What is GMV (gross merchandise value)?

GMV, revenue and net sales

A marketplace sells $1,000,000 of goods in a month, takes a 10% commission and refunds $50,000 of orders.

• GMV = $1,000,000 — everything ordered.
• Net GMV = $950,000 — after refunds.
• Revenue for the marketplace = about $95,000 — its commission on the net amount.

For a shop selling its own goods, revenue is much closer to GMV, but returns, discounts and taxes still separate them. GMV shows the size of activity; revenue and margin show the business.

When GMV is the right number

• Comparing activity over time or between campaigns, where refunds follow later.
• Marketplaces and platforms, where GMV measures the value flowing through the platform.
• Promotion days, where the immediate question is "how much was ordered".

Report refunds next to it so that a promotion with heavy returns does not look better than it was.

GMV in TapCub

TapCub calculates GMV as the sum of paid order amounts from your purchase event, converted to the site's base currency at each day's exchange rate; refunds are not deducted from GMV but are tracked separately from the refund event you map. The commerce report shows GMV with orders, AOV, buyers, paying rate, repeat rate, refunds and checkout abandonment, plus item, category and brand rankings if your purchase event carries an items array.

Common mistakes

• Calling GMV revenue. Investors and finance will not.
• Mixing currencies. Sum only after converting to one currency at the right rate.
• Counting unpaid orders. Decide whether GMV includes placed-but-unpaid orders and keep the rule fixed.

Related guides: Ecommerce KPIs.