A WooCommerce electronics retailer moved huge revenue on tiny margins. ROAS looked elite; profit did not exist. A per-order profit waterfall changed everything.
Store
WooCommerce
Ads
Google Ads
Duration
90 days
The challenge
With 900%+ ROAS on big-ticket electronics, leadership assumed ads were wildly profitable. But after COGS, warranty, payment fees, and shipping on bulky items, contribution margin was 2–6%. Scaling revenue was scaling near-zero profit.
Approach
Mapped per-SKU COGS, warranty reserve, fees, and freight in WooCommerce.
Built an AOV → costs → profit waterfall per order.
Uploaded contribution-margin conversions to Google Ads.
Excluded negative-margin SKUs with X labels.
Concentrated budget on accessories and high-attach items.
Performance
Per-order profit waterfall (avg $520 order)
Profit Bid
A $520 order leaves ~$32 contribution. Bidding on the first bar burned budget; bidding on the last bar restored profit.
Contribution margin9.1%
Mix shift to accessories
POAS (account)163%
+55 pts
Negative-margin spend6%
X exclusions
Results
Contribution margin
3.8%→9.1%
Mix shift to accessories
POAS (account)
108%→163%
+55 pts
Negative-margin spend
34%→6%
X exclusions
Gross profit/mo
€21k→€38k
Same ad budget
“Our 900% ROAS was a mirage. The profit waterfall showed us we were one bad SKU mix away from losing money at scale.”