DTC

An Ecommerce Guide To Unit Economics: Its Meaning, Formula, And Key Metrics To Analyze

Unit economics are the fiscal building blocks for your ecommerce business. Yet, many retailers don’t know what that term even means.

The Dupes Endemic, Explained

Fake goods are seemingly everywhere nowadays. And for cash-strapped shoppers, they're proving to be especially enticing.

The Monthly Retail Recap: April 2023

A lot can happen in a month. Shopify layoffs, AI-powered vendor negotiations, Olipop's 2023 eye-popping sales projections, and more included.

These 11 Shopify Integrations Will Keep Your DTC Business Running Smoothly

Every business has cracks in its operations, but the right tools can bridge those gaps. Here are the 11 we recommend.

5 Reasons To Expand Your Product Line (And How To Do It Right)

Expanding your product line increases both your customer base and revenue. So, what's stopping you?

21 Tips That’ll Increase Your Ecommerce Revenue

Your DTC brand may sell the best products in your niche — but how can you maximize your bottom line? Use these best practices.

The Monthly Retail Recap: March 2023

Introducing a one-stop shop for all the emerging retail trends that have happened in (roughly) the last 30 days.

Van Leeuwen’s Ranch-Flavored Ice Cream, Explained

Some people say that ranch goes with everything. But this Brooklyn-based ice cream brand just proved those people wrong.

Bushbalm’s David Gaylord On Building An 8-Figure Brand

Steal the multichannel retail playbook that helped scale Bushbalm into an international, 8-figure brand. (35-min listen)

A Simple Guide to Improving Order Accuracy

Order accuracy rate directly ties to customer satisfaction and retention. Here’s how to get it right.

Disco Labs’ Gavin Ballard On Composable Commerce

Enhance operational efficiency and elevate your customer experience with composable commerce – here’s how. (40-min listen)

Omniconvert’s Valentin Radu On Mastering Customer Value Optimization

Steal the customer value optimization (CVO) methodology that’s proven to unlock long-term growth for DTC brands. (35-min listen)

8000Kicks’ Bernardo Carreira On Destigmatizing Hemp Products

Hear what setbacks came with developing waterproof hemp shoes (and how 8000Kicks overcame them). (36-min listen)

Playboy Targets Gen Z With New Valentine’s Day Lingerie Line

Playboy proves sex sells – a universal truth that transcends generations. But like most retailers, the provocateur struggles to please Gen Z.

SellerSmile’s Tygh Walters On The Ideal Customer Experience

Learn how to build a scalable customer-service system that guarantees outstanding customer experiences. (43-min listen)

Inveterate’s Dylan Whitman On The Tech Trends Shaping DTC

Hear how AI-powered tech can help retailers adapt to consumer needs and unlock growth. (42-min listen)

12 Tips That’ll Strengthen Your Fulfillment Center Relationships

A comprehensive guide to building strong relationships with your 3PLs, according to 4 experts in the fulfillment space.

SavvyRevenue’s Andrew Lolk On Maximizing Your Paid Marketing ROI

Hear what winning in paid marketing will look like in 2023, plus get strategies for increasing your marketing ROI. (33-min listen)

Is Shoplifting On The Rise?

Spoiler: Something else is driving shrinkage for brands like Walgreens. And we've got the numbers to prove it.

A Comprehensive Checklist For Recession-Proofing Your Ecommerce Operations

Everything retailers need to recession-proof their brand (including tactical how-to's, tool recommendations, and free templates).

Mayple’s Ammar Moiz On Driving 20% More Growth By Going Global

Tune in for the challenges, trends, and payoffs that come with expanding a DTC brand internationally. (31-min listen)

Why Retailers Are Freezing Return Fees For The Holidays

Returns hit retailers hardest during the holidays. So, why are many retailers lifting return fees that could help offset the logistical costs?

What Are Good Ecommerce Profit Margins (& How To Maximize Yours)

Discover what the most successful ecommerce brands consider to be good profit margins and how you can achieve those margins.

WeStock’s Cameron McCarthy Talks All Things Omnichannel Retail

Dive deep into the challenges first-time retailers face (with solutions) and the must-know strategies for scaling. (30-min listen)

How 5 Experts Optimized DTC Operations [+ Metrics To Track]

Leaders at Blume, Doe Lashes, Kuru Footwear, and more share 15 proven strategies that will make running your retail operations easier.

