The most expensive pricing mistake in Brazilian retail is confusing markup with margin. A Sebrae/E-commerce Brasil survey (2023) of 612 micro and small businesses finds that ~64% of small retailers don’t calculate real margin correctly — most operate on what they think is a 50% margin, but in practice it’s 18-28%.
64%
of Brazilian micro and small e-commerce businesses don’t calculate real margin correctly.
Sebrae / E-commerce Brasil, 2023
Pricing is the most powerful profit lever available to a company — and the most ignored, because of confused math.
The 4 essential formulas
Markup % = (Price − Cost) ÷ Cost × 100 Margin % = (Price − Cost) ÷ Price × 100 Price from markup = Cost × (1 + markup/100) Price from margin = Cost ÷ (1 − margin/100)
A practical example — the dangerous gap
You buy a product for R$ 50 and sell it for R$ 100:
- Markup = 100% (you doubled the cost)
- Margin = 50% (R$ 50 is left on each sale)
Same operation, two different numbers — depending on the reference point.
What to subtract before calculating the “real” margin
4-15%
Simples Nacional (varies by bracket)
3-5%
gateway/card fee (average)
8-20%
marketplace commission by category
Variable
built-in free shipping + packaging + logistics
Ideal margin by category (BR)
50-65%
Fashion: high returns, refunds, seasonality
55-70%
Beauty: regulation and brand weigh heavily
8-20%
Electronics: commodity, high comparison
50-70%
Supplements: recurrence allows reinvesting
60-80%
Accessories: impulse, low unit cost
20-40%
Furniture: high ticket, shipping weighs
35-50%
Pet: high repurchase, brand matters
40-60%
Home/decor: high variety
Average gross margin by category — BR e-commerce (middle of the typical range)
Fonte: Sebrae / E-commerce Brasil 2023 — median of the monitored categories
When to discount and when NOT to
Do discount
• A direct competitor is more aggressive on a core SKU
• Idle stock that needs to move
• A returning customer where LTV justifies it
• A campaign to open up a new base
Do NOT discount
• The competitor is on a SKU that doesn’t conflict
• The discount covers margin but eats fixed cost
• A new customer with a low chance of repurchase
• Net margin already below the floor
Referências e leitura complementar
- Simon, H. (2015). Confessions of the Pricing Man. Springer.
- Marn, M. V. & Rosiello, R. L. (1992). Managing Price, Gaining Profit. Harvard Business Review, Sep-Oct 1992 link .
- Sebrae & E-commerce Brasil (2023). MSE Financial Maturity Study in Retail. Sebrae Nacional.
- Receita Federal do Brasil (2024). Simples Nacional Table — Annex I (Commerce). Receita Federal link .
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