{
 "name": "D2C unit economics reference, India, 2026",
 "publisher": "D2C Acquisition.Lab",
 "url": "https://d2c-acquisitionlab.com/guides/d2c-unit-economics-india",
 "license": "CC BY 4.0 (cite d2c-acquisitionlab.com)",
 "updated": "2026-09-23",
 "provenance_labels": {
  "verified_external": "carries a named third-party source",
  "lab_calculation": "arithmetic we ran; all inputs stated",
  "lab_convention": "our operating standard; adopt or adapt, but it is not an industry statistic",
  "illustrative": "a realistic worked example; NEVER an industry benchmark"
 },
 "formulas": {
  "net_revenue": "gross sales - discounts - returns",
  "cm1": "net revenue - COGS - shipping - payment fees - packaging (product viability, before marketing)",
  "cm2": "CM1 - performance marketing CAC (what is left for fixed costs)",
  "blended_cac": "total marketing spend / total new customers, all channels",
  "rto_drag_per_delivered_order": "rto_rate/(1-rto_rate) x (forward + reverse + packaging + burnt CAC)",
  "cm2_after_rto": "CM2 - RTO drag per delivered order",
  "max_affordable_cac": "CM1 - (target CM2 share x AOV) (before RTO costs; recalculate the ceiling after RTO)",
  "ltv_12m_margin_based": "expected orders in 12 months x CM1 per order",
  "break_even_orders": "monthly fixed costs / CM2 per order"
 },
 "reference_numbers": [
  {
   "metric": "Payment gateway fee",
   "value": "Razorpay standard platform fee: 2% + GST; zero MDR on standard bank-to-bank UPI does not remove gateway platform fees. Check your merchant plan.",
   "provenance": "Verified external",
   "source": "https://razorpay.com/pricing/ ; https://razorpay.com/blog/?p=25839"
  },
  {
   "metric": "COD collection fee",
   "value": "₹25-50 or 1.5-2.5% per order",
   "provenance": "Verified external",
   "source": "aggregator rate cards (Shiprocket et al)"
  },
  {
   "metric": "COD remittance lag",
   "value": "7-15 days standard; 2-4 days early for a fee",
   "provenance": "Verified external",
   "source": "aggregator terms"
  },
  {
   "metric": "Courier first slab (0-0.5 kg)",
   "value": "₹30-45 zone-local rising to ₹65-85+ national",
   "provenance": "Verified external",
   "source": "Delhivery via ClickPost, 2026"
  },
  {
   "metric": "COD RTO band, unmanaged",
   "value": "20-40% (fashion at the top); prepaid under 2-5%",
   "provenance": "Verified external",
   "source": "Shipway ShipNotes FY25 (Unicommerce)"
  },
  {
   "metric": "COD share of Indian ecommerce",
   "value": "~55-65% of orders, declining slowly",
   "provenance": "Verified external",
   "source": "industry trackers, 2026"
  },
  {
   "metric": "CM1 floor for an ads-led launch",
   "value": "50-60% of net revenue",
   "provenance": "Lab convention",
   "source": "our operating standard across 100+ playbooks"
  },
  {
   "metric": "CM2 target at steady state",
   "value": "15-25% of net revenue",
   "provenance": "Lab convention",
   "source": "our operating standard"
  },
  {
   "metric": "First-purchase CAC ceiling",
   "value": "30-40% of AOV in replenishment categories; lower where repeat is weak",
   "provenance": "Lab convention",
   "source": "our operating standard"
  },
  {
   "metric": "LTV:CAC minimum",
   "value": "3:1 on margin-based LTV (never revenue-based)",
   "provenance": "Lab convention",
   "source": "our operating standard"
  },
  {
   "metric": "RTO drag formula",
   "value": "rate/(1-rate) x (forward + reverse + packaging + burnt CAC) per delivered order",
   "provenance": "Lab convention",
   "source": "our costing convention (Margin Waterfall)"
  }
 ],
 "worked_example": {
  "label": "Illustrative - a realistic skincare hero SKU, not a benchmark",
  "inputs": {
   "aov": 799,
   "cogs_pct": 0.3,
   "shipping": 90,
   "gateway_pct": 0.02,
   "packaging": 25,
   "cac": 250,
   "monthly_fixed": 40000,
   "rto_rate": 0.25
  },
  "outputs": {
   "cm1": 428,
   "cm1_pct": 53.6,
   "cm2": 178,
   "cm2_pct": 22.3,
   "rto_drag_per_delivered_order": 142,
   "cm2_after_rto": 36,
   "cm2_after_rto_pct": 4.5,
   "max_cac_at_15pct_cm2_target": 308,
   "max_cac_at_20pct_cm2_target": 268,
   "ltv_12m": 942,
   "ltv_cac_ratio": 3.8,
   "break_even_orders_per_month": 225
  }
 },
 "sensitivity_cm2_pct_after_rto": {
  "label": "Lab calculation on the illustrative SKU (CM1 428 at AOV 799)",
  "rows_rto_rate": [
   0.15,
   0.25,
   0.35
  ],
  "cols_cac": [
   150,
   250,
   350
  ],
  "values": [
   [
    27.6,
    12.9,
    -1.8
   ],
   [
    21.2,
    4.5,
    -12.1
   ],
   [
    12.9,
    -6.4,
    -25.6
   ]
  ]
 }
}