What is the customer acquisition cost for an online clothing store?

This article will help you understand the customer acquisition cost (CAC) for an online clothing store. Knowing the different factors involved in CAC allows you to optimize your budget and scale efficiently in your ecommerce business.

What is the current average order value of a customer on the store?

The average order value (AOV) is a critical figure for understanding customer spending behavior. In the U.S., the AOV for major online clothing stores ranges from $144.52 to $163.54, with top-performing stores reaching as high as $199 per order.

A higher AOV contributes to a lower CAC by increasing the revenue generated from each customer. This means that if your store can encourage higher spending per order, your acquisition costs are more easily covered.

Optimizing your product mix, upselling, or offering bundles can increase your AOV and improve your profitability.

What is the typical conversion rate from website visitor to paying customer?

The conversion rate refers to the percentage of visitors who complete a purchase. For online clothing stores, the typical conversion rate is around 1.9% to 3.6% in 2025, with fashion being on the lower end of this range.

A higher conversion rate means fewer visitors are needed to generate sales, which directly impacts and lowers the CAC. Conversion rate optimization techniques, such as improving website design, product pages, and checkout processes, can help you convert more visitors into customers.

Strategies like targeted ads, clear product descriptions, and customer reviews can improve your store's conversion rate.

How much does the store currently spend on digital advertising per channel such as Google Ads, Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok?

Digital advertising is a major expense for online clothing stores. On average, U.S. businesses allocate about 19% of their marketing budgets to mobile ads, which includes platforms like Google Ads, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

While these platforms have different costs and effectiveness, they are crucial for driving traffic and customers to your store. Your ad spend should be carefully monitored to ensure that it aligns with your overall customer acquisition strategy.

You can optimize ad spend by targeting your audience more effectively and using advanced ad features such as remarketing to lower CAC.

What is the cost per click or cost per impression for the main advertising channels used?

The cost per click (CPC) and cost per impression (CPM) vary significantly by platform:

• Google Ads: CPC ranges from $1.50 to $2.60, with CPM around $6–$9.
• Facebook/Instagram: CPC varies from $0.90 to $1.60, while CPM is usually $7–$13.
• TikTok: CPC tends to be lower than Meta, with CPM averaging $9–$13.

The cost of ads on these platforms can add up quickly, so it's essential to track performance and optimize ad targeting to ensure you're getting the best return on investment.

What percentage of traffic comes from paid channels versus organic sources such as SEO, referrals, and social media?

For most online clothing stores, around 55% to 65% of traffic comes from paid channels, while the remainder is from organic sources like SEO, direct, referrals, and social media.

Investing in organic traffic sources can reduce your overall acquisition costs, as organic traffic is typically free or much lower cost than paid ads. However, paid channels are often necessary to scale your customer base quickly.

Balancing both paid and organic channels is key to keeping your acquisition costs sustainable over time.

How much is spent monthly on content creation, influencer partnerships, and affiliate marketing?

Typically, online clothing stores allocate 15% to 25% of their total marketing budget to content creation, influencer marketing, and affiliate programs.

This spend helps increase brand awareness and drive organic traffic, which can reduce reliance on paid ads and lower CAC in the long run. Influencers and affiliates can bring highly targeted traffic, leading to better customer acquisition.

Maximizing these efforts can improve both customer engagement and acquisition efficiency.

What are the average fulfillment and shipping costs that must be included when calculating acquisition efficiency?

Fulfillment and shipping costs per order range from $6 to $12 for standard shipping within the U.S. These costs are a significant part of the customer acquisition cost.

To keep CAC efficient, you should negotiate with shipping providers for better rates or offer free shipping with a minimum purchase threshold to increase AOV.

Consider integrating fulfillment strategies that streamline your operations and reduce per-order shipping costs.

What percentage of customers are new versus returning within a given period?

In most online clothing stores, around 65% to 75% of customers are new, with the remainder being returning customers. This ratio can vary significantly depending on your niche and marketing efforts.

Strategies for increasing customer retention, like loyalty programs or email campaigns, can help you turn more one-time buyers into repeat customers.

Focusing on retaining customers lowers your overall CAC and increases long-term profitability.

What is the average customer lifetime value and how does it compare with acquisition cost?

The average customer lifetime value (CLV) for an online clothing store ranges from $200 to $550, while the typical customer acquisition cost (CAC) is between $45 and $120.

A healthy business should have a CLV at least 3 to 4 times the CAC. This ratio ensures that you are acquiring customers efficiently and that their long-term value outweighs the cost of acquiring them.

Focusing on customer loyalty and repeat purchases can increase CLV, further improving the efficiency of your acquisition strategy.

What is the rate of abandoned carts and how much is invested in remarketing or email recovery campaigns?

The cart abandonment rate is typically around 70%, making it one of the highest challenges in ecommerce.

Investing 7% to 14% of your marketing spend in remarketing efforts, such as abandoned cart emails or targeted ads, can significantly reduce abandonment and improve CAC.

Using remarketing to recover abandoned carts can lower your overall customer acquisition cost by bringing back potential customers who were already interested in your products.

How are discounts, promotions, and first-purchase incentives affecting acquisition costs?

Offering discounts and first-purchase incentives can increase the number of customers acquired, but they can also raise your CAC by 15% to 30%.

It's important to balance the effectiveness of promotions with their cost to ensure that your profit margins are not overly impacted.

Discounts should be used strategically to attract high-value customers and drive long-term retention.

What is the current monthly budget for total marketing spend relative to total revenue?

Online clothing stores typically allocate 8% to 18% of their monthly revenue to marketing.

Monitoring this percentage is crucial to ensuring that marketing spend aligns with revenue growth and that CAC remains sustainable.

As your store grows, your marketing budget might increase, but keeping the CAC proportionate to revenue is key to a profitable business.

Conclusion

This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Readers are encouraged to consult with a qualified professional before making any investment decisions. We accept no liability for any actions taken based on the information provided.

Sources