How it works
Sell-through rate is the share of the stock you received that has actually sold. It's one of the quickest ways to tell whether a new item, a seasonal buy or a promotion is working.
Example. You brought in 144 units of a new item and sold 108 over 4 weeks.
Sell-through is 75%, with 36 units left. At 27 a week, those will last about 1.3 weeks, so it's time to reorder or decide whether to keep the item.
Reading the number
What counts as good depends on the item and the timeframe. A seasonal product you won't carry next month needs a high sell-through before the season ends, or the leftovers will be marked down. A core item you restock every week matters more for its pace than for any single sell-through number.
A low sell-through on a new item early on isn't always a failure. It can mean poor placement, missing shelf tags or customers who haven't noticed it yet. Check those before dropping the item.
Use the same window for both numbers
Units received should include everything you had available to sell during the period, including stock you already had at the start. Leave that out and the rate can come out above 100%.
Common questions
- How is this different from inventory turnover?
- Sell-through looks at one batch of units over a short window. Turnover looks at your average inventory over a longer stretch, usually in dollars. See the inventory turnover calculator for that view.
- How much should I reorder?
- Use the weekly pace here as your daily or weekly sales in the reorder point calculator.
Last updated October 11, 2026.