Fashion Metrics That Matter in 2025

A curated guide to the KPIs merchandise planners should actually care about now.

In 2025, planning and trading teams are inundated with dashboards. But when everything is measured, nothing truly stands out. The real discipline is knowing which metrics actually matter—and when.

Start with this principle:

📍 KPIs should follow context. First: location. Then: product.

By grounding your analysis in place before product, you prioritize reality over theory—an essential step if you want to drive meaningful commercial decisions.

Location-Led KPIs

Before you obsess over product-level metrics, understand where it all plays out. Every location has a different rhythm. Geography, demographics, environment—all affect how the product performs.

🔢 Quantitative Location Metrics:

• Footfall – Raw potential

• Transactions – Actual conversion events

• Conversion Rate – Footfall vs transactions

• Value & Units Sold – Basket content

• VPT / UPT – Value / Units Per Transaction

• Return Rate – Quality or mismatch signal

• Transactions per FTE – Staff productivity

• Sales per sqm – Density and efficiency

• 4-Wall Profitability – All-in location performance

🔍 Qualitative Location Inputs:

• Customer Type – Age, gender, style, status, local vs tourist

• City / Zone Context – What part of the city are you in?

• Store Adjacencies – Who’s next door? Competitors or complements?

• Climate – Obvious, but often under-modeled

• Environmental Proximity – Near the beach? Mountain? Commuter belt?

Product-Led KPIs

Once you’ve mapped where you are and who you're serving, shift to what you're offering them. This is where many planners jump in too early, without first understanding the field of play.

🔢 Quantitative Product Metrics:

• Initial Price vs Realised Price – Sell-through vs markdown reliance

• Starting GM vs Realised GM – Margin truth

• Rate of Sale (ROS) – Product velocity

• Stock Turn – Inventory productivity

• GMROII – Margin per unit of investment

• Return Rate % – Product satisfaction proxy

• SKU Depth – Assortment depth and risk

• Coverage vs Dogs – Breadth vs waste

• DFA (Demand Forecast Accuracy) – Precision of planning

• Markdown Penetration – Planning miss indicator

• Inventory Provisions – Risk hedging on unsold stock

🔍 Qualitative Product Inputs

• Fit – Does it match expectations?

• Finishing Quality – Is it worthy of repeat purchase or return?

• Functionality – Does it deliver on its promise (comfort, protection, use)?

2025 Lens: It’s Not Just About What You Measure, But When

Fashion businesses don’t fail because they aren’t tracking enough data. They fail when they track everything and act on nothing.

This year, filter your performance reads through two lenses:

1. Where is the performance happening? (Location context)

2. What are the products doing within that environment? (Product context)

That’s the foundation for smart, lean, profitable decisions in 2025.

Enjoying these breakdowns? Subscribe to MerchModeMetrics for updates & intel on what matters in merchandising now.

→ Join here