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GMV (gross merchandise value)

Also called: GMV, gross merchandise value, gross bookings

The total value of everything sold through a platform, including the part that goes to sellers or tutors. A volume metric, not revenue.

GMV (gross merchandise value) is the total value of everything customers bought through a platform in a period, including the part that goes to the sellers, drivers or tutors who deliver it. Travel and ride-hailing companies often call the same thing gross bookings. It measures how much business flows through the platform, not how much the platform earns.

Revenue from those transactions is the platform's share, and the take rate links the two: take rate = transaction revenue ÷ GMV. GMV × take rate = revenue. So GMV and revenue grow at the same pace only while the take rate holds still; a discount funded from the platform's share, a new fee or a shift in the mix moves revenue without moving GMV the same way.

GMV is still a useful number. It shows demand, it is the providers' income (which keeps them on the platform), and it is the base for fees and payment costs. The trouble starts only when it is presented as revenue: on a slide, in a growth rate or in a margin.

Example

Klasna's 1:1 lessons, September–November, in UAH:

2025
2026
Lessons delivered
17,122
24,820
GMV: what families paid
10,510,442
14,721,940
Tutor payouts
6,798,702
10,061,190
Commission: Klasna's revenue
3,711,740
4,660,750
Take rate
35.31%
31.66%

GMV grew 14,721,940 ÷ 10,510,442 − 1 = 40.07%, revenue from these lessons only 4,660,750 ÷ 3,711,740 − 1 = 25.57%. The gap is the take rate: a push on discounted 32-lesson packages came out of Klasna's share, while tutors still received their full payout. A headline of "revenue up 40%" would have been wrong twice: wrong number, wrong growth rate.

Common mistakes

  • Putting GMV on the revenue line. Label it GMV, wherever it appears.
  • Assuming revenue grows with GMV. Check the take rate first; discounts and mix move it.
  • Calculating margins on GMV for one line and on revenue for another. Use one base throughout.
  • Ignoring refunds and cancellations. Some teams report GMV before them; say which version you use.
  • Comparing GMV between companies. Definitions differ (taxes, fees, cancelled orders); compare revenue and take rate instead.

Learn it in the course