Steve Rekuc, Director of Data at Common Thread Collective, joins Richard to break down the Q1 2026 vs Q1 2025 year-over-year data from the DTC Index.

The headline: Meta spend is up 25% year over year while ROAS only degraded 3%. Google ROAS actually increased 12% despite higher spend. The platforms are getting more elastic.

In this episode:

Total revenue up 13.6% YoY with more coming from returning customers
Meta spend up 25.28% with only 3% ROAS degradation
Google ROAS up 12% with 3.65% more spend
Why AI-driven ad delivery is making both platforms better
CPMs are up but click-through rates are improving
The DTC Index data set: 200-300 stores, proprietary consumer confidence metrics
Consumer confidence: future purchase sentiment and hope for the economy
How the DTCCI (DTC Consumer Confidence Index) predicts spending elasticity

Show Notes:

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Q1 2026 vs 2025: What Changed in Ecommerce (The Data)