Quick commerce take-rate and true ROAS calculator
Quick commerce is a sales channel and a media channel at the same time, and the two bills are usually tracked by different teams. Put them together and you get the number that matters: how much of every rupee of GMV you keep.
How it is calculated
Platform commission = GMV × commission or margin rate Total paid to platform = Commission + ad spend + other fees Take rate = Total paid to platform ÷ GMV Net realisation = GMV − total paid to platform Contribution = Net realisation − product cost Platform ROAS = Ad-attributed GMV ÷ ad spend Incremental ROAS = Ad-attributed GMV × incrementality ÷ ad spend
Incrementality is the share of ad-attributed sales that would not have happened without the ads. Platforms attribute sales that were going to happen anyway, especially on branded search inside the app, so platform ROAS overstates the real return. If you have not run a holdout test, 30–60% is a cautious working range.
How to use the result
Review take rate monthly, by platform, alongside your own site's contribution margin. If take rate keeps rising while incremental ROAS falls, the platform is renting your own demand back to you.
Questions
What is take rate in quick commerce?
Take rate is the share of your gross merchandise value that the platform keeps, combining commission or margin, advertising and other fees such as listing, visibility and promotion funding.
How do I measure the real ROAS of Blinkit or Zepto ads?
Multiply the platform-reported ROAS by your estimated incrementality, the share of attributed sales that would not have happened without ads. Run periodic holdout tests, pausing ads in a set of cities or for a set of SKUs, to measure it.
Why is platform ROAS on quick commerce so high?
Because in-app ads capture shoppers who were already searching for your brand or category. Those sales are attributed to ads even when they would have happened organically.
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