# Markdown

> The reduction from the original selling price taken to clear stock, measured as the value given away in a period or as a share of the original retail value of what was sold.

Source: https://barkingcat.ai/terms-of-trade/markdown/

## Terms of Trade · Edition 2: The trading pack

Definition

The reduction from the original selling price taken to clear stock, measured as the value given away in a period or as a share of the original retail value of what was sold. It is the cost of the gap between what was bought and what the customer bought.

Field note

Markdown is the measure of how inaccurate the business forecasting is.

Board question

What was the markdown cost last season, and who signed off the buy it paid for?

Applied through

[Commercial Discipline](https://barkingcat.ai/the-cats-whiskers/commercial-discipline/) in the Cat’s Whiskers, money in the right places for the right reasons; sell-through is the number that predicts it.

Related terms
- [Sell-through](https://barkingcat.ai/terms-of-trade/sell-through/)
- [Weeks cover](https://barkingcat.ai/terms-of-trade/weeks-cover/)
- [Contribution margin](https://barkingcat.ai/terms-of-trade/contribution-margin/)
- [Basket abandonment](https://barkingcat.ai/terms-of-trade/basket-abandonment/)

## Contact

steve@barkingcat.ai

Barking Cat Advisory Limited. Registered in England and Wales, company number 17338003.