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Lexicon · The Gravity language

The Gravity lexicon: 34 metrics to read an e-commerce brand.

The Gravity lexicon explains, in plain words, the 34 metrics Gravity by Benchr uses or is building to read more than 4 million e-commerce brands, and what each one means for investors, brands, suppliers and agencies. Each term says whether it is on Gravity today or coming.

Gravity metricA metric defined by Gravity by Benchr.

Industry termA known notion, as Gravity reads it.

On Gravity todayOn Gravity brand pages now.

ComingBeing built by Gravity.

I’m…

01 · Trajectory

Where a brand is going.

Gravity by Benchr never judges an e-commerce brand on its size alone. Size is the past, and everyone can see it; speed and acceleration say where the brand will be next year.

Velocity

Industry termOn Gravity today

In Gravity by Benchr, velocity is how fast an e-commerce brand’s signals grow over a period — visits, followers, sales — rather than how big they are. Gravity shows it today as momentum: the three-month change in a brand’s estimated visits.

Reads as“growing 12% a month” rather than “has 500K followers”.

  • InvestorScreen for the fastest movers in a category, before size makes them obvious.
  • BrandCompare your pace with your rivals’, not just your totals.
  • SupplierFast-growing brands have new needs and new budget. Prioritise them.
  • AgencyShow a client how their pace compares with the market, every month.

Acceleration

Industry termComing

In Gravity by Benchr, acceleration is whether an e-commerce brand’s growth is speeding up or slowing down. It is the most predictive signal there is: growth that amplifies turns exponential, growth that slows is near its plateau.

Reads asa peak, or a breakout.

  • InvestorDistinguish a one-off spike from a brand entering an exponential run.
  • BrandKnow whether your growth (or a rival’s) is compounding or fading.
  • AgencySpot the month a client’s curve bends, and take credit with data.

Inflection

Gravity metricComing

In Gravity by Benchr, inflection is the moment an e-commerce brand’s growth starts accelerating after a flat period: the knee of the curve, when the brand takes off and the market hasn’t noticed yet.

Reads as“this is where it starts.”

  • InvestorThe golden entry window: just before the visible ramp, before the round, before the price.
  • BrandCatch a competitor’s takeoff weeks before it shows in your sales.
  • SupplierA brand at its inflection is about to need logistics, payments, tooling and people. Call first.

Pre-viral signal

Gravity metricComing

In Gravity by Benchr, a pre-viral signal is an e-commerce brand’s engagement accelerating faster than its followers: people interact more intensely before the crowd arrives.

Reads asthe wave before the wave.

  • InvestorThe earliest radar Gravity is building. A positive signal on a small brand is worth a call.
  • BrandConfirm your content is catching before the follower count says so.
  • AgencyProve early traction to a client when the big numbers haven’t moved yet.

Category breakout

Gravity metricComing

In Gravity by Benchr, category breakout is an e-commerce brand’s growth compared with its category’s. +20% means nothing on its own; +20% when the category does +3% means the brand is taking share.

Reads asoutperforming, or riding the tide.

  • InvestorSeparate the brands that win from the ones a hot category carries.
  • BrandAre you beating the market, or just the season?
  • AgencyThe benchmark line every report needs: client vs category.

Time to X

Gravity metricComing

In Gravity by Benchr, Time to X is the number of months an e-commerce brand took to reach a milestone — 100K followers, 100K monthly visits — since launch, compared with brands of the same generation and category.

Reads as“did in 14 months what peers do in 3 years.”

  • InvestorThe purest measure of speed of ascent, and comparable across years.
  • BrandYour pace against the brands that launched when you did.
  • SupplierBrands scaling faster than normal outgrow their suppliers faster. Be the next one.

02 · Brand power

How strong the brand really is.

For Gravity by Benchr, an e-commerce brand’s size is not its strength. These metrics measure aura: whether people want the brand, search for it, pay for it, and talk about it beyond its home market.

