See whether a Shopify promotion made money after discounts and refunds

Tab Promo's Analytics shows each campaign's merchandise margin on the Growth plan: sales after the discount, minus refunds and the product cost taken from each item's Cost per item in Shopify. It counts paid orders that used the campaign's discount, records the product cost when each order comes in, and takes refunds and cancellations out as they happen. It reports what those orders earned, not how many of them the promotion caused; for that, run an A/B test with a no-discount holdout.

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Plan: Growth — $199/month (lower plans see orders, sales and AOV, with margin locked)

See it work

Where the margin goes.

Examples

Offers you can set up today.

One discounted order

15% off orders over $100. The order has $120 of merchandise, and Cost per item adds up to $48

Merchandise net sales are $102 ($120 − $18 discount). Merchandise margin is $102 − $48 = $54.

A refund after the sale

The same order, with one $40 item refunded at $34 (its price less its 15% share of the discount)

Margin falls by $34 to $20. The refund counts against the day the order was placed, not the day of the refund.

Products without a cost

20 order lines in the period, 3 of them for a product with no Cost per item

COGS coverage reads 85% and a Data quality notice links to Shopify to add costs. Those 3 lines carry no cost, so margin reads higher than it is.

Two promotions side by side

Compare campaigns: "15% off over $100" as Campaign A, "Buy 2, get 1 free" as Campaign B, Window 30 days

Orders, merchandise net sales, merchandise margin and COGS coverage for each campaign's first 30 days, side by side.

Setup

How to set it up.

Add Cost per item in Shopify. In Shopify admin, enter a Cost per item on each product variant you promote. Tab Promo records the cost when each order arrives, so add costs before the campaign goes live.
Publish the campaign. Publish as usual. Orders are counted from when Tab Promo receives them; orders placed before install are not imported.
Open Analytics. Analytics lists every campaign with Orders, Merchandise net sales, Merchandise margin and an observed margin delta for the date range you pick.
Open a campaign for detail. Campaign analytics shows the totals, a sales trend and a By product table with Estimated COGS coverage. Export CSV gives daily gross sales, net sales, discounts, refunds, estimated COGS and margin.
Compare two campaigns. Click Compare campaigns, choose Campaign A, Campaign B and a Window of 7, 14, 30 or 90 days.

Good to know

Where it stops.

Merchandise margin only. Shipping revenue and shipping cost, taxes, tips, duties, payment fees and app fees are not included.
It needs Cost per item in Shopify. A missing cost is left out rather than estimated, so margin reads high until coverage is complete, and changing a cost later does not rewrite orders already recorded.
Refunds subtract the refunded merchandise amount. Shipping refunds are not included, and the cost of returned items is not added back if they are restocked.
Observed, not incremental. It cannot say how many of those orders would have happened without the discount; a no-discount holdout test is the way to compare.
Counts paid orders from install onward, grouped by UTC day. Older orders are not imported, and edits made to an order after it is paid are not picked up.

Plan: Growth — $199/month (lower plans see orders, sales and AOV, with margin locked). Compare plans

Before you launch Create your first campaign

FAQ

Common questions.

Where does the product cost come from?

From the Cost per item field on each product variant in Shopify. Tab Promo reads it when the order comes in; there is no separate cost import.

Does it include shipping costs and payment fees?

No. It is merchandise margin: sales after discounts, minus refunds and product cost. Shipping, taxes, tips, duties and fees are left out, and the report says so.

What if some products have no cost in Shopify?

Their lines are counted without a cost and COGS coverage drops below 100%. Below 90%, a Data quality notice links you to Shopify to add the missing costs.

Does it show how much extra profit the promotion caused?

No. It shows what the promoted orders earned. To compare against shoppers who did not get the offer, run an A/B test with a No promotion (holdout) variant, also on Growth.

Can I see promotion profit on the Pro plan?

Pro shows orders, merchandise net sales and AOV for each campaign. Merchandise margin needs Growth ($199/month).

Can I export the numbers?

Yes. Export CSV on a campaign gives one row per day with gross sales, net sales, discounts, refunds, estimated COGS, margin and cost coverage, in minor units such as cents.

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