Fatigued by the battle with ever-changing Meta algorithms and skyrocketing customer acquisition costs (CAC)? You’re not alone. The landscape of digital marketing has shifted dramatically, with CAC rising 60% over the past five years — a trend showing no signs of reversal. However, there is a silver lining: resilient revenue streams enabled by mobile apps and their free, efficient push notifications for Ecommerce.

Read on for all the details, starting with a closer look at why CAC is rising — and how mobile apps lower marketing costs for eCommerce brands. 

Rising CAC and its implications

To the surprise of no marketing executive, and according to Statista, CAC has increased by 60% in the last half-decade. This means marketing budgets must stretch further to achieve the same results. And on top of that, there’s no reason to believe those costs will come down anytime soon.

In fact, spending on digital advertising is expected to increase to $836 billion in the US alone in 2026. In other words, whenever a company starts using digital advertising, there’s even more competition for the same new customer pool targeted by paid search and social, the two top forms of digital advertising for ecommerce brands.

Winning the customer acquisition battle takes persistence, personality, and — of course — cash. 

This isn’t to say that paid search and social aren’t worth it. In many instances, it very much is. But the most forward-thinking businesses are searching for ways to make those marketing dollars work harder and smarter (and ensure they’re offset sooner) by transforming hard-earned, definitely not-cheap new customers into loyal, long-term shoppers. 

The Role of Owned Channels in Lowering Marketing Costs 

Why focus on owned channels? To offset high CAC and target high-quality customers with the right marketing efforts

The average Facebook ad near the end of 2024 cost 70 cents per click, or $13.75 for every 1,000 impressions. While these ads can — and sometimes should — be used to retarget high-value customer cohorts, there’s no denying that paid retargeting hampers your ability to recoup those high acquisition costs sooner rather than later.

While marketers can't change the external costs they're charged, they can find ways to allocate their marketing spend more optimally to drive a more significant impact on their acquisition efforts. That means, first and foremost, figuring out precisely what you want from those paid search and social efforts and then designing them as such.

Our best advice is to design and invest in more aggressive, targeted campaigns that pinpoint truly profitable customer segments. Once these high-quality customers are acquired, shift the focus to lower-cost retention marketing strategies and retargeting efforts to maximize ROI.

In other words, as soon as possible, diversify remarketing efforts with the help of channels with a lower total cost of ownership (TCO), like a website, SMS and email marketing, and a mobile app.

BrüMate, the trending drinkware brand, believes in this diversification strategy. In fact, by being more cost-effective with its retargeting, the brand figured out how to offset rising customer acquisition costs in eCommerce. As a result, it can be more aggressive at acquisition — a major win in today’s crowded consumer goods marketplace.

"Having the app lets me be more aggressive on acquisition because it’s a reliable and efficient sales channel that increases our MER. It's a huge safety blanket when it comes to scaling the most expensive channels." — Hans Harris, Director of Growth at BrüMate

Just how well does BrüMate’s mobile app perform? It has 56% higher sales per session vs. the website. The conversion rate (CVR) is 43% higher, too. The resulting increase in lifetime value (LTV) is a result of an app strategy that:

• Creates FOMO to drive app downloads immediately, enhancing engagement and CX without increasing costs.
• Leverages app exclusives designed for the highest-intent, highest-quality customers.
• Keeps the brand top of mind with “prime real estate” on customers’ home screens.
• Drives customers to the higher-converting channel via no-added-cost push notifications, generating a “super resilient base of monthly revenue” that’s “nearly freely acquired” and gives the brand freedom to be more aggressive in paid acquisition.

That last point leads us to the next must-have tool for any marketer looking to offset CAC: push notifications — and why they matter more than ever as the email and SMS marketing landscape changes and your customer base grows. 

BrüMate’s success illustrates how push notifications are not only cost-efficient but also indispensable for brands seeking to maximize their customers' lifetime value. Let’s explore why push notifications are outperforming traditional retention channels like email and SMS.

Push notifications vs. SMS and email for engagement

Why Email and SMS are losing their edge in retention marketing

Both email and SMS have long been a part of most ecommerce brands’ retention flywheel, but the channels aren’t as effective as they used to be. 

