Why DTC Brands Are Diversifying Off Meta (and What's Actually Working)

Key Takeaways Meta ad costs have climbed faster than the audience growth behind them, with reported cost-per-lead up 21% year over year and CPMs spiking as much as 66% in key ecommerce categories during peak season. The budget isn’t disappearing, it’s spreading out. Retail media, TikTok Shop, and retention marketing are all growing faster than paid social, and brands that scale past roughly $200K in monthly ad spend cut their Meta allocation by nearly a third compared to smaller accounts.