Do you know which retail KPIs matter most in your ERP dashboard? With so much data flowing through your system, like sales and stock as well as returns and margins; it’s easy to lose sight of what really moves the needle. Tracking the right KPIs gives you the clarity to make better decisions, reduce waste, and improve performance across your business.
Whether you’re running one store or scaling fast, these seven metrics are the ones worth watching.
1. Gross Margin Return on Investment (GMROI)
GMROI shows how much gross profit you’re making for every pound/euro/dollar you’ve invested in stock. It’s one of the clearest ways to understand whether your inventory is helping or hurting your bottom line.
Why it matters: A healthy GMROI means you’re buying the right stock at the right time — and making a good return on it. If it’s too low, you may be tying up cash in underperforming products.
Formula: Gross Profit / Average Inventory Cost
2. Inventory Turnover
Inventory turnover shows how quickly you’re selling and replacing products. High turnover usually means your stock is moving efficiently. If it’s low, you could be overstocked or sitting on items that aren’t selling.
Why it matters: A low turnover rate affects cash flow and warehousing space. Tracking this KPI helps you make smarter buying and pricing decisions.
Formula: Cost of Goods Sold / Average Inventory Value
3. Sales Per Square Foot (or Per Channel)
For bricks-and-mortar retailers, sales per square foot helps measure how effectively you’re using your retail space. For multi-channel sellers, you can adapt this to measure performance by platform or sales team.
Why it matters: This KPI highlights whether your layout, product mix or merchandising strategy is converting space into revenue.
Formula: Total Sales / Square Footage (or by sales channel)
4. Average Purchase Value
Average purchase value tells you how much each customer spends per transaction. It’s a simple metric, but one that can help you identify upselling opportunities or flag changes in customer behaviour.
Why it matters: Tracking this figure over time can reveal shifts in demand, support your pricing strategy, and help you train your team to increase order value.
Formula: Total Sales Revenue / Number of Transactions
5. Total Sales Count
This is a straightforward count of how many transactions you’ve made over a set period. It gives you a clear sense of sales volume and how that changes daily, weekly, or seasonally.
Why it matters: On its own, it won’t tell the full story — but it’s a useful pulse check. Combined with other KPIs, it can show how different parts of your business are performing.
Formula: Number of completed sales transactions
6. Product Return Rate
Returns cost money. Whether it’s time, admin, lost stock value or delivery fees, every return is a signal worth investigating. This KPI helps you track how often items are coming back and why.
Why it matters: High return rates can point to quality issues, inaccurate descriptions, or fulfilment errors. Spotting patterns early gives you a chance to put things right.
Formula: Number of Returns / Total Sales × 100
7. Sell-Through Rate
Sell-through rate measures how much of your received stock has actually sold. It’s especially useful for seasonal products, new ranges, or promotional lines.
Why it matters: If a product has a high sell-through rate, you know it’s working. If it’s low, you may need to adjust pricing, stock levels or marketing.
Formula: Units Sold / Units Received × 100
Turning Data Into Action
Tracking KPIs is only useful if you can act on them. With Ordorite’s ERP platform and Vision IQ dashboards, retailers get a live view of their entire operation like sales and stock to returns, margins, and more.
No more juggling spreadsheets or waiting on reports. Just clear, accurate insights that help you make smarter decisions, faster.
If you’re ready to manage your business with more control and clarity, let’s talk.
