Summary

New Customer Cost Per Acquisition (NCPA) measures how much you spend to acquire each new customer. However, the NCPA on the Summary Page versus the NCPA in the Cohort Page can differ because these two sections of Triple Whale measure and display data for different goals. The Summary Page takes a broader look at overall acquisition costs across all recent activity, while the Cohort Page drills down into specific groups of customers (cohorts) over time. Below are the key reasons these numbers may not match.

Why This Happens

1. Different Purposes and Calculations

   • Summary Page: Shows a blended view of total ad spend divided by the number of new customers during the selected timeframe.
   • Cohort Page: Focuses on particular segments of customers who made their first purchase in a specific period (the cohort) and can incorporate additional filters or segment-level data.

2. Time Frames and Customer Segments

   • Summary Page: Often covers a chosen recent window (e.g., last 7 days, last 30 days) but does not isolate customers by the month or week of their first purchase.
   • Cohort Page: Groups new customers based on the date of their first order (week, month, year), then follows their behavior over subsequent periods. This segmented approach can lead to different NCPA values, especially if each cohort behaves differently.

3. Broader vs. Cohort-Specific Ad Spend

   • Summary Page: Calculates NCPA using Blended Ad Spend across all new customers in that time range, regardless of the customer’s future behavior.
   • Cohort Page: At times, it may allocate ad spend specifically to the number of new customers in a particular cohort. If fewer new customers (in a cohort) share the same ad spend, the per-customer cost can vary from the Summary Page’s broad total.

4. Filters and Exclusions

   • Summary Page: By default, shows all new customers and the entire ad spend unless you apply specific filters.
   • Cohort Page: Automatically excludes $0 orders and customers lacking valid IDs, and may have custom filters (like product filters or channel filters) applied to that cohort. These exclusions narrow the customer set and can shift the average cost per new customer.

Example Scenario

1. A brand spends $10,000 on ads in a given month and acquires 500 new customers overall in that time.
   • Summary Page: NCPA = $10,000 / 500 = $20 per new customer.
2. The Cohort Page looks only at customers who made their first purchase in Week 1 and tracks them over 8 weeks. Maybe only 100 of those 500 came in Week 1, and the ad spend attributed to them is $3,000.
   • Cohort Page (Week 1 cohort): NCPA = $3,000 / 100 = $30 per new customer.
3. Result: The Cohort Page’s NCPA is higher for that specific group because it excludes customers who arrived in other weeks and lumps more ad spend to fewer new customers.

How This Affects Reporting

• Potential Confusion in Acquisition Costs: Marketers might wonder why the per-customer cost in Cohorts is higher or lower than on the Summary Page. Recognizing that Cohorts segment customers differently resolves this confusion.
• Budget Allocation Decisions: If using the Cohort Page to analyze a specific group, the NCPA there might motivate more tailored budget decisions than the broader average you see on the Summary Page.
• LTV Comparisons: Cohort analyses often focus on how quickly acquisition costs are recovered (via LTV), while the Summary Page offers a top-level snapshot of current spending and performance.

How to Interpret the Data Correctly

1. Identify the Audience and Time Frame

   • Know whether you’re looking at all new customers during a date range (Summary Page) or a particular group who started buying in a specific period (Cohort Page).

2. Check Any Filters

   • The Cohort Page might be filtering out certain orders (like $0 orders) or focusing on a single product segment. Ensure you understand which orders are counted in each view.

3. Consider Your Goal

   • If the goal is to see overall acquisition efficiency, the Summary Page’s NCPA is a good starting point.
   • If you want to track how a specific cohort evolves over time—how long it takes to break even on ad spend—use the Cohort Page’s NCPA to see those more detailed insights.

4. Embrace Both Views

   • The Summary Page NCPA helps you gauge top-level performance.
   • The Cohort Page NCPA reveals how particular cohorts mature and how quickly your investment in new customers pays off.

By understanding that the Summary Page and the Cohort Page serve different analytical needs—one broad, one cohort-specific—users can make sense of why their NCPA metrics might differ in each location.