Data-driven decisions are important in the course material landscape. Data helps campus stores explain their business to administrators and enables you to explain how key school initiatives like affordability, digital, and inclusive access change the college store landscape. When preparing for these conversations, one key metric that can help campus stores shape strategy and strengthen campus partnerships is calculating your store’s digital sales mix.
Understanding Your Store’s Digital Sales Mix
What Is Your Digital Sales Mix?
Your digital sales mix is the percentage of course material sales made up of content sold exclusively in digital formats — such as inclusive access, ebooks, and courseware. This simple metric offers powerful insights into how students are engaging with course materials and how your store is adapting to digital trends.
Understanding your digital sales mix helps you:
- Strengthen your inclusive access program
- Improve affordability for students
- Track shifts in digital adoption and sales trends
- Anticipate changes in margins, unit sales, and buyback activity
This quick calculation can help you approach campus conversations with more strategy and a clearer picture of your campus store.
How to Calculate Your Digital Sales Mix
The formula is straightforward:
Digital Sales Mix = Total Digital Materials (in $) ÷ Total Course Materials (in $)
Use data from a set period (such as the last calendar year) to get a clear picture of your store’s digital performance.
Need Help Getting Started?
If you’d like assistance running the report or interpreting the results, reach out to your MBS representative. We’re happy to walk you through the process and explore what your digital sales mix means for your store.
