E-commerce Glossary
What is True Profit?
True Profit is the real net profit of an e-commerce business, calculated by subtracting from gross revenue all operational costs: COGS (cost of goods), shipping, gateway fees, Ad costs, and taxes. Unlike revenue, True Profit shows how much money actually remains in the bank after each transaction.
How it works in Growth OS
Growth OS calculates True Profit automatically via OAuth2 Shopify. COGS are imported from the product catalog, Ad costs are synced via server-side tracking from Meta, Google, and TikTok. The result is real-time EBITDA monitoring.
What is MER?
MER (Marketing Efficiency Ratio) is the ratio between total revenue and total advertising spend. Unlike per-channel ROAS, MER measures overall marketing efficiency including organic and direct traffic. A MER of 5 means that for every euro spent on Ads, the company generates 5 euros in total revenue.
How it works in Growth OS
Growth OS calculates MER automatically by aggregating all Ad channels (Meta, Google, TikTok) and dividing total revenue by total spend. The data updates in real-time with each new order.
What is Blended ROAS?
Blended ROAS (Return On Ad Spend) is the overall return on advertising spend calculated across all aggregated Ad channels. Unlike per-channel ROAS (which each platform inflates), Blended ROAS uses real revenue from Shopify via OAuth2 divided by total Ad spend, eliminating double-counted conversions.
How it works in Growth OS
Ad platforms each count their own conversions, and when summed, the total exceeds actual orders. Growth OS solves this with server-side ingestion: revenue comes from the single source of truth (Shopify) and spend is aggregated via direct APIs.
What is Attribution Engine V8?
Attribution Engine V8 is Growth OS’s proprietary attribution engine. It implements 4 attribution models (Customer First-Touch, Order First-Touch, Last-Touch, Influenced) and cross-references 6 server-side data sources to reconstruct the real customer journey of every order. The V8 name marks the eighth generation of the engine, rebuilt to run entirely server-side.
How it works in Growth OS
The 4 models: first_touch (Customer First Touch — client-centric lifetime), mid_touch (Order First Touch), last_touch (per-channel windowed with 30d Ads, 3d Klaviyo, 7d SEO windows) and influenced (family-level). The 6 sources: Shopify orders, platform customer visits, server-side events, Klaviyo email/SMS, Identity Graph, and GA4 sessions. Output is written to our dedicated analytical database for real-time querying.
What is the Rosetta™ Method?
The Rosetta™ Method is Growth OS’s proprietary Identity Resolution system. Like the Rosetta Stone decoded hieroglyphs using three languages, the Rosetta Method decodes the customer journey by cross-referencing fragmented digital traces: Facebook pixel ID (fbp/fbc), Google click ID (gclid), TikTok click ID (ttclid), cookies, email, and phone.
How it works in Growth OS
The Rosetta Method feeds Growth OS’s Identity Graph, linking every anonymous click to the customer’s real identity. This allows Attribution Engine V8 to track the cross-device and cross-session journey even when cookies expire. The result: every order is attributed with surgical precision to the correct channel.
What are COGS?
COGS (Cost of Goods Sold) are the direct costs of producing or purchasing merchandise sold. For an e-commerce business, they include the unit cost of the product, packaging, and direct materials. COGS are the first cost to subtract from revenue to calculate gross margin, and are essential for determining real True Profit.
How it works in Growth OS
Growth OS imports COGS automatically from the Shopify catalog via OAuth2 (COGS automation). For each order, the system calculates the cost of goods sold per line item, aggregating the total for True Profit calculation. Zero spreadsheets, zero CSV imports.
What is EBITDA for an e-commerce business?
EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) for an e-commerce business is the operating profit before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. It’s the metric investors rely on most to evaluate the operational profitability of an online business. Growth OS calculates it automatically with real-time EBITDA monitoring.
How it works in Growth OS
The EBITDA calculation in Growth OS subtracts from gross revenue: COGS, shipping, Ad costs (via server-side tracking), gateway fees, and operational costs. The result updates with each order and every Ad sync.
What is Server-Side Tracking?
Server-Side Tracking is a tracking method that sends conversion data directly from server to server of Ad platforms (Meta CAPI, Google, TikTok), bypassing the user’s browser. Unlike cookie-based tracking, it is not impacted by iOS ITP, ad blockers, or Privacy Sandbox, ensuring near 100% accuracy.
How it works in Growth OS
Growth OS uses server-side ingestion via Stape and Shopify webhooks. Events are collected server-side, enriched with Identity Graph data (email, fbp, fbc, gclid, ttclid), and sent to the Ad platforms’ conversion APIs.
What is an Identity Graph?
An Identity Graph is a data structure that unifies all digital identities of a user into a single profile: cookie ID, email, phone number, Facebook pixel ID (fbp/fbc), Google click ID (gclid), and TikTok click ID (ttclid). It enables following the customer journey cross-device and cross-session, even when cookies expire.
How it works in Growth OS
Growth OS builds the Identity Graph by cross-referencing data from Shopify (email, phone), Stape (fbp, fbc, gclid, ttclid), Klaviyo (email events), and GA4 (session data). This feeds the multi-touch attribution engine, ensuring every touchpoint is linked to the correct customer even without cookies.