Brand Capital

Gravity metricComing

In Gravity by Benchr, Brand Capital is an e-commerce brand’s power and aura in one score, built from four pillars: Reach, Desire, Esteem and Resonance. The pillars multiply, so a brand has to be known and wanted and trusted and talked about; a huge brand nobody loves has mass, not aura.

Reads asa real brand, or just volume.

  • InvestorThe quality filter: high Brand Capital on a small brand is the profile of a future leader.
  • BrandThe pillar you score lowest on is your biggest lever this year.
  • AgencyThe diagnostic that opens a pitch: “you’re strong on reach, weak on esteem; here’s the plan.”
  • SupplierHigh-capital brands are stable accounts worth a long sales cycle.

RIF — Reach Influence Factor

Gravity metricComing

In Gravity by Benchr, RIF — the Reach Influence Factor — measures how far an e-commerce brand resonates beyond its home country: the share of its audience that comes from abroad, weighted by how many markets it spans.

Reads asready to go global, or still local.

  • InvestorA young brand with a high RIF is a global story before it has a global team.
  • BrandWhich countries already want you, before you spend a euro there.
  • SupplierCross-border logistics, payments, translation: a rising RIF is a brand about to need you.
  • AgencyInternational plans backed by demand data, not by guesswork.

EMV — Earned Media Value

Industry termOn Gravity today

In Gravity by Benchr, EMV — earned media value — is the dollar value of the exposure an e-commerce brand gets without paying for it, from the creator posts that tag it over twelve months. Gravity shows it as an estimate. On its own, EMV measures noise; set against what a brand spends on ads, it measures aura.

Reads asbuzz, in dollars.

  • InvestorA brand earning more media than it buys has a demand engine, not a budget.
  • BrandWhat your creator work is worth, in the currency your CFO understands.
  • AgencyThe ROI line for influence campaigns.

Brand gravity

Gravity metricComing

In Gravity by Benchr, brand gravity is the share of an e-commerce brand’s traffic that comes for the brand — direct visits and branded searches — rather than traffic it has to buy. Do people type the brand’s name, or does the brand pay to be found?

Reads asdemand the brand owns.

  • InvestorThe hardest proxy of product-market fit: a brand people search by name doesn’t need to buy its demand.
  • BrandHow much of your growth is yours, and how much is rented from Meta and Google.
  • AgencyThe one number that proves brand work, not just performance work.

Pricing power

Gravity metricComing

In Gravity by Benchr, pricing power is an e-commerce brand’s ability to sell above its category and hold its prices: its median price against its category’s, crossed with how rarely it discounts.

Reads asa wanted brand doesn’t need a sale.

  • InvestorMargin potential and the room to premiumise, read before the P&L.
  • BrandWhether you can raise prices, and which rival is starting to discount.
  • SupplierPremium brands buy premium services. Qualify by pricing power, not by size.

03 · Health

Is the growth real, and will it last?

An e-commerce brand’s growth can be bought, inflated or faked. These Gravity by Benchr metrics look under it.

Organic growth quotient

Gravity metricComing

In Gravity by Benchr, the organic growth quotient compares an e-commerce brand’s growth with its ad dependence. A brand growing fast while its ad budget stays flat is wanted by the market, not pushed on it.

Reads aswould cutting the ads kill it?

  • InvestorThe question every diligence asks, answered in one number.
  • BrandHow much of your growth survives a budget cut.

Ad dependence

Gravity metricComing

In Gravity by Benchr, ad dependence is an e-commerce brand’s estimated ad spend as a share of its estimated revenue. High means rented, fragile growth; low means owned, healthy demand.

Reads asa brand, or a brand on life support.

  • InvestorRented growth collapses when the money stops. Price it accordingly.
  • BrandYour dependence vs your category’s: are you overspending to keep up?
  • AgencySet the client’s media mix against what healthy peers actually do.

