Eight numbers that tell you how the shop is actually doing

Revenue going up is not the same as the business improving. Revenue can rise while margin falls, stock bloats and labour climbs. These eight numbers, on one page, monthly, tell you what is really happening.

1. Gross margin percentage

(Revenue − cost of goods) ÷ revenue.

Why: the single most important number in retail. Revenue with no margin is activity, not business.

Watch for: a slow decline. It usually means discounting has crept up, or supplier costs rose and prices did not follow. Seepricing strategy.

2. Average basket value

Revenue ÷ number of transactions.

Why: it is usually easier to increase than footfall. Footfall depends on the world; basket value depends on you.

Action: attach rate, bundles, the three-tier arrangement described in the pricing article.

3. Transaction count

Why: separates "more customers" from "same customers spending more". Two very different situations that look identical in a revenue figure.

Watch for: transaction count falling while revenue is flat. That means you are losing customers and covering it with higher baskets — a trend that ends.

4. Attach rate

The proportion of transactions that include an added item — a side, an accessory, a warranty.

Why: the most coachable number in a shop. It responds to a conversation in a way almost nothing else does.

Track it by staff member. The spread between your best and worst is your training opportunity, and the gap is usually large.

5. Stock turn

Cost of goods sold ÷ average stock value, annualised.

Why: it tells you how hard your money is working. Stock turn of 4 means your inventory sells through four times a year; at 12, the same capital produces three times the sales.

Watch for: a falling turn with rising stock value — the classic sign that ordering has drifted from selling.

6. Shrink percentage

(Expected stock value − actual) ÷ revenue.

Why: at thin margins, shrink is a large share of profit.

Watch for: concentration. An even 1% is a cost of business; 1% concentrated in one category, branch or shift has a location and a cause. Seeshrinkage.

7. Labour as a percentage of revenue

Total staff cost ÷ revenue.

Why: the largest controllable cost in most shops after goods.

Watch for: the percentage rising while revenue is flat — usually a rostering problem rather than a wage problem. Seestaff scheduling and the hourly sales report inPOS reports.

8. Repeat customer rate

Proportion of transactions from customers you have seen before.

Why: a repeat customer costs nothing to acquire. In most shops, a small rise in repeat rate is worth more than a large rise in new customers.

The obstacle: you can only measure this if you capture something identifying — usually a phone number, offered in exchange for a digital receipt. Seecustomer data.

How to use them

One page, monthly. Eight numbers, this month and the same month last year. Not a dashboard with forty tiles.

Compare like with like. Ramadan against Ramadan. A month with five weekends against a month with five weekends.

Pick one to improve each quarter. Not all eight. Choose the one with the most room, work on it for three months, then choose again.

Write down the action. A number reviewed and not acted on is a number not worth reviewing.

The Saudi specifics

Seasonality is strong. Ramadan, Eid, school terms, summer travel and the weather all move retail sharply. Year-on-year comparison is the only honest one.

The weekend is Friday–Saturday. Any comparison that treats a week as seven equivalent days is wrong.

Cash is still significant in many segments, which means your repeat-rate measurement depends entirely on whether you capture contact details.

What your POS needs to provide

All eight, filterable by branch and period, exportable. If it cannot produce gross margin, cost prices are missing — fix that first, because four of these eight depend on it.

See thereports feature.