Voucher or discount kills profit
Community signal
Stacked vouchers, platform campaigns and seller discounts can eat the whole margin on an order while sales still look strong.
In real life: A SEA campaign stacks a platform voucher on a seller voucher; the order converts but the contribution margin goes negative.
ShopeeTikTok ShopLazadaShopify / DTC
Data you need
- requiredDiscount and voucher amount per order. Separate seller-funded from platform-funded.
- requiredOrder subtotal. To measure discount depth.
Formula
Discount depth
Seller Discount / SubtotalOnly seller-funded discount hits your margin; platform-funded does not.
Key insight
- Discount depth above your gross margin guarantees a loss.
- Platform-funded vouchers should not be charged against your profit.
Action checklist
- 1Separate seller vs platform funded discounts · medium · 30 min
Charge only what you actually fund. - 2Compare discount depth to gross margin · easy · 20 min
Flag where depth exceeds margin. - 3Cap stacking on thin-margin SKUs · medium · 1 day
Exclude them from deep campaigns.
Money impact · Protect margin
Prevents campaign days from selling at a structural loss by capping discount depth on thin SKUs.
Common mistakes
- Counting platform-funded vouchers as your cost.
- Running deep stacks on low-margin products.
How Okiela helps
Discount layer in the waterfalllive
Okiela treats discounts at the net-revenue layer and can exclude platform-funded amounts.
Trust & sources
- Community signalVoucher-stacking margin loss is a recurring SEA seller pain
Last reviewed 2026-06-22 · Confidence 4/5