Figure 16 Sept 2026From “What is marketing efficiency ratio (MER)? A blended signal, not a causal answer”

The marketing efficiency ratio boundary card

A blended ratio is reviewable only when revenue, spend, period, and the question answered stay visible together.

Figure 1The marketing efficiency ratio boundary card

Source: Author's synthetic MER boundary card grounded in Shopify (2026). Formula and scope are bounded practitioner evidence; rows and values are illustrative, not benchmarks or company data.

PNG4:3, 1600 × 1200, with the title, the source line and the attribution set in the image isoglu-2026-what-is-marketing-efficiency-ratio-fig02.png

Source and evidence

Each line names a claim related to this exhibit, its source, and how it was checked.

C SH26-C1 Shopify defines marketing efficiency ratio as a blended comparison of total revenue with total marketing spend, also called blended ROASShopify (2026), MER guide
C SH26-C2 Shopify presents MER as total revenue divided by total marketing spend, with a worked 200,000 divided by 50,000 example equaling 4Shopify (2026), MER guide
C SH26-C3 Shopify says MER comparisons require consistent revenue and spend definitions and periods, and distinguishes total-marketing MER from campaign or channel ROASShopify (2026), MER guide

Grades: A, verified against the printed page of the primary source · B, primary source, text layer only · C, authoritative secondary · D, reported.

From the essay

Growth that compounds

What is marketing efficiency ratio (MER)? A blended signal, not a causal answer

Marketing efficiency ratio is total revenue divided by total marketing spend for a declared period. Keep the numerator and denominator visible.

6 Sept 2026

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APA 7

Isoglu, S. (2026). The marketing efficiency ratio boundary card [Figure]. isoglu.com. https://isoglu.com/insights/exhibits/isoglu-2026-what-is-marketing-efficiency-ratio-fig02/

BibTeX

@misc{isoglu-2026-what-is-marketing-efficiency-ratio-fig02,
  author = {Isoglu, Sinan},
  title = {{The marketing efficiency ratio boundary card}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Figure 1, isoglu.com},
  url = {https://isoglu.com/insights/exhibits/isoglu-2026-what-is-marketing-efficiency-ratio-fig02/},
  note = {From the essay {What is marketing efficiency ratio (MER)? A blended signal, not a causal answer}}
}

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<figure>
  <a href="https://isoglu.com/insights/exhibits/isoglu-2026-what-is-marketing-efficiency-ratio-fig02/">
    <img src="https://isoglu.com/social/isoglu-2026-what-is-marketing-efficiency-ratio-fig02.png" alt="Figure 1: The marketing efficiency ratio boundary card" width="3200" height="2400">
  </a>
  <figcaption>Figure 1: The marketing efficiency ratio boundary card. Source: Author&#39;s synthetic MER boundary card grounded in Shopify (2026). Formula and scope are bounded practitioner evidence; rows and values are illustrative, not benchmarks or company data. <a href="https://isoglu.com/insights/exhibits/isoglu-2026-what-is-marketing-efficiency-ratio-fig02/">View exhibit</a>.</figcaption>
</figure>