Discount depth

What it means

Discount depth is the size of a discount relative to the price it comes off, usually given as a percentage of the order or item value. It's reported two ways: the average discount on discounted orders, and the share of revenue given away across all orders, full-price ones included. Ethercycle's 2026 study of 10 client Shopify stores put the median discount on discounted orders at 19.96% of the basket.[Ethercycle, Jul 2026] (opens the source)

On your store

A shopper's basket is worth a hundred pounds and a code takes twenty off, so that order's discount depth is a fifth. Across all your orders the figure is lower, because full-price orders count too.

Why it matters

Deeper discounts need far more extra sales to pay for themselves. Business Victoria's table says 10% off at a 30% gross margin needs 50% more units just to keep gross profit level.[Business Victoria (Victorian Government), Sep 2022] (opens the source) McKinsey's 2003 analysis found the average S&P 1500 company needed 18.7% more volume to offset a 5% price cut and hold operating profit.[McKinsey Quarterly, Feb 2003] (opens the source)

What Benson does

Benson measures discount depth in coupon-extension sessions, next to their conversion rate and order value.

Sources

1. 1Ethercycle, “State of Discounts 2026”, Jul 2026. ethercycle.com (opens the source)
2. 2Business Victoria (Victorian Government), “Develop discount strategies”, Sep 2022. business.vic.gov.au (opens the source)
3. 3McKinsey Quarterly, “The power of pricing”, Feb 2003. mckinsey.com (opens the source)