One reason for the change is that Google and Yahoo continue to crack down on emails from marketers. But Google and Yahoo’s filters — and that handy ‘unsubscribe’ button — are just a singular obstacle. Shifting consumer behavior and inbox fatigue also make emails increasingly easy to ignore.

It’s also worth noting that email open rates are relatively low across all industries. According to a survey conducted by Neil Patel, even on the best day to send a B2C email (Wednesday, by the way!), average customer open rates hovered around 18.5%.

And SMS? Those messages, too, are getting easier to ignore. With every iOS update, texting customers becomes a little trickier. iOS 16 introduced privacy features like promotional filters and unknown sender alerts, drastically reducing visibility for marketing texts.

Additionally, the rise in skepticism toward promotional messaging has led customers to rely more on personal recommendations and trusted channels. With email and SMS losing their impact, brands need retention strategies that cut through the noise — starting with owned, high-engagement channels like push notifications.

How scalable push notifications boost conversion rates and lower remarketing costs

With email and SMS fading, it’s time to explore alternative strategies — ones that guarantee visibility and engagement without added cost. Enter push notifications, a high-impact solution built for today’s challenges, and a scalable way to diversify that retention flywheel. 

Unlike paid channels like SMS, push notifications incur no additional cost, making them a scalable solution as your customer base grows and one of the best retention marketing strategies for eCommerce brands.

Case in point: Before fashion brand LSKD had a mobile app, Meta ads were the business’s chief way of driving revenue. LSKD knew an app would allow them to be top of mind of customers’ home screens and, as a lower-TOC channel, give retention efforts a significant boost at a lower cost. 

The app has a 156% higher CVR than the website and a 51% higher average order value (AOV). And the brand’s community-driven push strategy is a massive reason for this success.

“How we sound as a brand on email or the website is very different from how we sound in a push notification. When you get a push on your phone, it feels like a personalized message. We use this platform and how it's perceived to add value to our community and not just sell.” — Locke Fitzpatrick, Digital Marketing Manager

Push notifications, unlike SMS and email, don’t get ignored or missed 

Apparel darling Oh Polly is also all-in on push notifications. Push notifications offer Oh Polly brand visibility, engagement, and authenticity—all via an efficient, scalable channel. It’s the chief reason why, when a new customer is acquired, Oh Polly does everything it can to encourage app downloads. 

Oh Polly also relies on push for time-sensitive notifications customers don’t want to miss, like big sales and exclusive promotions. In the past, the brand has received complaints from customers who either didn't see the email or were so distracted by the hundreds of emails in their inboxes that they didn’t realize the message was important. 

As of mid-2024, Oh Polly has sent over 400M push notifications, a number that, over a paid channel like SMS, might be downright terrifying. But since push notifications are sent over an owned channel, the cost won’t increase as your customer base grows. In other words, push becomes more valuable and cost-efficient the more downloads your brand gets — a serious win for any brand set on growth. 

Moreover, many marketers (and their customers) believe that push notifications don’t feel spammy the way SMS and email often do. They are natural-looking and on-brand, appear as an extension of your company and its app, are easy to personalize and segment, and lead customers directly to the app with a single, effortless click.

And, above all else, push notifications work. Everything we’ve mentioned above, from how easy they are to segment, personalize, and craft to how “natural” they feel on your customers’ home screens, leads to a seriously higher push notification CVR. For Aviator Nation, for example, it’s 7x better than SMS, and a chief reason why mobile apps are one of the most cost-efficient ways to boost customer loyalty in 2025.

Offset rising acquisition costs with an owned mobile app that drives high-quality revenue through push notifications 

Paid social and search are non-negotiable for acquiring new customers, but they don’t have to strain your marketing budget indefinitely. By focusing on scalable retention strategies, brands can lower costs, improve marketing efficiency (MER), and build reliable, high-quality revenue streams.

Success begins with targeting the right customer cohorts. But it doesn’t end there. Keeping customers engaged, loyal, and spending requires cost-effective tools like mobile apps and push notifications. These owned channels offer a unique opportunity to offset acquisition costs and maximize ROI without breaking the bank.

With the right approach, your brand can thrive in today’s high-CAC environment. Don’t let rising CAC eat into your profits. Take the first step in transforming your retention strategy with Tapcart’s mobile app solutions—complete with the power of push notifications to boost loyalty and ROI.