DTC Unit Economics: Post-ATT Customer Acquisition Cost, Cohort LTV Decays, and Blended MER
Benchmarking paid social efficiency, 12-month repeat purchase velocity, and contribution margin across consumer vertical cohorts.
Cohort LTV & MER Calculator
Evaluate 60-day repeat purchase decay and blended ad efficiency
Empirical Analysis & Findings
## Capital Allocation and Repeat Retention in Consumer Brands
Privacy changes (Apple iOS App Tracking Transparency, third-party cookie deprecation) permanently increased first-touch customer acquisition costs across digital ad channels. DTC brands must evaluate unit economics through cohort lifetime value (LTV) curves rather than vanity day-1 ROAS.
### 1. Cohort Unit Economics Across Consumer Verticals
| E-Commerce Vertical | Avg First-Order CAC | Day 1 AOV | 60-Day Repeat Rate | 12-Month LTV | LTV:CAC Ratio |
|:-------------------|:-------------------:|:---------:|:------------------:|:------------:|:-------------:|
| Functional Beverage / Nutrition | $42.00 | $54.00 | 28.5% | $148.00 | 3.52x |
| Clean Skincare / Cosmetics | $58.00 | $68.00 | 24.2% | $182.00 | 3.14x |
| Direct Consumer Apparel | $64.00 | $92.00 | 12.8% | $132.00 | 2.06x |
| Specialty Home Goods | $88.00 | $145.00 | 6.5% | $168.00 | 1.91x |
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Marketing Efficiency Ratio (MER) and why has it replaced platform ROAS?
MER divides total gross revenue by total paid ad spend across all channels, eliminating skewed in-platform attribution windows caused by Apple ATT privacy limits.
What is a sustainable Day 60 repeat purchase rate for venture-backed DTC brands?
Healthy DTC consumables achieve a 22% to 32% 60-day repurchase rate, whereas discretionary apparel and hardware typically range between 8% and 14%.
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