E-commerce Startup Benchmarks

E-commerce forgives almost no modeling errors, because every order carries real cost of goods, shipping, and returns. The ranges below are the ones Revenue Map's e-commerce financial model uses to sanity-check projections: average order value by category, acquisition cost, return on ad spend, repeat purchase behavior, and the margin structure that determines whether a store can ever afford paid acquisition.

The category spread is wide. Revenue Map's model presets assume fashion stores start around a $65 average order value with cost of goods near 55% and a 15% return rate, while digital products start near $25 AOV with almost no COGS and no returns. Home and living carries the highest modeled basket at roughly $120 but repeat purchase rates of only 12% to 18%, whereas food and beverage repeats at 35% to 50%. That is why a single blended benchmark misleads: compare against your own category line, not the average of everyone else's.

The most decisive number on this page is repeat purchase rate. A first order rarely pays back its acquisition cost on its own; margin-adjusted LTV usually crosses CAC on the second or third purchase. If your repeat rate sits in the poor column, fix retention before scaling ad spend.