What is a cost driver in your OTTO margin?
Last updated: 31 October 2026 · The MargenOptimierer app is in German. Button and menu names are shown exactly as you see them, with the English meaning in brackets.
A cost driver is an item that is losing money in the period, is below its target margin, or has an ACoS above its target ACoS.
You'll find all cost drivers on the Marge (margin) page in the Kostentreiber (cost drivers) card, with the item furthest over target at the top. The Kostentreiber tile at the top of the page counts the same items. Every row names exactly one reason, such as „Werbung zu teuer“ (ads too expensive), and the amount by which the item misses its target.
Example: 90 € over target on the oak table
Say the oak table has 340 € of ad spend on 1,000 € of ad revenue in the period, and the garden furniture target ACoS of 25% allows 250 €. That's 90 € over target, so the table is a cost driver.
Its row names the reason „Werbung zu teuer“ and the 90 € over target. With 15%, its margin still reaches exactly its target margin of 15%, even though the 340 € of ad spend has already been subtracted.
Other reasons for a cost driver
When returns are the reason
An item's return rate being above its target return rate doesn't make it a cost driver on its own. If it's a cost driver for one of the three reasons above, its row names „Zu viele Retouren“ (too many returns) when more euros are over target for returns than for ads. The amount is the part of your refunds above the target return rate, so with a 12% return rate and an 8% target, one third of the refunds.
When price or purchase price is the reason
„Preis oder Einkauf prüfen“ (check price or purchase price) means neither ads nor returns are above their target. The amount is then the money missing up to your target margin.
When an item with expensive ads is missing
An item only becomes a cost driver because of its ads once it reaches your minimum clicks in the period. The default is 10. If ad numbers are still missing for the period, no item is a cost driver because of its ads. The Marge page then shows a sentence about this, for example up to which day OTTO has finished calculating the ad numbers.
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- Why is an item a cost driver?