---
id: "claim-digital-cac-rise"
type: "claim"
source_timestamps: ["¶3"]
source_title: "The Comeback of the Physical Store—and What It Means for Your Business"
source_url: "https://hbr.org/2026/04/the-comeback-of-the-physical-store-and-what-it-means-for-your-business"
tags: ["digital-marketing", "cac", "advertising"]
related: ["concept-dtc-stall", "prereq-cac-ltv"]
confidence: "low"
testable: true
speakers: ["Frank V. Cespedes", "Pietro Satriano"]
sources: ["tail1"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-tail1"
originDay: 1
articleStem: "hbr-tail-114-comeback-physical-store"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/04/the-comeback-of-the-physical-store-and-what-it-means-for-your-business"
sourceTitle: "The Comeback of the Physical Store—and What It Means for Your Business"
---
# Digital customer acquisition costs have risen 40-50% in five years

**Claim:** Privacy changes implemented by Apple, Meta, and other tech giants have degraded targeting in digital ad campaigns. As a result, average **cost-per-click (CPC) has risen an estimated 40–50% over the past five years**, breaking the unit economics of many DTC brands. Central to [[concept-dtc-stall]] and the marketing argument in [[contrarian-store-as-marketing]].

**Source confidence:** high (as stated in-source).

> **Enrichment check — downgraded to LOW.** None of the provided sources support the specific 40–50% CPC/CAC increase, nor do they quantify the effect of Apple's App Tracking Transparency (ATT) or Meta's changes on CAC. This is **directionally consistent with broader industry commentary but unverified here** — treat as an assertion, not a measured fact. Counter-reading: higher CAC alone does not make DTC unviable; the failure mode is undisciplined paid-acquisition dependence, not the model itself.