Smartrr’s Molly Duffy On Building A Subscription Business Model

Learn how to ensure predictable revenue by tracking, measuring, and increasing subscription retention. (38-min listen)

Black Friday 2022, By The Numbers

At many stores, Black Friday 2022 looked like a normal shopping day. But the year's biggest sales event was anything but normal.

The Black Friday Checklist For Before, During, And After Your Big Promotion

Everything retailers like you need to be 100% Black Friday Cyber Monday-ready in 1 easy-to-follow checklist.

7 Strategic Retail Planning Steps To Optimize Your Brand’s Growth

A comprehensive 7-step playbook to strategic store planning that will help you improve your processes and streamline retail growth.

Brij’s Kait Stephens Talks Using QR Technology To Drive Growth

QR codes can drive repeat sales and build ongoing customer relationships regardless of channel – here's how. (29-min listen)

Most Retailers Think Stocking Out Mid-Product Launch Is A Missed Opportunity

We asked thousands of DTC merchants: Is selling out during a product launch a success or a missed opportunity? The results were surprising.

How To Spy On Your Competitor’s Ads Using Facebook And Google

2 totally legal ways to see what ads your competitors are running (and which of those ads are working), using only Facebook and Google.

365 Holdings’ Kelcey Lehrich On Building Diversified DTC Brands

Discover the multichannel formula for diversifying your DTC brand and unlocking sustainable growth. (29-min listen)

The Ultimate Step-By-Step Guide to Demand Planning in Supply Chains

Brands are in uncharted territory when preparing for what demand will look like next year. Because of this, demand planning has never been more important.

5 Bets On Where The Next US Warehousing Hot Spot Will Be

Right now, there's not enough warehouse space in the US to meet demand. So, here's where we'll likely see more warehouses popping up.

Amazon Lowers Restock Limits: What It Means & How Sellers Can Navigate

Amazon lowered it's restock limits. Learn what that means for Fulfilled By Amazon (FBA) sellers and how to navigate the latest limits.

The Rise Of Sober Curious Products, Explained

Folks are finding the sober curious movement intoxicating. And unsurprisingly, products that make it easier to join this movement are on the rise.

Create Wellness’ Dan McCormick On The 5 Keys To A Successful DTC Launch

Walk through the strategies that the person behind Substack's #1 newsletter used to launch his latest brand. (34-min listen)

How To Calculate Ecommerce Profit Margins & 7 Ways To Increase Yours

Ecommerce profit margins are a quick way to gauge your brand's financial health. But what profit margins should you aim for? And how do you get there?

Why TikTok Is Planning To Build US Fulfillment Centers

TikTok doesn't want to just teach you the latest dance moves. It wants to deliver your ecommerce orders too.

A Kodak Moment: Why Is The Camera Company Seeing A Comeback?

You could argue that Kodak is horrible at business (lots of people do). But things always seem to somewhat work out for the film company.

Simple Modern’s Bryan Porter On Sustainable Amazon Growth

Steal the strategy that led Simple Modern to become Amazon’s #1 drinkware brand. (36-min listen)

Build Your Own Bundle: The Strategy That Led To Huron’s Best Sales Day Ever, Explained

Discover the strategy that drove the popular men's skincare brand's best sales day ever (and learn how to replicate the results).

Videowise’s Claudiu Cioba On How to 10x Customer Engagement

Discover the power interactive videos have to drive engagement and increase conversions for DTC brands.(30-min listen)

Graza’s Big Launch Day Bet On Micro-Influencers, Explained

Ever think about something months later, like dang – that was good. Lately, that's how I've been feeling about Graza's go-to-market strategy.

A Research-Backed Cheat Sheet For Marketing To GenZ

A quick-reference guide to reaching (and resonating with) retail's most confusing consumer demographic to date.

How Retailers Can Capitalize On Amazon’s Debut Prime Day Early Access Event

Deck the halls, folks. Amazon is ringing in this holiday season with a 2nd Prime Day event.

