FAQ

What KPIs Matter Most for DTC Performance Marketing?

DTC Operations

Key Takeaways
  • According to a 2024 analysis by Triple Whale across 12,000+ DTC brands, the operators who scale profitably track these five metrics daily:
  • Track daily: ROAS (by channel), CVR (by funnel step), AOV (by offer variant), CPL/CPA (by source).

The KPIs that matter most for DTC performance marketing are ROAS, LTV:CAC ratio, CVR, AOV, and subscription rebill rate -- tracked at the SKU and traffic-source level, not just as portfolio averages.

The Five That Drive Decisions

According to a 2024 analysis by Triple Whale across 12,000+ DTC brands, the operators who scale profitably track these five metrics daily:

  1. ROAS (Return on Ad Spend). The baseline profitability indicator. But ROAS alone is insufficient -- a 3x blended ROAS can mask that one channel runs at 5x while another bleeds at 1.2x.
  2. LTV:CAC Ratio. The long-term health signal. Industry benchmark is 3:1 minimum. Below that, acquisition is outpacing monetization.
  3. CVR (Conversion Rate). Measures funnel efficiency. At Stealth Labz, CVR optimization from 3% to 12% on advertorials and prelanders preceded any scale push. Improving CVR before increasing spend is the single highest-leverage action in DTC.
  4. AOV (Average Order Value). Directly impacts CAC payback. Michael George Keating's operations improved AOV from $40 to $88 through offer structure and subscription bundling, fundamentally changing what the business could afford to pay per acquisition.
  5. Subscription Rebill Rate / Take-Rate. Determines whether you build a business or run a transaction machine. Subscription take-rate improvements from 10% to 40% across the Stealth Labz portfolio transformed the unit economics of every product launched on that infrastructure.

Why SKU-Level and Source-Level Granularity Matters

Portfolio averages lie. The Stealth Labz revenue attribution system tracked 7 dimensions across 38 products and 14 affiliate sources over 28 months. That granularity revealed that PRD-01 carried a 6.0% refund rate while PRD-02 ran at 11.2%. AFF-01 generated 59% of portfolio revenue but churned entirely after February 2024. Owned traffic through the STL affiliate ID generated $77,296 with zero acquisition cost, making it the most profitable source by contribution margin -- a fact invisible in blended metrics.

When the operator can see revenue by product by affiliate by month with initial/rebill/refund splits, they make different decisions than the operator watching a single ROAS number in their ad manager. The ability to ask "what is my rebill rate on SKU X from traffic source Y in month Z" is the difference between managing a business and guessing at one.

The KPI Stack in Practice

Track daily: ROAS (by channel), CVR (by funnel step), AOV (by offer variant), CPL/CPA (by source). Track weekly: LTV cohort trends, rebill rates, refund rates by SKU. Track monthly: LTV:CAC by acquisition cohort, contribution margin by channel, churn rate by product. That cadence catches problems within the decision window where they can be fixed.

Related: How Do You Set Up Real-Time Marketing Attribution for DTC?

References

  1. Triple Whale (2024). "DTC Benchmarks Report." Performance metrics across 12,000+ DTC brands.
  2. Keating, M.G. (2026). "The Compounding Execution Method: Complete Technical Documentation." Stealth Labz. Browse papers