Markdown sales share
Markdown sales share is net sales made below the original selling price, at a marked-down or promotional price, as a percentage of total net sales for a period.
Also calledshare of sales at markdown, discounted sales share, promotional sales share, sales at reduced price
Formula
Net sales at a reduced price ÷ Total net sales × 100- Net sales at a reduced price
- Net value excluding VAT of receipt lines sold below the original price; weekly specials and leaflet promotions, near-expiry markdowns and coupons included.
- Original selling price
- The product's regular, non-promotional shelf price, held as a separate field on the product record.
- Total net sales
- Sales for the same period after returns, discounts and VAT.
Calculator
Enter your own figures and the result updates instantly. The defaults are the figures from the worked example below.
Result%42
Worked example
How to read it, and what good looks like
Share and depth are two different questions. Markdown sales share shows how much of revenue depends on discounting; discount depth shows how big the discount is. A 42% share at 10% depth and a 42% share at 50% depth have entirely different effects on margin. That is why share, depth and gross margin are tracked in the same table, by category and promotion week.
In grocery, the sources of discounted sales are tracked separately because their causes differ. Weekly specials, leaflet discounts and multi-buy offers are planned promotions; they are a marketing decision and can be funded by supplier contributions. Markdowns on products nearing their expiry date are usually the result of over-ordering and poor rotation. If the total share holds steady while the near-expiry share grows, the problem lies in buying and stock, not in the promotions.
The target is set as a band derived from the discount budget in the promotion plan. Above the band, revenue has become dependent on promotions or overbought stock is being cleared through discounts; below it, planned promotions were not run or promotional stock ran out early. In Mindpera, Mind Ops produces the promotion performance scorecard by promotion type, and Mind Cost calculates post-markdown margin separately on average cost and on last purchase cost.
Where it misleads
- Without a written definition of "reduced price", promotions, coupons, loyalty points and staff discounts are counted differently from report to report; staff discounts are kept separate.
- If the original price is not held as a separate field on the product record, the receipt cannot show whether a line was discounted; permanent markdowns and temporary promotions are flagged separately.
- The original price used in reporting is not the pre-discount price shown on the ticket: in Turkey the pre-discount price is the lowest price applied in the same sales channel in the previous 10 days (in store since October 2025, online since August 2026).
- The share is calculated on value; because discounted items are cheaper, the unit share runs above the value share and is tracked separately.
Data you need
- Receipt line: actual selling price and original selling price
- Discount type: weekly special or leaflet promotion, near-expiry markdown, coupon, staff
- Promotion definitions with start and end dates
- Category and supplier on the product record
Mindpera products that calculate this KPI
Mind Ops
Run audits and performance across your grocery branches from one place, with a set of more than 100 KPIs. Audits, reporting and camera event tracking meet on the same screen.
Mind Cost
The cost of what you buy for the shelf and the cost of what your bakery, deli and kitchen produce are calculated on the same model; in both, where the gap comes from is visible line by line.
Frequently asked questions
- How do you calculate markdown sales share?
- Divide net sales made below the original selling price by total net sales and multiply by 100. If ₺420,000 of ₺1,000,000 net sales came at a reduced price, the share is 420,000 ÷ 1,000,000 × 100 = 42%. The calculation runs on the receipt line, so each line needs both the actual price and the product's original price. Keep staff discounts separate.
- What is the difference between markdown sales share and discount depth?
- Markdown sales share shows how much of revenue came at a reduced price. Discount depth is the discount given as a percentage of sales value at original price. The same share can come from shallow or deep discounting, with an entirely different effect on margin. Read both measures with gross margin in one table.
- What is a normal markdown sales share?
- There is no single right value; the target is a band derived from the discount budget in the promotion plan. Track the promotional share and the near-expiry markdown share separately; growth in the second points to over-ordering and poor rotation. Above the band signals promotion dependence or overbuying, below it promotional stock running out early. Compare within the same promotion period and category.