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Finance
Lost sales
Lost sales are purchases that do not happen because the required product is unavailable.
Also known as
Lost revenue
Direct answer
What is Lost sales?
Lost sales are purchases that do not happen because the required product is unavailable. Visible revenue loss often understates the damage because ad spend, repeat purchase rate, ranking, and customer trust may also suffer.
Practical example
A SKU is out of stock for seven days. Normal daily demand, conversion, and likely substitutions are used to estimate lost contribution margin.
What teams should remember
Lost sales are purchases that do not happen because the required product is unavailable.
Visible revenue loss often understates the damage because ad spend, repeat purchase rate, ranking, and customer trust may also suffer.