| Metric | Benchmark | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| CAC payback period | Under 3 months elite, 3-6 healthy, 6-12 workable, over 12 fragile | Payback is the months until a cohort's cumulative contribution profit covers its nCAC. Past 12 months you're funding growth with outside capital, and fragile to any CAC spike or platform shock. |
| Payback: consumables | 1-6 months | Food, beauty, pet and supplements: a short repurchase cycle earns the acquisition cost back fast. |
| Payback: fashion and home | 3-6 months when repeat is genuinely strong; 6-9 when it isn't | Be honest about which one you are, because the difference decides how much working capital growth needs. |
| Payback: durables and electronics | 6-12+ months | Long replacement cycles stretch payback, which puts more weight on first-order contribution. |
| LTV:CAC ratio | 3:1 to 5:1 is strong (nCAC at 20-33% of contribution LTV) | Measured on a 12-month contribution LTV window. Above 5:1 you're likely underinvesting in growth; 2:1 to 3:1 is workable only with payback inside 6 months. |
| LTV:CAC below 2:1 | Red, unless first orders are genuinely profitable | Below 2:1 at that window you're buying revenue if first orders are underwater. It's only acceptable with years two and three observed in your own cohort tables. |
| How to measure LTV | Contribution profit over a stated window, usually 12 months | Never revenue, never gross margin alone, and never 'lifetime' with no window. Revenue LTV against paid CAC looks roughly twice as good as the honest version. |
| Early LTV signal | ~30% growth beyond the first order within 60 days; roughly double within 12 months | Value growing like that means a genuine brand connection. With no 12-month cohort yet, run the test at the longest window most of your cohort has reached, often 60 or 90 days. |
| The three gates | First-order floor, payback under 6 months, nCAC under ~33% of contribution LTV | Run every acquisition decision through all three, with first and repeat order values as two separate numbers rather than one blended AOV. |
| nCAC vs blended CAC | nCAC: new customers only | Blended CAC lets repeat orders you didn't pay for flatter the maths. When deciding whether to spend more, run the gates on the marginal customer's incremental nCAC. |
How to use these benchmarks
These ranges are directional, not guarantees. They are drawn from The DTC Playbook and Rob Ward's operating experience taking Quad Lock from $0 to a $500M exit, cross-checked against widely cited DTC data. The point is not the exact number - it is whether you sit above or below it, and what to do about the gap. Judge yourself against your own category and trend as well.
Last reviewed: October 2026. Benchmarks are refreshed as the playbook is updated.
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