Overheating

Gravity metricComing

In Gravity by Benchr, overheating is an e-commerce brand’s growth momentum going up while its customer satisfaction goes down: the brand is growing faster than it can deliver, and it will break.

Reads asthe crash, before the crash.

  • InvestorThe red flag hidden under a beautiful growth chart.
  • BrandYour early warning: fix operations before the reviews do the damage.
  • SupplierLogistics, customer service, fulfilment: an overheating brand needs help this quarter.
  • AgencyTell a client to slow acquisition before it burns its reputation.

EMV efficiency

Gravity metricComing

In Gravity by Benchr, EMV efficiency is an e-commerce brand’s earned media value for every dollar of ad spend. Above 1, the brand generates more buzz than it buys.

Reads asa viral machine, or a paid one.

  • InvestorThe economics of attention: who gets talked about for free.
  • BrandWhether your creator and community work outperforms your ads.
  • AgencyThe case for shifting budget from paid to earned, with a number.

Word-of-mouth coefficient

Gravity metricComing

In Gravity by Benchr, the word-of-mouth coefficient compares the growth of an e-commerce brand’s earned media with the growth of its followers. If the talk grows faster than the audience, each person talks more.

Reads asfollowed, or talked about.

  • InvestorProduct-market fit taking hold, measured in conversation.
  • BrandWhether your customers recommend you, not just follow you.
  • AgencyThe metric that proves a community strategy is working.

Customer conviction score

Gravity metricComing

In Gravity by Benchr, the customer conviction score combines an e-commerce brand’s rating, its volume of reviews and the trend of that rating. A high rating that keeps rising on a large volume is a product people love and keep loving.

Reads asloved and lasting, not a flash.

  • InvestorDurability of the product, before the retention data exists.
  • BrandWhether your product quality is trending up or quietly slipping.
  • AgencyKnow a prospect’s real reputation before you promise results.

Authenticity index

Gravity metricComing

In Gravity by Benchr, the authenticity index spots the contradictions between an e-commerce brand’s signals that give manipulation away: huge followers with tiny engagement, loud buzz with no traffic. A brand that dresses up its numbers is information in itself.

Reads asa real audience, or a bought one.

  • InvestorSkip the brands (and the founders) that fake their traction.
  • BrandCheck a rival’s numbers, or a creator’s, before you benchmark against them.
  • AgencyVet a prospect’s social proof before building a plan on it.
  • SupplierDon’t chase brands whose size is a mirage.

04 · Capital efficiency

What the growth costs.

For Gravity by Benchr, two e-commerce brands growing ×3 are not equal if one raised €500K and the other €10M.

Growth per euro raised

Gravity metricComing

In Gravity by Benchr, growth per euro raised compares an e-commerce brand’s growth in traffic, audience and sales with the capital it raised to get it.

Reads as×3 on 500K beats ×3 on 10M.

  • InvestorThe measure that predicts your return: capital efficiency, not growth alone.
  • BrandYour efficiency vs funded rivals, the argument for your own next round.

Post-raise autonomy

Gravity metricComing

In Gravity by Benchr, post-raise autonomy is how long an e-commerce brand has kept growing since its last funding round, without raising again.

Reads asstill growing without new money.

  • InvestorResilience, rarely measured: a brand that doesn’t need you is the one you want.
  • BrandProof of a business that stands on its own, for the next negotiation.

Traffic per employee

Industry termOn Gravity today

In Gravity by Benchr, traffic per employee is the demand an e-commerce brand generates per person on its team: its estimated monthly visits divided by the members who list the company on LinkedIn. A brand that creates a lot of demand with few people has a model that scales.

Reads aslean, or heavy.

  • InvestorOperational leverage, visible before the financials.
  • SupplierLean teams outsource. High traffic per head is a brand that buys tools and services.
  • BrandYour productivity against peers of the same size.

05 · Relationships

What a brand’s connections reveal.

Gravity by Benchr is a graph: e-commerce brands, creators, investors and audiences, linked. Some signals only exist in the links.

