How it’s calculated
- Sale Price
- equals Original Price × (1 − Discount ÷ 100)
- With a Second Discount
- equals Sale Price × (1 − Additional ÷ 100)
- Savings
- equals Original Price − Final Price
Stacked discounts multiply rather than add, because the second discount is taken from an already-reduced price.
Worked example
An office chair lists at $480. It’s on sale for 25% off, and a coupon takes an extra 10% off the sale price.
- After 25% off: $480 × 0.75 = $360.00
- After an extra 10%: $360 × 0.90 = $324.00
- Savings = $480 − $324.00 = $156.00, a total discount of 32.5%
The combined discount is 32.5%, not 35%.
For sellers: what a discount costs you
A discount comes straight out of your margin. On an item with a 40% gross margin, a 20% discount cuts the profit per sale in half, so you need to sell twice as many units to earn the same gross profit. Run your discounted price through the Profit Margin Calculator before launching a promotion.
Assumptions and limitations
- Discounts are applied before sales tax. Add tax to the final price with the Sales Tax Calculator if needed.
- The additional discount is applied after the first one, which is how most retailers apply coupons to sale prices. Check the offer terms — some apply both to the original price.
- Results are rounded to the cent for display.
Results are estimates for information only and are not financial, tax or legal advice. See our disclaimer.