Rate of Sale Calculation in Retail

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Rate of Sale (ROS) Calculator

Analyze inventory velocity and forecast demand by store and week.

Total ROS (Units per Week): 0
ROS per Store per Week: 0
Weeks of Stock Remaining (Cover): 0
function calculateRateOfSale() { var units = parseFloat(document.getElementById('totalUnits').value); var weeks = parseFloat(document.getElementById('timePeriod').value); var stores = parseFloat(document.getElementById('storeCount').value); var stock = parseFloat(document.getElementById('currentStock').value); var resultArea = document.getElementById('ros-result-area'); if (isNaN(units) || isNaN(weeks) || isNaN(stores) || weeks <= 0 || stores 0) { var weeksCover = stock / totalRos; document.getElementById('stockCoverDisplay').innerHTML = weeksCover.toFixed(1) + " weeks"; document.getElementById('stockCoverRow').style.display = 'flex'; } else { document.getElementById('stockCoverRow').style.display = 'none'; } resultArea.style.display = 'block'; resultArea.scrollIntoView({ behavior: 'smooth', block: 'nearest' }); }

What is Rate of Sale (ROS) in Retail?

The Rate of Sale (ROS) is a critical retail metric that measures the speed at which a product is sold through your distribution network. Unlike total sales volume, ROS provides a normalized view of product performance, allowing retailers to compare the success of items across different timeframes and store counts.

In retail analytics, ROS is typically expressed as Units Sold Per Store Per Week (USPW). This metric is the "gold standard" for buyers and merchandisers when deciding which products to reorder, mark down, or expand into more locations.

The ROS Calculation Formula

To calculate the baseline Rate of Sale, use the following logic:

Step 1 (Weekly ROS): Total Units Sold / Number of Weeks = Total ROS
Step 2 (Store ROS): Total ROS / Number of Stores = ROS per Store per Week

Why ROS Matters for Your Inventory Management

  • Demand Forecasting: By knowing your average weekly velocity per store, you can accurately predict how many units you will need for the next quarter.
  • Benchmarking: Compare a "Best Seller" in 5 stores against a "Slow Mover" in 50 stores. Often, the slow mover has a higher total volume but a much lower (and more concerning) ROS.
  • Weeks of Cover: By dividing your current stock by your ROS, you determine exactly how many weeks of inventory you have left before an out-of-stock event occurs.
  • Assortment Planning: Identify "shelf warmers" that have a low ROS and occupy valuable retail space that could be used for faster-turning inventory.

Example Calculation

Imagine you sold 1,200 units of a new denim jacket over the last 4 weeks. This product is currently stocked in 30 stores.

  • Total ROS: 1,200 / 4 = 300 units per week across the whole company.
  • Store ROS: 300 / 30 = 10 units per store per week.

If you have 600 jackets left in the warehouse, your Weeks of Cover would be 2 weeks (600 / 300). This indicates an urgent need to reorder if the lead time is longer than 14 days.

Key Factors That Influence Rate of Sale

When analyzing your results, keep these variables in mind:

  1. Seasonality: ROS for swimsuits will naturally spike in June and drop in December, regardless of product quality.
  2. Promotions: Temporary price reductions or "Buy One Get One" deals will artificially inflate ROS.
  3. Price Points: Lower-priced "opening price point" items usually maintain a higher ROS than luxury or premium tiers.
  4. Visual Merchandising: Products placed at eye level or on end-caps (promotional displays) typically see a significant lift in ROS compared to bottom-shelf placement.

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