Why Fashion, Beauty, and Lifestyle Brands Are Measuring the Wrong Things
We’ve all seen it before—brands racking up Instagram followers, viral TikToks, and high engagement, yet wondering why their sales are stagnant. The answer? They’re measuring the wrong things. It’s easy to get caught up in vanity metrics that look good but don’t drive real growth. Let’s break down how fashion, beauty, and lifestyle brands are falling into this trap and how they can start tracking what really matters.
Chasing Vanity Metrics Like They Mean Something
Vanity metrics—follower count, likes, page views—are the eye candy of the data world. They feel good and look even better, but when it comes to actual revenue? They’re about as useful as last season’s trends. Take this for example: a survey by HubSpot found that 61% of marketers consider generating leads and revenue their top challenge. Yet, many are still stuck celebrating metrics that don’t directly impact their bottom line.
A million Instagram followers might make your brand look popular, but if they’re not converting into customers, what’s the point? Studies show that social media conversion rates across industries are only around 2.6% on average. Instead, brands should focus on metrics that highlight actual consumer behavior—conversion rates, customer acquisition costs (CAC), and lifetime value (LTV). These numbers show the real return on your marketing efforts and whether your audience is actually buying what you’re selling.
Sleeping on Customer Retention? That’s Costing You
Let’s talk retention. In the world of fashion, beauty, and lifestyle, it costs 5x more to acquire a new customer than it does to retain an existing one. Yet, many brands are so focused on attracting new buyers that they forget about the customers they’ve already won over. That’s a major missed opportunity.
Repeat customers are the backbone of long-term growth. In fact, research shows that repeat buyers spend 67% more than new customers. But if you’re not tracking metrics like churn rate, repeat purchase rate, or even Net Promoter Score (NPS), you’re essentially flying blind. These numbers can help brands build loyalty programs, create targeted campaigns, and offer personalized experiences that keep customers coming back for more.
Sephora is a great example. Their Beauty Insider program doesn’t just drive first-time sales—it creates lifelong customers. The brand sees 80% of sales coming from repeat customers thanks to its tiered loyalty system that keeps buyers engaged and spending more with each purchase. Even I make sure I hit my spending minimum each year just to remain a VIB (Very Important Beauty Insider). If I’m personally motivated to keep that status, imagine how many others are doing the same.
Throwing Money at Ads Without Measuring Efficiency? Not a Good Look
It’s easy to dump money into ads and expect results, but if you’re not evaluating how efficient your ad spend is, you’re probably wasting cash. In fact, 80% of marketers say their paid media channels are not effective. That’s a lot of ad dollars down the drain.
Here’s where it gets tricky: many brands look at total ad spend without considering how well those dollars are converting. If your cost per acquisition (CAC) is high and your return on ad spend (ROAS) is low, you’re burning money without a clear path to profit. The brands winning in this space are the ones that optimize their ad spend by constantly refining their campaigns and shifting focus to high-performing channels.
Take Glossier, for example. By focusing on organic social media growth alongside carefully targeted paid ads, they’ve been able to drive engagement while keeping acquisition costs relatively low compared to their competitors. Their customer acquisition costs are 60% lower than many other beauty brands because they invest smartly and track ROAS religiously.
Sleeping on Product Metrics? Time for a Wake-Up Call
Tracking the right product data is essential, especially for fashion and lifestyle brands where inventory management can make or break profitability. For example, 35% of fashion and apparel businesses cite unsold inventory as one of their biggest challenges. If you’re not monitoring sell-through rates or keeping an eye on how long products are sitting on the shelves, you’re leaving money on the table.
Tracking metrics like average order value (AOV) and units per transaction (UPT) are key for brands looking to drive more value from each customer. Fashion brands like Everlane, for example, use these metrics to guide their pricing strategy and optimize inventory management. By analyzing product data, they’ve been able to sell through styles faster and increase AOV by promoting upsell opportunities through bundles and product pairings.
The Metrics That Really Matter
The thread connecting all of this? The most important metrics are the ones that show how efficiently your brand attracts, retains, and delights customers, leading directly to profitability. In an increasingly crowded market, tracking metrics that matter—customer retention, ad spend efficiency, and product profitability—is the key to staying competitive and driving long-term success.
Join Us for a Power Session on Boosting Brand Revenue 🚀
Ready to accelerate your brand’s growth by tracking the right metrics? 📊 Join me and Kelly Stacey, a powerhouse Fractional CEO/COO, on Tuesday, October 29th at 1:00 PM EST for a can’t-miss session on driving revenue for fashion, beauty, and lifestyle brands. We’ll dive deep into the biggest challenges brands face and share actionable marketing strategies to solve them.
Consider this your personal invite—don’t miss out! Register here and get ready to level up your brand. 💥
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