The Economics of Push Notifications for DTC Brands

In DTC marketing every dollar counts.

Few marketing channels offer the cost-to-impact ratio of push notifications. The combination of low cost, low effort, and significant, compounding returns makes this one of the most underutilized and underappreciated channels around.

This combination of factors creates an almost guaranteed positive ROI that most DTC brands are still not fully leveraging.

The problem is that most brands don’t fully grasp the economics of push notifications, and they either:

• Don’t use the channel to its full potential
• Take the wrong approach with push, label it ineffective, and then quit sending notifications

We’re here to help you avoid making the same mistakes as those other brands.

Here’s the truth about push notifications for ecommerce – and why it’s almost impossible not to get a positive ROI from this channel.

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The Unique Economic Advantage of Push

Push notifications stand out because of simple economic factors; low cost, high gain.

Let’s break it down.

Zero Cost per Message

Push notifications are free to send once a user has opted in. 

This fundamentally changes the economics of your marketing strategy. You can reach thousands of customers without spending a dime on the delivery itself.

Minimal Creative Lift

Push notifications don't require elaborate designs, long-form copy, or production-heavy assets. 

A typical push notification is just 10-15 words, which means your team can create and deploy messages quickly without the resource demands of other channels.

Guaranteed Visibility

Push notifications bypass crowded inboxes and go straight to the lock screen, meaning almost all of your notifications at least get seen.

Email marketers would kill for that kind of visibility.

Immediate Impact

Messages are delivered and seen in real-time, making push ideal for urgency-driven, time-sensitive campaigns (such as flash sales and abandoned carts).

High Intent Audience

You're only sending push notifications to people who've already downloaded your app.

While this limits your reach, it also means your audience is warmer than any other channel.

These customers have already demonstrated commitment to your brand by installing your app on their device. That makes it much more likely that advertising to these customers will have meaningful results.

Compounding Results

When you invest in a marketing channel, you don’t want to be putting blood, sweat and ad spend (and a few tears along the way) just to get someone who’s going to buy once and forget you.

Because push subscribers are already much more qualified, they’re more likely to be the kind of high-value, loyal customers who contribute a significant LTV over time (if you nurture them the right way, early in their customer journey).

Push vs Other Channels: The ROI Breakdown

To better understand why the economics of push notifications are so compelling, let's compare them to other key marketing channels:

• SMS – High open rates (~98%) but costs per send add up, limiting frequency.
• Email – Strong ROI but requires ongoing creative effort and risks inbox fatigue.
• Paid Ads – Expensive, high-risk, but limitless reach.

Push notifications, in contrast, always drive profit because the cost is fixed at close to zero. This opens up far more possibilities and viable use cases.

Don’t get it twisted: Push is not a competitor to email/SMS/paid ads

Comparing push to email, SMS and paid ads is not to say you should stop marketing on these channels and divert all your resources to push.

They’re not competitors – they’re complements, each filling a specific niche in a holistic marketing strategy.

• Paid ads are your growth engine.
• Email is the catch-all, low-cost channel for nurturing people new to your brand, driving retention from existing customers, and building brand affinity. 
• SMS is the high-impact channel for driving immediate sales.
• Push is for nurturing your top 15% who contribute an outsized impact to your revenue.

The best brands use each channel in concert, to meet their entire customer base at the right channel and at the right stage in their customer journey.

Where Brands Fail with Push

Brands that have a mobile app, but aren’t getting any meaningful return from push notifications are typically making the same mistakes we see over and over again.

Mistake #1: Expecting Every Push to Convert

The temptation is to expect every push to drive immediate revenue. But that’s the wrong mindset. 

Because of the economics, as we learned, every message doesn’t have to drive an instant return on investment.

You can afford to send 20 messages and only have 1 result in a reaction, and you’re still ahead.

Think in terms of frequency and consistency rather than single-message performance. You don’t measure paid ads by one impression, so don’t measure push by one send.

Mistake #2: Not Sending Enough

Some brands hesitate, sending just one push every few weeks. 

The economics don’t work so well without scale. 1 reaction in 20 messages doesn’t work out so well if those 20 messages come over 20 weeks.

If you’re sending 1 or fewer notifications per week, up the cadence. Brands should typically send 2-5 per week.

“But I don’t want to annoy my customers – they might unsubscribe.”

That’s where the third mistake comes in.

Mistake #3: Sending Irrelevant, Overly Salesy, or Annoying Messages

Over-sending is not really the issue. The issue is over-sending push notifications that the customer doesn’t want.

This comes from notifications that are always pushing a sale, irrelevant, impersonal, intrusive or annoying messages.

If customers feel spammed, they’ll disable notifications, or worse, uninstall the app.

But if your customers enjoy receiving your notifications, and you can message them daily without any issues.

To fix, prioritize personalization and value-driven messaging. Keep them simple, positive, on-brand.

Action Steps: How to Start Winning with Push Notifications

Want to turn push notifications into one of your most effective, pound-for-pound, marketing channels?

The biggest change most brands need to make is to shift their focus from immediate results, to building awareness and mindshare.

Most of your notifications should be aimed at keeping your brand top of mind, and building familiarity with your customers.

You can include gentle reminders of what you sell, but you’re not blasting someone with a “buy this NOW” every day.

Because of the low-cost, low-effort of push notifications, you don’t need an instant return.

Think of push notifications more like a billboard, or a display ad on your customer’s phone.

People don’t immediately swerve off the highway to get to a grocery store when they see a Coke billboard.

But if they see that billboard every day, Coca Cola will be the first thing they think about when they’re thirsty for a soft drink.

A long-term focus drives long-term results.

Yet you should know when to turn from awareness to urgency.

Some push notifications can drive excellent short-term results. New product launches, flash sales, abandoned cart reminders, browse abandonment reminders, personalized promotions… used strategically, these can drive a ton of sales.

Don’t ignore promotional push notifications, by any means. During BFCM, for example, go for it and make sure your app users know about your great deals.

But make these messages the exception, not the norm.

MobiLoud’s Managed Push Notification Service

If you’re still not sure where to start, or you just want to have your push notifications handled for you, we can help.

All our plans come with an optional done-for-you push notification service, where we handle the strategy & planning, campaign management, analytics & reporting, and implementation of key automated flows like welcome messages and abandoned cart notifications.

We’ll take care of strategy, creation, scheduling, and optimization, so you don’t have to.

Our team of experts use the same playbook that numerous brands have followed to drive $10k+ in additional monthly revenue from push.

Interested? Get a free consultation to discuss how MobiLoud can help you manage your mobile app and push notifications for the highest return on your investment.

Final Thoughts: Why You Should Double Down on Push Notifications

If your brand has an app and you’re not fully utilizing push notifications, you’re leaving easy money on the table. 

The economics are too strong to ignore; zero cost per send, minimal effort, and near-guaranteed visibility. 

If you’re making one of the key mistakes we outlined above, take the steps required to solve it.

Fix your cadence, focus on value, and push smarter. Your bottom line will thank you.

If you’re not sending push notifications yet because you don’t have an app, the fix is even easier.

Just get a free preview of your app now, with just your website URL and a few details about your store.

We’ll show you how easy it is to convert your site into an app with MobiLoud – and you’ll be halfway towards building yourself a powerful brand asset, and a new high-ROI marketing channel.