Blended ROAS (MER)
Marketing Efficiency Ratio (MER) Benchmark for DTC Brands
As of Aug 2026 adtribute customer panel Next update: Monthly, once the previous month completes across the panel
The monthly median blended ROAS (MER) across the DTC brands in our panel, from real ad spend and Shopify orders rather than surveys or platform averages.
What is a good marketing efficiency ratio (MER)? As of August 2026, the median blended ROAS (MER) across the DTC brands in our panel is 5.14, down about 5 percent from 5.39 a year earlier. The middle half of these brands sits between 3.82 and 7.97.
Key takeaways
- Blended ROAS, also called MER or marketing efficiency ratio, divides all revenue by all paid ad spend: the whole-business efficiency number that no attribution model can inflate.
- As of August 2026 the median is 5.14, down about 5 percent from 5.39 a year earlier, with the middle half of brands between 3.82 and 7.97.
- Since January 2025 the median has ranged from 4.83 (May 2026) to 6.27 (January 2025), down about 18 percent over the full window.
- The series is a balanced panel from January 2025: the same brands in every month, so the line moves because the market moved, never because the panel changed.
The data
| Period | Lower quartile | Blended ROAS (MER) (median) | Upper quartile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2026 | 3.82 | 5.14 | 7.97 |
| Jul 2026 | 3.63 | 4.86 | 6.37 |
| Jun 2026 | 3.70 | 5.17 | 6.66 |
| May 2026 | 3.51 | 4.83 | 6.26 |
| Apr 2026 | 3.69 | 4.90 | 6.44 |
| Mar 2026 | 3.53 | 4.89 | 6.73 |
| Feb 2026 | 3.63 | 5.00 | 7.59 |
| Jan 2026 | 3.46 | 5.86 | 9.49 |
| Dec 2025 | 3.52 | 5.35 | 9.48 |
| Nov 2025 | 3.79 | 5.54 | 9.05 |
| Oct 2025 | 3.66 | 5.55 | 7.57 |
| Sep 2025 | 3.35 | 4.92 | 7.61 |
| Aug 2025 | 3.58 | 5.39 | 9.47 |
| Jul 2025 | 3.76 | 5.70 | 8.61 |
| Jun 2025 | 3.75 | 5.52 | 8.60 |
| May 2025 | 3.56 | 5.49 | 8.18 |
| Apr 2025 | 3.86 | 5.20 | 8.53 |
| Mar 2025 | 3.58 | 5.44 | 8.88 |
| Feb 2025 | 3.55 | 5.80 | 8.49 |
| Jan 2025 | 3.28 | 6.27 | 10.62 |
By industry
Latest month, same methodology, each computed from its own balanced panel.
| Segment | Aug 2026 | vs all industries | vs a year earlier |
|---|---|---|---|
| All industries | 5.14 | - | ▼ -5% |
| Beauty & personal care | 5.11 | -1% | ▲ +1% |
| Fashion & accessories | 5.36 | +4% | ▼ -20% |
| Health & nutrition | 4.11 | -20% | ▲ +2% |
| Home & living | 6.54 | +27% | ▲ +8% |
What this means for e-commerce and DTC brands
MER is the number a CFO trusts when every platform claims credit for the same order: total revenue over total ad spend, no attribution required. Because the numerator includes organic, repeat and CRM-driven orders, it reads higher than any per-channel ROAS, which is exactly why it is the honest whole-business number. Platform dashboards can all look healthy while MER falls, and that is the situation this line exists to catch. Read it together with blended CAC and AOV to see whether pressure comes from acquisition cost, basket size or repeat behavior.
What this benchmark does not tell you
Revenue is gross of returns and includes tax and shipping, so MER here is a gross ratio, consistent over time for trend reading. Spend covers connected paid advertising channels and excludes offline media, influencer budgets managed outside ad platforms and agency fees, so fully loaded efficiency is somewhat lower. Blended MER says nothing about incrementality: a brand with strong organic demand can show a high MER while its ads add little. The panel reflects adtribute's customer base, which skews toward growth-stage direct-to-consumer brands.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good marketing efficiency ratio?
For the DTC brands in our panel, the median MER is 5.14 as of August 2026, down about 5 percent from 5.39 a year earlier, and the middle half of brands sits between 3.82 and 7.97. By industry, the median ranges from 4.11 in health & nutrition to 6.54 in home & living. A good MER is one above your break-even MER (1 ÷ gross margin) with enough room to cover fixed costs: a brand with a 60 percent margin breaks even on ad spend at 1.67 and only earns money well above it.
How do you calculate marketing efficiency ratio?
MER = total revenue ÷ total paid advertising spend in the same period. Example: €200,000 of revenue on €40,000 of ad spend is a MER of 5.0. Revenue here is gross Shopify order revenue including repeat orders, tax and shipping, and spend covers every connected ad channel.
What is the difference between MER and ROAS?
ROAS measures one channel and depends on an attribution model deciding which orders that channel caused. MER measures the whole business: all revenue divided by all paid spend, with no attribution involved. Every platform's ROAS can look healthy while MER falls, and that is exactly the situation MER is there to catch.
What is blended ROAS?
Blended ROAS is another name for MER: total revenue divided by total ad spend. It reads higher than any single channel's attributed ROAS because the numerator also includes organic, repeat and email-driven orders.
What percentage of revenue should be spent on marketing?
Paid ad spend as a share of revenue is simply 1 ÷ MER. At the median MER of 5.14, DTC brands spend about 19.5 percent of revenue on paid advertising, and the middle half between 12.5 and 26.2 percent. Agency fees, creative production and influencer budgets outside the ad platforms come on top.
What MER do I need to break even?
Break-even MER = 1 ÷ gross margin, where gross margin is what remains of revenue after product cost, shipping and payment fees. A 50 percent margin needs a MER of 2.0, 60 percent needs 1.67, 70 percent needs 1.43. Because MER includes repeat revenue, a brand can sit above break-even on MER while still losing money on new-customer acquisition.
How does MER compare with channel ROAS?
On a blended basis the median DTC brand runs at 5.14. Per channel, on adtribute attribution, the median Meta Ads ROAS is 1.15 on last touch and 1.88 on first touch, and the median non-brand Google Ads ROAS is 2.72 on last touch and 4.53 on first touch.
Where does this benchmark come from, and how often is it updated?
It is aggregated from the connected ad accounts, first-party tracking and Shopify orders of a subset of adtribute customers, all direct-to-consumer brands. The panel is balanced, the same brands in every month since January 2025, so the line moves because the market moved, not because the panel changed. Only medians and quartile bands are published, never a single brand's value, and the series updates every month.
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