Our index is built on a robust dataset, covering a wide variety of businesses. This comprehensive analysis provides actionable insights for the e-commerce industry.
After a quieter September, October brought renewed momentum, with all core activity metrics rising month-over-month. On a year-over-year basis, growth remains solid, while advertising efficiency continues to soften as Ad Spend grows faster than revenue.
On a month-over-month basis, all core metrics increased. Turnover increased by +5.2%, Gross Profit by +4.8%, Orders by +7.4%, and Ad Spend by +8.1%. As Orders grew faster than Turnover, the average order value declined by around 2% compared to September. With Ad Spend growing faster than both Turnover and Gross Profit, efficiency metrics softened, with ROAS down by -2.7% and POAS® down by -3.0% compared to September.
Year-over-year performance remains strong across the core metrics. In October, Turnover increased by +13.5% YoY, while Gross Profit outperformed with a +16.8% YoY increase, lifting the Gross Margin from 34.9% to 35.9%, and indicating continued improvement in underlying profitability. Orders grew by +13.7% YoY, and Ad Spend rose by +23.2% YoY, confirming continued strong investment in paid acquisition ahead of the peak season.
From an efficiency perspective, the gap between Ad Spend and revenue growth continued to widen. ROAS declined by -7.9% YoY and POAS by -5.2% YoY, as Ad Spend now amounts to 11.8% of Turnover compared to 10.9% in October last year. This suggests that while businesses are growing and becoming more profitable, each Euro spent on advertising is generating less than a year ago.
Improve your tracking and see the profit behind every order.
ProfitMetrics boosts your work with real-time profit insights on orders.
