How to Reduce Customer Acquisition Cost for DTC Brands 2025

If 2021 was about scale at any cost, 2025 is about performance at the right cost. For digital-first brands, reducing customer acquisition cost (CAC) isn’t just a media challenge, it’s a full-system strategy issue. And finding a solution requires looking at every point of impact—channel mix, measurement approach, creative & messaging, and brand positioning all influence CAC outcomes.

The 2025 media landscape is crowded, expensive, and, at times, unforgiving. These conditions are acutely felt by DTC and Disruptor brands, who rely heavily on social platforms to drive growth but must now adapt to thinner margins, murkier attribution, and higher creative burn-out. For these brands, reducing CAC does not mean squeezing more out of Meta, it means rethinking the systems, signals, and strategies that drive customer decision-making from first impression to conversion.

1. CAC Starts With Alignment Across the Funnel

Too often, CAC is viewed through a bottom-of-funnel lens. But Justin Hayashi, CEO at New Engen, explains that, "In this market, justifying your premium means proving performance at every touchpoint." In other words, the entire funnel matters—from the bottom to the top, each stage needs to pull its weight.

Many DTC brands under-invest in top-of-funnel awareness, then struggle to drive conversions because their performance efforts are targeting audiences who aren't yet familiar with their brand. At the same time, many struggle to measure middle-of-funnel signals–like engagement quality, landing page behavior, or brand lift indicators such as ad recall–because they lack the infrastructure to capture or act on those insights consistently. 

For DTC teams focused on efficiency, full-funnel clarity isn’t a nice-to-have—it’s a must. The goal isn’t to spend less, it’s to spend smarter, with a system that ties every impression back to an intentional growth lever.

2. Use the Tools You Already Paid For

Measurement gaps are a quiet CAC killer. According to Kevin Goodwin, SVP of Strategy & Growth at New Engen, the issue isn’t usually a lack of tools—it’s that brands aren’t integrating them into decision-making in meaningful ways.

Before investing in anything new, audit your current stack. If you’re already using platforms like Northbeam or Triple Whale, the next step isn’t more data—it’s building a system to turn that data into action. Are you using those tools to guide creative testing? To inform your media roadmap? To iterate on audience strategy?

For many DTC teams, the measurement gap isn’t about access—it’s about adoption. Tools only work if they’re embedded in the way you experiment, evaluate, and evolve.

3. Positioning and Pricing as CAC Levers

Many DTC brands price for premium but market like they’re selling a deal, but this mismatch can inflate CAC. More often than not, brands wind up paying more to convince skeptical customers rather than leading with clarity. When price-to-value alignment is clear from the very first touchpoint, brands earn trust faster and convert more efficiently.

If your CAC is climbing, revisit your messaging. Are your prices transparent and easily justified? Today’s top-performing brands are clear on their products’ cost and why, both in principle and in practice—with landing pages and creative that justify pricing at every stage of the funnel

Take a critical look at how you position your pricing and product value to root out potential pitfalls and refine your audience approach. 

4. Build Testing Infrastructure, Not Just Campaigns

Too many campaigns are still run without the proper testing infrastructure in place to guide decisions and reduce inefficiencies. And it’s not just early-stage brands or young companies—even sophisticated brands are guilty of dropping the ball on formalized creative testing. Without it, any brand would be at risk of spending heavily on unproven assets and underperforming audiences.

Lowering acquisition costs isn’t about spending less, it’s about spending with intent. To do so requires strategic test-and-learn systems and a commitment to constant iteration—not just during promotional periods or product launches.

Putting It All Together

In 2025, reducing CAC means making smarter decisions across the entire funnel. From clarifying attribution to aligning your pricing strategy, brands that win are the ones building systems that convert curiosity into customer action more efficiently.

Want to learn more about how today’s top DTC brands are building infrastructure for efficiency and scale? Unlock the New Engen 2025 Disruptor Growth Playbook to get a deep dive on the methodology, testing systems, and strategic clarity that’s driving profitable growth for DTC brands in 2025.