Sell-through rate is the share of the units you had in a period that sold in that period: units sold ÷ units received (or beginning inventory plus units received) × 100. Selling 120 of 200 received units is 60%. Always state the period, because 60% in four weeks and 60% in sixteen describe different products.
By Till Elsässer, Founder of Order41 · Last checked Oct 23, 2026
Works in units or percent. Use one product, one collection or one delivery, and the same period for every number. Nothing you enter leaves this page.
Enter units to get the percentage, or enter the percentage to get the units. Add the length of the period to see weeks of supply. Nothing you enter leaves the page.
Sell-through rate (%) = units sold ÷ units received × 100
When stock carries over from before the period, use units available as the base:
Sell-through rate (%) = units sold ÷ (beginning inventory + units received) × 100
| Base | Formula | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| Units received | Units sold ÷ units received × 100 | You are tracking one delivery, one drop or one new style |
| Units available | Units sold ÷ (beginning inventory + units received) × 100 | Stock was on hand before the period, or you want a rate that cannot pass 100% |
Published guides are not fully consistent about the base. SPS Commerce and Toolio measure units sold against units received in the period. Shopify's guide writes the formula as total sales divided by stock on hand while defining the rate against units received. Product Metrics uses beginning inventory plus units received. The base matters less than using the same one every time.
Example. A door received 200 pieces and sold 120 in eight weeks: 120 ÷ 200 × 100 = 60% sell-through for those eight weeks, with 80 pieces left.
Calculate it per style. A blended number lets strong styles hide weak ones. The illustrative example below has the same 60% overall and two very different products:
| Style | Units received | Units sold | Sell-through |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 100 | 90 | 90% |
| B | 100 | 30 | 30% |
| Both | 200 | 120 | 60% |
Working backwards. To reach an 80% sell-through on 200 units, 160 must sell: 200 × 80 ÷ 100 = 160.
Sell-through says how much has sold. Weeks of supply says how long what is left will last at the current pace:
Weeks of supply = units remaining ÷ average weekly units sold
Continuing the example: 120 units sold in 8 weeks is 15 a week, and 80 units remain, so 80 ÷ 15 = 5.3 weeks. Compare that with the lead time for new stock. If a re-buy takes longer than 5.3 weeks to arrive, the style sells out before it lands.
It assumes this period's pace continues, so it misleads when demand is rising, falling or seasonal.
It depends on the product, how long it lives and how long you measure. These are the figures published by three retail guides, checked October 2026. They are retail rules of thumb, not Order41 data.
| Source | What it says |
|---|---|
| Shopify (Oct 2025) | A benchmark at or above 80%; a healthy 70–80% for in-period assortments. For short-life or seasonal drops, aim above 80% within the launch window. For evergreen and core products, 40–60% per month or quarter is acceptable if inventory turns are on plan and margin is protected |
| SPS Commerce (May 2024) | Around 80% is the standard for a robust rate; the average typically sits between 40% and 80%. Close to 100% can mean unmet demand |
| Toolio (updated Aug 2026) | Apparel and fashion 65–85% (fast fashion 85%+, basics 65–70%, end-of-season below 60% triggers markdowns); health and beauty 75–90%; sporting goods 70–85%; general retail 70–80%; consumer electronics 60–75%; home goods and furniture 55–75%; luxury and jewelry 50–65% |
Three things to take from them:
The most useful benchmark is your own: the same type of product, the same period length and the same base, season over season.
The three terms describe three points in a product's journey. Sell-in vs sell-out covers the first and last in detail.
| Term | What it measures | Whose number it is |
|---|---|---|
| Sell-in | Units or value a brand sells to retailers: orders written, goods shipped | The brand's, from its own orders and invoices |
| Sell-through | Share of the units a retailer received that it has sold on, in a period | The retailer's data, read against what it was shipped |
| Sell-out | Units or value the retailer sells to consumers | The retailer's, at till or website |
For example, a brand sells in 500 units to a retailer and the retailer sells out 300 of them in the period. That retailer's sell-through is 300 ÷ 500 × 100 = 60%. (Some guides use "sell-through" more loosely for the whole product journey; this page uses the percentage.)
The classic wholesale trap is a strong sell-in followed by a weak sell-through: the brand books the revenue, the retailer is left holding stock, and the correction arrives next season as smaller orders or discount requests.
Read three numbers together: sell-through against your target, weeks of supply, and lead time.
| Sell-through vs target | Weeks of supply vs lead time | Typical decision |
|---|---|---|
| Above target | Shorter than lead time | Place a stock order now; stock will run out before the next delivery |
| Above target | Longer than lead time | Watch it weekly; no need to re-buy yet |
| Below target | Longer than lead time | Hold the buy; plan a markdown before the stock ages into dead stock |
| Below target | Shorter than lead time | The pace may be a timing effect; check the period and the style before acting |
As a buyer you check the numbers against your open-to-buy, so a strong style does not eat the budget for the rest of the season. Shopify's guide shows the same logic at flavour level: re-buy the styles at or above target, buy fewer of those close to it, and drop those well under it. See also replenishment.
As a brand you read sell-through per account to see which doors are selling and which are only buying, then use it for the next drop and for demand forecasting. Toolio's advice for retailers applies to brands too: the shorter the gap between a sell-through signal and the action, the less margin is lost.
Order41 holds the sell-in side: what was ordered, by which partner and in which drop. Its Reports section answers what sold, to whom and in which drop. Sell-through needs the retailer's sales, which usually sit with the retailer, so Order41 does not calculate sell-through for you or recommend what to re-buy. Take the retailer's sell-out report, enter units per style in the calculator above and compare it with what you sold in.
Sell-through rate is the percentage of the units available in a period that were sold in that period. It tells a brand or a buyer whether stock is moving at the pace it was bought for. It is usually measured per product, collection or delivery, and always for a stated period.
Divide units sold by units received in the same period, then multiply by 100. If you carry stock over, use units available instead: beginning inventory plus units received. Example: 120 sold ÷ 200 received × 100 = 60%. Calculate it per style rather than for the whole range, so fast sellers do not hide slow ones.
There is no single number. The most-cited benchmark is 80% or higher (Shopify, SPS Commerce), and SPS says averages typically sit between 40% and 80%. Toolio's ranges put apparel at 65–85% and home goods at 55–75%. Seasonal products need to sell through faster than evergreen ones, so compare against your own earlier periods.
Sell-in is what a brand sells to its retailers. Sell-out is what those retailers sell to consumers. Sell-through is the share of the units a retailer received that it has sold on within a period, so it links the two. Brands see sell-in in their own orders, while sell-out usually sits in the retailer's data.
It can if the base is only units received and sales include stock that was already on hand before the period. To keep the rate at or below 100%, use units available as the base: beginning inventory plus units received. State which base you used when you compare periods or products.
Sell-through rate measures one product or collection over a short period, as a percentage of units. Inventory turnover measures how many times you sold and replaced your stock, usually over a year and often based on cost of goods sold against average stock value. Use sell-through for a single launch and turnover for overall stock efficiency.
Read sell-through next to weeks of supply: units remaining divided by average weekly sales. If a style is selling through above your target and its weeks of supply are shorter than your lead time, it will run out before new stock arrives, so re-buy now. If sell-through is low, hold the buy and plan markdowns.
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