Insights

Notes on retail measures and product reviews.

Short explanations of the definitions, comparisons, and limits used in Drake Insights retail work.

Methods note 01Retail analysis

Sell-through and weeks of supply answer different questions.

A product can have strong sell-through and still have too much stock left. It can also have weak sell-through but little remaining stock.

Sell-through describes how much of the available stock sold during a stated period. Weeks of supply estimates how long the current stock may last at a recent sales rate.

Use both measures. Sell-through helps describe performance over the review period. Weeks of supply helps frame the current inventory position. Neither measure explains seasonality, future promotions, vendor lead time, or minimum orders on its own.

Methods note 02Retail analysis

High sales do not always mean strong gross margin.

A high-sales product may depend on discounts, carry a high product cost, or generate a large number of returns.

Review net sales and gross profit dollars together. Then check gross margin percentage, the actual selling price, discounts, and returns.

Gross margin still is not net profit. Freight, fulfillment, store labor, marketing, occupancy, and other costs may sit outside the product calculation.

Methods note 03Retail analysis

Return rates need a clearly defined time period.

Sales and returns often occur in different weeks. A return rate can be misleading when the numerator and denominator cover different customer cohorts.

State whether the analysis uses returns posted during the period or returns tied back to the original sale. Also state whether the rate uses units, orders, or dollars.

When a product has an unusual return rate, review the reason, size, color, location, channel, and time since purchase before drawing a conclusion.

Methods note 04Retail analysis

Promotion results need a fair comparison period.

A change during a promotion may reflect seasonality, store traffic, stock availability, marketing, or a broader category trend.

Compare units, net sales, actual selling price, and gross margin before and during the offer. Use a comparison period that is long enough to reduce the effect of a single unusual week.

A simple comparison describes what changed. It does not prove that the promotion caused the change. Stronger causal claims require a better control or test design.

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