Gross Margin Benchmarks by Industry
Gross margin measures the percentage of revenue remaining after subtracting cost of goods sold.
Formula: ((Revenue − Cost of Goods Sold) ÷ Revenue) × 100
Apparel
Apparel & Fashion
50–60%
Seasonal, markdown-heavy, fashion cycles
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Grocery
Grocery & Supermarkets
20–30%
High volume, low margin, perishables
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Electronics
Consumer Electronics
10–20%
Tech cycle risk, price-comparable
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Furniture
Home & Furniture
35–50%
Long lead times, bulky inventory
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Beauty
Health & Beauty
40–50%
Trend-sensitive, private label opportunity
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Luxury
Luxury & Jewelry
60–75%
Low velocity, high ticket
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Sporting
Sporting Goods
35–45%
Seasonal, broad SKU base
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Home Improvement
Home Improvement
30–38%
Project-driven, large basket
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Toys
Toys & Games
30–42%
Holiday-concentrated, hit-driven
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Pet
Pet Supplies
35–45%
Subscription growth, consumables
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Auto Parts
Auto Parts & Accessories
40–50%
Long-tail SKUs, fitment data
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Office
Office Supplies
28–38%
B2B mix, commodity-heavy
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Department
Department Stores
32–42%
Broad assortment, mall-based
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Discount
Dollar & Discount Stores
30–38%
High turn, low ticket
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Footwear
Footwear
45–58%
Size matrix complexity, seasonal
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Source & methodology
Ranges are anchored to NYU Stern's Damodaran 'Margins by Sector' dataset, a public-company average updated monthly and freely available at pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar. Public-company margins can run higher than private/small-business margins in the same category due to scale and pricing power. Treat these as a directional ceiling, not a target.
- NYU Stern, Damodaran 'Margins by Sector' (pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar)
Benchmarks last reviewed: 2026-08-10
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