Bundling products together for a single price is a common e-commerce tactic, but calculating margin on a bundle isn’t as simple as averaging the individual product margins.
Why simple averaging is wrong
If a bundle combines a high-margin and a low-margin product at a combined discount, the bundle’s actual margin depends on the specific cost and price of each component, weighted correctly, not a flat average of the two margin percentages.
The correct approach
- Sum the actual cost of every item in the bundle
- Compare against the bundle’s actual selling price, after any bundle discount
- Calculate margin on that combined total, the same way you would for a single product
A common bundling mistake
Bundling a slow-moving, high-margin item with a popular low-margin item to move inventory can look appealing, but if the discount applied isn’t checked against the combined true cost, it’s possible to accidentally sell the bundle at a lower margin than either product alone.