Net revenue
Net revenue is what the business keeps from sales after discounts, refunds, and returns, and excluding taxes and shipping charged to the customer. It is the revenue figure paid media should ultimately be judged against.
Ad platforms report the value of conversions at the moment they happen, usually gross of tax, shipping, and anything that is later refunded. The store reports what actually settled. The gap between the two is not an error by either system. It is the difference between a claim and a booking.
The gap is largest where refunds and returns are common, in apparel and footwear especially, and during promotional periods when discount depth rises. A campaign can look excellent on reported value and mediocre on net revenue if it attracts the buyers most likely to return.
For ecommerce, net revenue comes from the store and is the right anchor for MER and blended ROAS. For subscription software, the equivalent is collected revenue after refunds and chargebacks, and the right horizon is longer than one month because the first payment is rarely where the value sits.
Net revenue is still not profit. Contribution margin subtracts product cost, fulfillment, and payment fees on top, and that is the number that tells you what advertising can afford.
Knowing what Net revenue means isn’t the edge.
Knowing what it’s doing to live accounts right now is. Operator notes from $200M+ in managed spend — sent when we find something worth your time.
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