---
title: "Sell-through rate: formula and example | Product Metrics"
description: "Sell-through rate is the share of the units you had available that you sold in a period. The formula, a worked example, and why a healthy total can mislead."
canonical: "https://www.productmetrics.io/glossary/sell-through-rate"
pageType: article
language: en
publisher: "Product Metrics"
author: "Berend Vrakking"
datePublished: 2026-10-07
dateModified: 2026-10-07
---

> Content index: https://www.productmetrics.io/llms.txt

# Sell-through rate

Sell-through rate is the share of the units available in a period that you sold, written as a percentage.

## Formula

`Sell-through rate = units sold ÷ units available × 100`

State the period, such as 30 days. The base varies: some shops use stock at the start of the period, others use units sold plus units left at the end. They differ when you receive stock during the period, so pick one and keep it.

## Example

Worked example, 30 days, units available = sold + left at the end:

| Product | Units sold | Units left | Units available | Sell-through |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Trail Runner 2 | 240 | 160 | 400 | 60% |
| Winter Boot | 60 | 140 | 200 | 30% |
| Both products | 300 | 300 | 600 | 50% |

Fifty per cent for the pair, made of a 60% product and a 30% one. Neither of them had the average month. Illustrative data.

## For one product, and for an account

Sell-through shows how much of what you stocked has left the shelf. Work it out per product: across a whole account, fast sellers can make the total look healthy while other stock sits.

Inventory Insights in Product Metrics is built around the same split, stock that sells and stock that sits, per product. Its forward-looking counterpart to sell-through is stock cover, the figure that feeds Product Score and reaches Merchant Center as a custom label you approve.

## Common mistake

Comparing sell-through across periods of different lengths. 60% in 30 days and 60% in 90 days describe different selling speeds.

## Questions

### How do you calculate sell-through rate?

Divide the units sold in a period by the units available in that period, then multiply by 100. If you sold 240 units and had 160 left at the end, 400 units were available and the sell-through rate is 240 ÷ 400 × 100 = 60%.

### What does the sell-through rate tell you?

It tells you how quickly a product sells compared with the stock you hold. A low rate means stock is sitting. A high rate means the product sells quickly and may need reordering sooner, so read it next to the lead time of your supplier.

### What is a good sell-through rate?

That depends on the product, the period and how long a reorder takes. Compare a product with its own earlier periods and with your other products, using the same period and the same base each time.

## Keep reading

- [Inventory Insights](https://www.productmetrics.io/inventory-insights): See stock that sells and stock that sits, per product.
- [Days of inventory](https://www.productmetrics.io/glossary/days-of-inventory): How many days your current stock lasts at its recent selling rate.
- [Slow-moving inventory](https://www.productmetrics.io/glossary/slow-moving-inventory): Stock with a low sell-through compared with your other products.
- [Reorder point](https://www.productmetrics.io/glossary/reorder-point): The stock level at which to order more, worked back from demand.
- [Dead stock inventory](https://www.productmetrics.io/blog/dead-stock-inventory): How to find the products that stopped selling and clear them.

---

Written by Berend Vrakking, founder of Product Metrics. Last updated 2026-10-07.

HTML version: https://www.productmetrics.io/glossary/sell-through-rate