In Python, load the data with pandas and compute shipping cost as a percentage of revenue from column totals for the whole period, or row by row for each month. On the sample data it returns 11.87.
Shipping cost % = Shipping cost ÷ Revenue × 100
What you need
Shipping cost as a percentage of revenue is the share of each rupee of sales spent on delivery: total shipping cost divided by revenue, times 100. You need these columns, here from the sample file monthly.csv:
- df["revenue"]: revenue (net of discounts)
- df["shipping_cost"]: shipping cost
Step by step
- Install pandas (pip install pandas) and save monthly.csv next to your script.
- Run the script. The first print shows one row per month, the second the figure for the whole period.
- To use your own data, rename your columns to match, or change the names in the code.
The code
import pandas as pd
df = pd.read_csv("monthly.csv")
# Each month
df["shipping_cost_pct"] = df["shipping_cost"] / df["revenue"] * 100
print(df[["month", "shipping_cost_pct"]].round(2))
# Whole period: add up the parts first, then divide
shipping_cost_pct_total = df["shipping_cost"].sum() / df["revenue"].sum() * 100
print(round(shipping_cost_pct_total, 2))
What you should get
Run against the sample data, the code above returns these values (in percent):
| Month | revenue | shipping_cost | shipping_cost_pct |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-01 | 4,12,000 | 49,100 | 11.92% |
| 2026-02 | 4,38,500 | 52,400 | 11.95% |
| 2026-03 | 4,71,200 | 56,800 | 12.05% |
| 2026-04 | 4,55,800 | 54,000 | 11.85% |
| 2026-05 | 5,02,300 | 59,200 | 11.79% |
| 2026-06 | 5,48,900 | 64,200 | 11.70% |
| Whole period | 28,28,700 | 3,35,700 | 11.87% |
₹3,35,700 ÷ ₹28,28,700 × 100 = 11.87%
Notes for Python
- Dividing by zero in pandas does not raise an error: it gives inf or NaN. Check with df.replace([float("inf"), -float("inf")], float("nan")) before averaging or plotting.
- For the whole period, sum the columns first and then divide. df[col].mean() of the monthly results weights a small month the same as a large one.
- pct_change(), groupby() and resample() extend the same idea to weekly data, product categories and daily rows.
Where shipping cost as a percentage of revenue misleads
- Use the same revenue definition you use for gross margin.
- A drop can come from cheaper courier rates or from bigger orders. Check shipping cost per order to tell them apart.
- Exclude shipping you charged customers from the cost, but not from the revenue.
The full explanation, with a calculator, is on the Shipping cost as a percentage of revenue page.
Same metric, other tools
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Learn more about Python
- Python and SQL for data analysis, side by side — 3 min read
- How to find out what changed in your sales data — 2 min read
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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