is and what you intend to do at the end of it. What matters is the rate relative to plan: a style planned to clear over twelve weeks and sitting at 20% after six is behind, regardless of how that compares to another category.

A rate that is too high is also a signal, not a success. Selling out in two weeks usually means the buy was too small and demand was left unserved — and it often means a broken size curve destroyed conversion for the remaining weeks.

Why it drives so many other decisions

• Markdown timing. Sell-through against plan is what tells you whether a markdown is needed and how deep, while there is still season left to sell into.
• Replenishment. High sell-through on the middle sizes is the trigger to reorder — on the size profile that actually sold, not the original spread.
• Marketing allocation. Pushing spend at a style with low sell-through and full stock is efficient; pushing it at one that is nearly gone wastes budget and frustrates customers.
• Next season's buy. The sell-through curve is the most reliable input you have into how much and which sizes to buy again.

Two ways it gets measured wrong

• Gross rather than net. Counting units sold before returns overstates sell-through by the return rate. In apparel that is a large correction — use net units.
• Parent level rather than size level. A 50% sell-through at product level can mean the range sold evenly, or that the three popular sizes are gone and the tails are untouched. Only the size-level view tells you which.

Dema forecasts sell-through before it becomes a problem and can exclude at-risk products from ad platforms automatically — see sell-through forecasting.