In SQL, cash-on-delivery share for the whole period is ROUND(100.0 * SUM(orders_cod) / SUM(orders), 2) over the monthly table. On the sample data it returns 37.36.
COD share = Cash-on-delivery orders ÷ All orders × 100
What you need
COD share is the percentage of orders paid by cash (or UPI) on delivery rather than online at checkout: COD orders divided by all orders, times 100. You need these columns, here from the sample file monthly.csv:
- orders: orders
- orders_cod: cash-on-delivery orders
CREATE TABLE monthly (
month TEXT, -- 'YYYY-MM'
orders INTEGER,
orders_cod INTEGER
);Step by step
- Load monthly.csv into a table called monthly. The table only needs the month column and the columns below.
- Run the first query to get one row per month.
- Run the whole-period query. It adds up each column first and divides once; averaging the monthly results gives a different, usually wrong, answer.
The queries
SELECT
month,
ROUND(100.0 * orders_cod / NULLIF(orders, 0), 2) AS cod_share
FROM monthly
ORDER BY month;SELECT ROUND(100.0 * SUM(orders_cod) / NULLIF(SUM(orders), 0), 2) AS cod_share
FROM monthly;What you should get
Run against the sample data, the code above returns these values (in percent):
| Month | orders | orders_cod | cod_share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-01 | 702 | 281 | 40.03% |
| 2026-02 | 748 | 292 | 39.04% |
| 2026-03 | 812 | 309 | 38.05% |
| 2026-04 | 771 | 285 | 36.96% |
| 2026-05 | 846 | 304 | 35.93% |
| 2026-06 | 917 | 321 | 35.01% |
| Whole period | 4,796 | 1,792 | 37.36% |
1,792 ÷ 4,796 × 100 = 37.36%
Notes for SQL
- Integer columns divide as integers in PostgreSQL, SQLite and SQL Server, so 3 / 4 gives 0. Multiplying by 1.0 (or 100.0) first makes the division decimal.
- NULLIF(x, 0) turns a zero denominator into NULL, so the query returns NULL for that row instead of failing with a division-by-zero error.
- Tested on SQLite and DuckDB. SUM, NULLIF and ROUND work the same in PostgreSQL, MySQL and BigQuery; SQL Server uses TOP instead of LIMIT where a query has one.
Where cash-on-delivery share misleads
- Partial COD (a token paid online, the rest on delivery) needs a rule: count it as COD or as prepaid, consistently.
- COD share differs by region and order value; a change in your traffic mix moves it without any change in behaviour.
- Payment failures at checkout push some customers to COD, so a payment problem can show up here first.
The full explanation, with a calculator, is on the Cash-on-delivery share (COD %) page.
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About the data on this page
The figures come from a small made-up dataset, printed above in full so you can check every number by hand. Download it as monthly.csv. The results are computed from those rows when the page is built, and the Excel formulas, SQL and Python on these pages are run against the same rows before publishing, so the code and the answers agree.
To get these numbers from your own data without writing formulas, try AnalyzeIt: ask in plain words and it shows the working behind every figure.
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