Willow Growth’s Amanda Schutzbank On Fundraising For Early Stage Brands

Break down early-stage fundraising, finding a path to profitability and post-Covid growth for DTC brands. (33-min listen)

Is Debt Financing The Future Of DTC Fundraising?

Here's how 3 ecommerce experts predict DTC brands will raise external capital now that venture capital's died up.

Feat Clothing’s Nate Poulin On Centralizing Your Operational Data

Hear how building an integrated data structure can generate higher returns for your DTC brand. (46-min listen)

How To Respond To Supplier Price Increases: Is Cost Reduction The Way To Go?

Analyze supplier price increases, determine the reasons behind them, act based on the cause, and learn to negotiate a lower price.

Intelligems’ Drew Marconi On Experimenting With Product Pricing

Hear about proven pricing strategies for increasing sales and improving margins. (31-min listen)

New Product Launch Guide: Examples, Key Steps & Considerations

Launching a new product? Here’s a step-by-step guide that’s guaranteed to make your launch a raving success.

Duradry’s Jack Benzaquen On Building A Consumer Packaged Goods Brand

How one CPG brand found its corner in the overcrowded DTC health and beauty space. (36-min listen)

Why DTC Brands Lack A “Source Of Truth” They Can Trust

The problem isn't bad data; it's brands not having all their data in one place. So, good data hard to come by.

Ottit’s Saman Izadiyar On The Do’s And Don’ts When Building A DTC Brand

The financial strategies, best practices, processes, and habits of successful DTC brands (based on first-hand experience). (41-min listen)

The 3 Factors Driving The Retail Labor Shortage & How to Solve It

Plus, how can you ensure the ongoing labor shortage doesn't impact your retail brand?

Cogsy’s Martina Vancena Talks DTC Operational Challenges

Dive deep into the problems (and their solutions) that we've seen surface in hundreds of conversations with DTC brands. (26-min listen)

Ecommerce Is Slowing – What Does That Mean?

Forbes, TechCrunch, and CrunchBase have all talked about the slowing ecommerce market this week. Let's unpack those headlines.

Govalo’s Rhian Beutler On The Future Of DTC Resiliency

Get tactical strategies for building market resilience in today's uncertain economic climate. (53-min listen)

Higher Price Tags Are Paying Off For High Fashion

High-end brands like Prada, Chanel, and Gucci keep raising prices. But won't that lower demand – especially as we near a recession?

What Is Order Lead Time? 5 Tips To Shorten Order Fulfillment Lead Times

Order lead times are an essential part of your warehouse management process and a big factor in what breaks or builds trust in your direct-to-consumer (DTC) brand.

Blume’s Bunny Ghatrora Shares 2022’s Unusual DTC Holiday Playbook

Go behind the scenes of the popular skincare brand's operational strategies for Black Friday Cyber Monday. (34-min listen)

Will This Be DTC’s First Recession?

And if so, how can brands survive it?

Alpaca VC’s Aubrie Pagano Talks Building Supply Chain Resilience

Walk through actionable strategies and tools you can use to solve some of today's biggest supply chain challenges. (33-min listen)

Caraway’s Mark Riskowitz On The Ideal Tech Stack For Early-Stage DTC Brands

Discover which tools the Caraway relies on for their everyday operations. (27-min listen)

The Rise Of Retail Memberships, Explained

Is retention the new acquisition? Looks like it. And retail memberships are giving customers a reason to return again and again.

Mad Rabbit’s Drew Fallon On His Startups’ Journeys After Landing A Shark Tank Deal

An inside look at a tattoo aftercare company's most recent challenges as they work to reinvent the tattoo care space. (36-min listen)

How US Retailers Responded To The Roe vs. Wade Ruling

Plus, some HR considerations for retail brands looking to take a stand against Roe v. Wade being overturned.

Sani’s Niki Shamdasani Talks Bootstrapping A Niche DTC Brand

Hear how the South-Asian-inspired fashion startup defined its place in a highly competitive industry. (39-min listen)

Vendor Negotiation Guide: How To Get Better Contract Terms With Suppliers

Everything you ever wanted to know about vendor negotiations (and then some).

CRO Expert Mathias Schröder On Building High-Converting Ecommerce Sites

Walk through the proven strategies this conversion rate optimization expert uses to increase sales for DTC brands. (33-min listen)

9 Ways Furniture Brand Article Prioritizes Profits Over Growth

Grow at all costs. I mean – that’s what most DTC brands do, right? Not the Vancouver-based furniture startup Article.