Kingmaker index

Gravity metricComing

In Gravity by Benchr, the kingmaker index measures how often a creator’s partner brands took off after working with that creator. A creator with that track record is a kingmaker: when they start with a new e-commerce brand, something is coming.

Reads aswhen they sign, pay attention.

  • InvestorAn early alert on brands no screen would catch yet.
  • BrandWhich creators to sign: the ones with a record of launching winners.
  • AgencyCreator recommendations with proof, not with follower counts.

Competitive proximity

Gravity metricComing

In Gravity by Benchr, competitive proximity is the share of creators and audience two e-commerce brands have in common. It defines real competitors by the facts — who fights for the same people — not by the declared category.

Reads asyour real rivals.

  • InvestorThe right comparison set for any brand, in one click.
  • BrandWho you actually compete with for attention, which is rarely who you think.
  • AgencyThe competitor set for every pitch and every report.
  • SupplierLookalike targeting: when one brand buys, its neighbours are next.

Smart money score

Gravity metricComing

In Gravity by Benchr, the smart money score rates the quality of the investors behind an e-commerce brand. A brand backed by funds with a record of winners inherits a signal, and a strong fund entering a brand is itself an early sign.

Reads asbacked by people who pick well.

  • InvestorFollow, or avoid, the moves of the funds that get it right.
  • BrandWho to raise from: the investors whose brands go on to win.
  • SupplierFreshly funded brands have budget and a mandate to scale. Time your outreach.

06 · Verdicts

The synthesis.

These Gravity by Benchr scores turn an e-commerce brand’s trajectory, power, health, capital efficiency and relationships into a decision.

Triangulated Revenue

Gravity metricComing

In Gravity by Benchr, Triangulated Revenue is an e-commerce brand’s revenue estimated from several independent proxies — traffic × conversion × basket, reviews × basket, headcount × revenue per head, ad spend — reconciled together and calibrated on brands whose revenue is known. No single proxy is reliable; their convergence is, and it cannot be dressed up.

Reads asa size you can’t fake.

  • InvestorSize the deal before the founder sends a deck.
  • BrandHow big your competitors really are.
  • SupplierQualify prospects by budget, not by follower count.
  • AgencySize a prospect, and the fee that fits.

Viral Efficiency

Gravity metricComing

In Gravity by Benchr, Viral Efficiency is the signature GO signal: strong growth, high brand gravity, low ad dependence and high EMV efficiency, together. It describes an e-commerce brand growing fast, searched by name, without buying its demand, and earning more buzz than it pays for.

Reads asthe profile of the great exits.

  • InvestorWhen the four align, it’s a GO. The shortlist writes itself.
  • BrandThe state to aim for, and which of the four you’re missing.
  • AgencyThe target picture for a client’s growth plan.

Brand generation

Gravity metricComing

In Gravity by Benchr, brand generation classifies e-commerce brands by the era of their growth tools: heritage, pre-digital, digital-established, social-native, creator-native, emerging. A brand is only compared with its own generation: reaching 100K followers in 2015 and in 2024 are not the same feat.

Reads ascompare peers, not eras.

  • InvestorFair comparisons: a 2023 brand against 2023 brands.
  • BrandYour real peer set, and the rules of the game you’re playing.
  • AgencyBenchmarks that hold up in front of a client.

Capital × Momentum matrix

Gravity metricComing

In Gravity by Benchr, the Capital × Momentum matrix places an e-commerce brand’s Brand Capital — what the brand has built — against its momentum — where it is going. It has four quadrants: Star (high and high), Sleeping beauty (strong brand, falling momentum), Challenger (small brand, rising fast) and Dormant (low and low).

Reads asevery brand in one of four boxes.

  • InvestorOne thesis per quadrant: back Challengers early, buy Sleeping beauties for turnarounds.
  • BrandWhere you sit, and where your rivals are heading.
  • AgencySleeping beauties need a relaunch. That’s a pitch.
  • SupplierChallengers are scaling and under-equipped. That’s a sale.

