Holiday Sales Are Up. Is Your Profit?
More holiday orders don’t always mean more money for your business. Discounts, shipping, packing, and extra labor can eat into what you earn.
Before your next promotion, check what’s left after each order’s costs.
What a 20% discount means
On a $50 item, 20% off takes $10 off. The customer pays $40.
Regular price | 20% off | |
Customer pays | $50 | $40 |
Product, packing, and shipping costs | $35 | $35 |
What’s left | $15 | $5 |
What’s left helps pay the rest of your business expenses, like rent and software. At full price, one sale leaves $15. With the discount, you’d need three sales to have the same amount left.
Example uses estimated costs. Your costs may differ.
Find what’s eating into your sales
Check | Ask yourself | Try this |
Discounts | What’s left after the discount? | Test a smaller discount or a bundle |
Shipping | What do shipping and packing cost per order? | Review packaging and free-shipping offers |
Labor | Are work hours rising faster than orders? | Look for rework or slow packing steps |
Advertising | Do sales cover the cost of getting each order? | Review campaigns that aren’t paying off |
Returns | Which products are returned most often? | Improve sizing, photos, or product details |
Make it a weekly habit
Track sales, orders, order costs, and what’s left each week. Choose one change, then check whether it helped the following week.
Before you discount, know what you’ll keep.
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