Cost-to-Ticket Ratio Formula
The inverse view of IMU — how apparel designers and sourcing teams express landed cost as a percentage of retail price.
What Cost-to-Ticket Ratio measures
Cost-to-ticket is the share of retail price consumed by landed cost. It is the same math as IMU, expressed from the cost side.
Cost-to-Ticket = Cost ÷ Retail PriceSourcing teams prefer this view because it frames conversations in cost, not margin. A 38% cost-to-ticket ratio on an $88 ticket is a $33.44 target cost — identical to a 62% target IMU, just expressed differently.
Worked apparel example
A tee with $32 landed cost and $88 retail ticket.
Cost-to-Ticket = $32 ÷ $88 = 36.4%
Cost is 36.4% of ticket. IMU is 63.6%. Two frames, same math.
Cost is 36.4% of ticket. The inverse view of IMU — useful for sourcing conversations framed in cost, not margin.
When to use which frame
- Target costing — designers use the cost frame (what's the ceiling?)
- Margin planning — merchandisers use the margin frame (what's the IMU?)
- Factory negotiations — sourcing uses the cost frame ("we need 2 points off landed")
- Executive reporting — finance uses the margin frame ("gross margin lands at X%")
How RetailNorthstar handles cost-to-ticket
The platform shows both frames simultaneously on every style — IMU % and cost-to-ticket % — so each team member reads the number in the frame that suits their decision.
Related formulas
- Target Costing — the landed-cost ceiling
- Initial Markup — the margin frame
- Average Unit Cost — cost across the full buy
See the full margin stack in RetailNorthstar — target cost, landed cost, IMU, and MMU on one row.
Book a Demo →