What Is Sell-through Rate? Formula, Worked Example & Healthy Ranges (2026)
Sell-through rate (STR) measures what percentage of your inventory you sold over a period, calculated by dividing units sold in that period by the starting available inventory (stock received), then multiplying by 100%. It answers a critical question: how fast is the stock you bought turning back into cash? Too low means cash is trapped in dead inventory; too high can mean you under-ordered and left sales on the table.
The formula
Sell-through rate = (Units sold / Starting available inventory) x 100%
Starting available inventory usually means on-hand units at the start of the period plus any received during it; in a simplified version you can just use the units in that purchase batch. The period is commonly one month.
Worked example
Say you received 500 units of a product at the start of the month and sold 350 that month:
Sell-through rate = (350 / 500) x 100% = 70%
So you sold 70% of the batch in a month, with 150 units left. 70% is a healthy monthly figure — stock moves quickly, but you didn't sell out day one and choke off demand. To see how much of those sales survive as profit after costs, use our free profit calculator.
Healthy ranges (monthly, indicative)
| Monthly sell-through | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Below 20% | Too slow, stock piling up | Discount to clear / stop reordering / review the pick |
| 20%-40% | On the slow side | Push marketing, or reorder in small steps |
| 40%-80% | Healthy | Keep the cadence, reorder to trend |
| 80%-95% | Fast, close to selling out | Reorder more aggressively, avoid stockouts |
| Above 95% | Too fast, frequent stockouts | Clearly under-stocked, raise order quantity |
Ranges shift with category, season and price point — fashion/seasonal items and staples behave differently. Watch the trend rather than defending one number.
How sell-through relates to other metrics
Sell-through is about cash flow and inventory efficiency, not per-order profit. A high rate doesn't mean you made money — if you cleared stock with deep discounts, sell-through looks great while contribution margin stays thin. Read it alongside AOV and GMV to separate "sold fast" from "earned a lot." For an overall earnings estimate, see how much you can make on TikTok Shop.
Frequently asked questions
Is sell-through rate the same as inventory turnover? Related but different. Sell-through is the percentage of stock received that sold, usually over a single period; inventory turnover counts how many times inventory is sold and replaced over a longer stretch. Sell-through is better for judging a single batch or SKU.
What's a good sell-through rate? 40%-80% monthly is generally healthy, but it's heavily category- and season-dependent. Fast fashion chases rapid sell-through; staples can move slower. Benchmark against your own history and your category.
Is a very high sell-through rate a good thing? Not necessarily. Consistently above 95% often means frequent stockouts and demand handed to competitors. The ideal is selling fast without living in a stockout.
How long should the period be? One month is most common. Highly seasonal categories can use a quarter or a reorder cycle — as long as the definition is consistent and comparable over time.
Selling fast is step one; selling profitably is the goal. Work out the real per-unit profit after costs with our free profit calculator.
Leads EshopPick's product-research and data desk. Focuses on TikTok Shop US sourcing frameworks, fee-and-profit math, and platform comparisons. Every take is grounded in our weekly real-sales data and Opportunity Score — practical calls, not chart-chasing.