07 · Ads, products & creators

What the day-to-day reveals.

Everyone can see an e-commerce brand’s ads, products and creators. Gravity by Benchr measures what they say.

Gravity Score

Gravity metricComing

In Gravity by Benchr, the Gravity Score is a single 0–100 score combining an e-commerce brand’s Brand Capital, momentum and health: the credit score of brands, one number to compare any two brands in the index, always shown with its three components.

Reads ashow good is this brand, in one number.

  • InvestorRank, filter and set alerts on the whole index.
  • BrandYour score against your rivals’, updated monthly.
  • SupplierA fast way to tier your prospect list.
  • AgencyA before/after for every engagement.

Creative survival rate

Gravity metricComing

In Gravity by Benchr, the creative survival rate is the share of an e-commerce brand’s ads still running 30 days after launch. Brands kill what doesn’t convert, so an ad that survives is an ad that pays.

Reads asfinding winners, or burning budget.

  • BrandWhich of your rivals’ ads actually work. Study those, not the newest.
  • AgencyCreative strategy backed by what survives in the market.
  • InvestorA proxy for marketing efficiency with no access to the ad account.

Product–service gap

Gravity metricComing

In Gravity by Benchr, the product–service gap is the difference between how customers rate an e-commerce brand’s products, in store reviews, and how they rate the company, on Trustpilot. Loved products with a hated service is an operations problem that growth hides.

Reads asgreat product, broken delivery.

  • InvestorA fixable problem, often priced as a fatal one. Or the reverse.
  • BrandWhether to invest in product or in operations next.
  • SupplierCustomer service, logistics and fulfilment providers: this is your lead list.

Owned traffic

Gravity metricComing

In Gravity by Benchr, owned traffic is the share of an e-commerce brand’s visits it doesn’t pay for — direct, email, organic search and organic social — against paid search, paid social, display and affiliates.

Reads as“60% of its demand is its own.”

  • InvestorThe question behind every DTC valuation, answered per brand.
  • BrandHow much of your traffic would survive without a media budget.
  • AgencyThe mix to move a client towards, and the proof when you get there.

Ambassador rate

Gravity metricComing

In Gravity by Benchr, the ambassador rate is the share of creators tagging an e-commerce brand who tag it three times or more: long relationships, not one-off placements. An ambassador base is an asset ads can’t buy.

Reads asrelationships, or placements.

  • BrandHow loyal your creator base is, and how loyal your rivals’ is.
  • AgencyDesign ambassador programmes on what already works for the category.
  • InvestorCommunity strength, measured, before the brand calls it a community.

Fragility index

Gravity metricComing

In Gravity by Benchr, the fragility index puts an e-commerce brand’s red flags in one score: overheating, ad dependence, reliance on a single hero product, seasonality and ad concentration. It is the mirror of Viral Efficiency.

Reads asthe NO-GO score.

  • InvestorInvestors look for winners; they pay most to avoid losses. This is that number.
  • BrandYour weak points, listed before a competitor or a bad quarter finds them.

How Gravity reads a brand

Three rules behind every Gravity metric.

  1. Movement beats size. Every Gravity by Benchr metric lives in time: an e-commerce brand’s size says where the brand is, and its speed says where it is going.
  2. Everything is compared with peers. Gravity by Benchr compares every e-commerce brand with its category: a raw number lies, and the same number against the brand’s peers tells the truth.
  3. Estimates stay estimates. Gravity by Benchr labels every value as collected, declared, estimated or computed, and dates it, because a wrong signal about a brand costs more than no signal. Every source is listed on the Our data page.

See Gravity on any e-commerce brand.

Type a brand on the Gravity by Benchr home page, or open any online store with the free Gravity Chrome extension. Momentum, earned media value and traffic per employee are on Gravity brand pages today.

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