16 Proven Methods To Reduce Lead Time In Your Supply Chain

The most comprehensive list of actionable steps you can take to reduce lead times and maximize your business’ efficiency.

Is Apple’s Sales Forecast A Rotten Sign For Retail?

Most DTC brands look to Apple to figure out what to do. So, if they’re pulling back, what does that mean for you?

VaynerX’s Arjun Rastogi On Balancing Marketing For Multiple Brands

Go behind the scenes of the world's top marketing agency to see what it’s like to manage multiple brands simultaneously. (44-min listen)

Biggest DTC Trends of 2023 Per Cogsy CEO Adii Pienaar

In an exclusive interview, Adii Pienaar talks the biggest DTC trends, ways to adapt to market changes, future predictions, and top brands.

Sunscreen Brand Bask Gets Burned By Supply Chain

Sunscreen is synonymous with summer. But the product's profits typically peak before June vacation. Bask’s was on track to arrive in July.

Doe Lashes’ Jason Wong Talks Thriving Without Outside Capital

Hear how venture capital drying up will affect DTC brands and how you can prepare accordingly. (38-min listen)

The True Cost Of An Apparel Stockout

Some clothing brands seem to think going out of stock is no big deal. They'd be wrong – new study finds it’s a very expensive deal.

Ro’s Archie Durfee On Downstream Effects Of Reactive vs. Proactive Planning

A quick masterclass on getting ahead of growing lead times, preparing for seasonality, and fulfilling subscription orders. (42-min listen)

Are Offline Experiences Worth Offering As An Online Brand?

It seems like every major DTC brand is opening up an offline store. Should your brand do the same?

Freight Stuck In Supply Chain Catch-22

Supply chain issues are driving up the need for freight distribution. But those same issues are why freight companies can't deliver.

Investor Nik Sharma And Three Ship Beauty’s Lillie Sun Talk Ops Data

Retail Operations Management: Trends, Challenges & Best Practices

4 industry experts break down the different types of retail store operations. Plus, how to optimize your DTC brand's retail operations.

Organifi’s Niels Tervoort On Easing The Growing Pains Of Fast-Growing Brands

Hear how the supplement company manages to meet increasing customer demand amid supply chain issues. (36-min listen)

Meet The DTC Drink Backed By Beyoncé

First, she blessed us with the Grammy-winning masterpiece "Lemonade." Now, Beyoncé brings us Lemon Perfect.

4 Ways Vintner’s Daughter Challenges Operational Norms

When every brand uses the same playbook, who wins? Not the customer – that’s for sure.

Capabl’s Aaron Alpeter On Improving Your Fulfillment Center Relationships

Get tactical tips for keeping your fulfillment partners happy and improving your customer experience as a result. (33-min listen)

A GenZ Conundrum: Buy Shein Or Go Green?

Shein’s success contradicts its target audience’s self-proclaimed commitment to the environment. So, how did the fast fashion get so big?

Sharma Brands’ Nik Sharma On The 2022 DTC Trends To Watch

Discover which emerging ecommerce trends legendary investor Nik Sharma says are worth keeping up with. (36-min listen)

Treet’s Jake Disraeli On How Recommerce Unlocks Sustainable Growth

Discover how retail brands are reaching new customers (for a lot cheaper) by offering a resale option. (31-min listen)

Russia-Ukraine Conflict Sets Off (Supply) Chain Reaction

How Russia’s invasion of Ukraine affects everything from exports to manufacturing to transport.

Recommerce Outpaces Retail: How DTC Brands Can Get Involved

Resale provides ecommerce brands a massive opportunity to turn profits, lower margins, and own their reputation in the secondhand market.

Why Are There So Many Unprofitable DTC Unicorns?

The 2010s were known for DTC unicorns. Most of them were never profitable. Why?

3 Ways DTC Brands Can Achieve Operational Excellence

Fast-growing baby brand Lalo shares their 3 proven strategies for achieving operational excellence (AKA, growing not just bigger but better).

