Are we extracting more margin per transaction over time?
№ 040 · Contribution margin per transaction
Definition
MetricContribution profit per transaction: net revenue minus variable costs (payments, support, fraud, fulfillment, per-order incentives)
Unitcurrency per transaction and % of AOV
Bar showing margin per transaction: revenue minus payment processing, fraud, support cost, refund reserve. Build by averaging per-order P&L economics across a period. Negative tells you the unit economics are broken. Example: $4.20 revenue, $1.10 processing, $0.60 fraud reserve, $0.80 support allocated = $1.70 CM per order.
- P&L
- Profit and loss statement. Revenue minus cost of goods sold minus operating expenses, down to operating profit.
- CM
- Contribution margin. Revenue minus all variable costs attributable to the unit.
Benchmarks
| Bottom 30% | Median | Top 30% |
|---|---|---|
| negative contribution at scale outside deliberate launch investments, or margin per transaction flat while order volume doubles (no operating leverage) | positive but thin: low-single-digit % of order value for delivery models (Grab deliveries segment adjusted EBITDA 2.0-2.3% of GMV, 2025-2026); new markets and new categories commonly below $1.00 per order | mature-market on-demand reference: approx $1.80-2.20 contribution profit per order (DoorDash mature markets); asset-light digital marketplaces convert most of net take to contribution, with segment margins expanding on advertising attach |
on-demand and consumer marketplaces 2025-2026, contribution defined as revenue minus direct costs of generating and fulfilling orders (DoorDash definition); asset-light models will sit structurally higher than delivery models · Contribution definitions vary widely (incentives above or below the line, support allocation); the DoorDash definition (direct expenses of generating and fulfilling orders) is the cleanest public anchor. Delivery-model figures do not transfer to digital-goods or services marketplaces, which should benchmark contribution as % of net revenue instead.
| Category | Bottom 30% | Median | Top 30% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food delivery / on-demand logistics | below $1.00 per order outside launch phases | approx 2-3% of GMV at segment level | $1.80-2.20+ per order (mature markets) |
| Ride-hailing / mobility | below 5% of GMV at maturity | approx 8-9% of GMV (Grab 2025) | above 9% of GMV segment margin |
When it looks bad
The per-transaction contribution line is flat or falling while transaction volume grows, and the cost stack shows support, refunds and per-order incentives growing as % of AOV, meaning scale is buying no leverage.
Contribution per order stuck at $0.60 across a year in which orders tripled; support contacts per 100 orders rose 3.1 to 4.4 and per-order incentives held at 9% of AOV.
What to do about it
- Add a high-margin revenue layer per transaction: advertising and promoted placements attach at 70%+ gross margin vs single digits on the core transaction, and drove the observable margin expansion at both DoorDash and Grab.
- Attack contacts per 100 orders: order-status transparency, self-serve refunds below a value threshold, and supplier scorecards that push defect costs back to the causing side; support is usually the largest controllable variable cost line.
- Publish contribution per transaction by category and by market monthly; keep launch subsidies in explicitly flagged cells with a graduation deadline instead of blending them into the average.
- Reprice or restructure structurally negative segments: minimum order values, small-order fees, or batching, rather than waiting for scale to fix a negative-contribution design.
Sources
- DoorDash contribution profit defined as the economic impact of orders accounting for direct expenses of generating and fulfilling them; reported alongside GOV and adjusted EBITDA businesswire.com ↗
- PulseRevOps DoorDash approx $1.80-2.20 contribution profit per order in mature markets, below $1.00 in new markets and grocery; below $1.50 the marketplace is subsidizing orders; ad revenue at 70%+ gross margin vs 5-8% on the delivery transaction pulserevops.com ↗
- Grab Holdings deliveries segment adjusted EBITDA 2.2% of GMV in Q4 2025 (2.0% FY), expansion driven by advertising contribution and operating leverage s205.q4cdn.com ↗
- Grab Holdings mobility segment adjusted EBITDA 8.7-9%+ of GMV range, deliveries 2.1%; long-term steady-state targets 12% mobility, 3% deliveries stated at listing grab.com ↗
- Revenue Map contribution margin per transaction equals take-rate revenue minus variable costs; breakeven transactions equals fixed costs divided by per-transaction contribution revenuemap.app ↗
- Mostly Metrics (CJ Gustafson) managed models carry higher take but higher variable cost; compare contribution, not take rate, across model types mostlymetrics.com ↗