Say you go back through your inventory and order history, and find you’ve sold 500 units of a particular SKU this quarter. 500 units sounds like a lot to sell – but is it actually? 

That depends on how much of that SKU you started out with. 

To understand whether selling 500 units is a triumph or a disappointment, you’ll need to put it in context. This means calculating the SKU’s sell-through rate – in other words, framing the amount you sold as a portion of your overall stock for the period. 

When you calculate sell-through rate, you’ll have the data you need to make the right inventory investments, optimize inventory flow, and minimize storage costs. 

In this article, we’ll cover what a sell-through rate is, why it’s important, how to calculate it, and tips for improving it.