Manufactured.com’s Pranay Srinivasan On The Future Of Manufacturing

Walk through the complexities of growing a manufacturing business and learn how to sidestep ongoing production delays. (37-min listen)

How Legacy Brands Are Embracing DTC Ethos

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) used to be just an operational model that got new brands off the ground faster. Not anymore.

Huron’s Matt Mullenax On Using Vulnerability In Your Brand’s Marketing

Hear how this co-founder's greatest insecurity turned out to be the skincare brand's greatest marketing asset. (39-min listen)

Caraway’s Mark Riskowitz On Building A Successful Bundling Strategy

Steal popular DTC cookware brand Caraway's hyper-successful bundling playbook. (31-min listen)

Warehouse Shortage: Where Did All The Storage Space Go?

The latest supply chain struggle? It's easier to find affordable housing in New York City than warehouse space for your DTC brand.

Next Season’s Retail Trend: Secondhand Luxury Goods

The devil isn't wearing Prada anymore. She's dressed head to toe in Louis–and so is everyone else, apparently.

Govalo’s Kelly Vaughn And Rhian Beutler On Reducing CAC

Hear about the powerful role gift cards can play in your customer acquisition strategy. (29-min listen)

The Future Of CX Relies On Operational Excellence

17% of customers quit on brands after one bad experience. Luckily, optimizing your operations can ensure that every experience is a good one.

OLIPOP’s Eli Weiss On Doing Things That Don’t Scale

Steal first-hand insights on the bottom-line benefits of prioritizing customers (even when it's not scalable). (35-min listen)

Product Packaging: Make Your Unboxing Experience Memorable

Product packaging is the only marketing asset you send that gets a 100% open rate. So, how can you use it to make a lasting impression?

Retention Expert Kristen LaFrance On The Golden Era Of Commerce

Hear how shifting your mindset from DTC to direct-to-people (DTP) can skyrocket your brand's bottom line. (34-min listen)

How Product Bundling Drives Revenue & How To Do It Right

Product bundling is deceivingly complex. So, let's walk through how top brands build bundles, market them, and manage them operationally.

Thuma’s Alex McNealey On What Is Retail Operations

Break down the people, processes, and planning functions that define direct-to-consumer operations. (40-min listen)

DTC Guide To Global Supply Chain In 2022: Issues, Causes & Solutions

Here's how to mitigate risks that come with today's global supply chain issues and keep these disruptions from slowing down growth.

Lalo’s Greg Davidson On How His DTC Brand Scaled 400% YoY

Hear how the popular DTC baby brand quickly pivoted its operations to keep up with its explosive growth. (32-min listen)

Exciting News: Cogsy Raises $6M Seed Funding

We’re thrilled to announce our $6 million seed round, led by Accel Partners. Here's what we're doing with it.

Email Strategist Samar Owais On Improving Operations With Email

Discover why email is the most underutilized ops tool and how to use it to supercharge your customer experience. (41-min listen)

Settle’s Alek Koenig Talks Accessing Capital To Minimize Operational Stress

Hear how brands can achieve the flexibility they need to grow by securing capital despite supply chain disruptions. (32-min listen)

Abbott’s Jose Alvarez On Scaling A DTC Brand With Agility

Hear how Abbott NYC used research to inform its launch strategy, product offerings, industry niche, and packaging design. (55-min listen)

Why You Need To Free Up Working Capital Now

Discover 4 growth initiatives for freeing up your brand's working capital and unlocking new business growth.

The Future Of Omnichannel Retail: 5 New Core Competencies

The core competencies of great businesses have changed. Learn what strategies omnichannel retailers are embracing to get ahead.

How Caraway Unlocks New Growth With Cogsy

Supply chain issues pose ongoing challenges for DTC brands. Here's how Caraway overcomes those challenges with Cogsy.

Peep Laja’s Top 5 CRO Tips For Better Commerce

With these proven CRO tips, you’ll be ready to leverage your existing visitors and convert them into customers at far higher rates.

The Changing Tides Of Commerce: 3 Threats On The Horizon

As the commerce landscape continues to change, several incoming tides threaten brands that failed to build a solid foundation.

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The Monthly Retail Recap: May 2023

Some clothing brands seem to think going out of stock is no big deal. They'd be wrong – new study finds it’s a very expensive deal.

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