Aleena Hassan

In the dynamic world of Shopify DTC brands, the ongoing debate between email and SMS marketing is more pertinent than ever. Both channels are essential players in the e-commerce toolkit, each offering unique advantages for retention and revenue generation. Email has long been the reliable workhorse, while SMS is the rising star with impressive engagement stats. So, founder to founder: where should your next investment lie? Let's dive into the latest data and insights from fellow operators. Op

The holiday season is a high-stakes game for DTC brands, and this year, AI is the secret weapon in their arsenal. From crafting compelling ad creatives to managing customer support, generative AI tools are reshaping how brands approach Q4. With 73% of U.S. marketers already leveraging these technologies, we're seeing a shift toward more automated strategies. But don't just take my word for it—Ranjan Roy of Adore Me pinpoints AI as the "topic of the moment" across teams, highlighting the widespr

The Q4 holiday season is the Super Bowl for DTC brands. With U.S. online holiday sales projected to rise just 5.3% this year—a sharp slowdown from last year’s 8.7% growth (Reuters)—every edge matters. Meta recently spotlighted six mistakes that routinely undercut campaign performance in Q4 (Meta Northern Summit). Here’s the founder’s playbook for sidestepping those pitfalls—and finishing the year strong. Meta Northern Summit: Key Takeaways on Creators, Paid Strategies | Shaun Fitzpatrick posted

This holiday season, DTC operators are bracing for a perfect storm: record-breaking order volumes and intense scrutiny on packaging. U.S. carriers are projected to handle 2.3 billion packages during Holiday 2025, marking a 5% hike from last year’s peak (Reuters). That’s a tidal wave of boxes and bubble wrap, most of which will end up in landfills. This isn’t just a U.S. issue. In Europe, packaging waste has surged by 20% in the past decade, with the average consumer generating nearly 190 kg of

As we gear up for Holiday 2025, direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands face a pivotal moment. The pandemic-era e-commerce boom has waned, and growth is slowing dramatically. Online holiday sales are expected to climb by just 5.3% this year, a steep drop from last year's 8.7% increase (Reuters). For mid-sized DTCs, particularly those on Shopify, this makes Q4 a crucial battleground. With consumers tightening their belts amid persistent inflation, the brands that swiftly combine value with operational e

Coca-Cola made headlines by launching a prebiotic soda line to compete with upstarts like Olipop (CNBC). It’s a clear sign that the $1.85B Shopify-powered Olipop has shaken up the soda industry by creating a brand that fans can’t stop raving about. As Olipop’s CEO, Ben Goodwin, put it: “Imagine being a bedroom entrepreneur… and five years later two of the largest brands on Earth are entering the space” (Ad Age). While giants are splurging on flashy launches, Olipop’s real strength lies in an o

Shopify’s App Store is a candy shop for DTC founders—offering plug-and-play solutions for nearly every site feature imaginable. Pop-ups? Check. Loyalty programs? Got it. Upsell widgets? Just a few clicks away. But this convenience comes with a hidden cost. The average Shopify merchant uses about six apps (Uptek), and ambitious brands often dive into double digits. Imagine this: a recent audit revealed a client with 75 installed apps—over 75% of which were redundant (LinkedIn). How to remove and

When we talk growth in the DTC space, the conversation usually swivels straight to paid ads. Yet, Little Sleepies—the bamboo pajamas brand that Maradith Frenkel started in her garage back in 2017—went against the grain. Instead of diving headfirst into Facebook ad spends and influencer campaigns, Frenkel zeroed in on cultivating a fiercely loyal community from the get-go. “It’s really a testament to the power of the mom community... I started this company out of my garage... with an unwavering

The days of effortlessly riding on paid social's coattails are behind us in the DTC world. With customer acquisition costs (CAC) skyrocketing due to iOS privacy changes and fierce competition from giants like Temu and Shein, Shopify founders are revisiting the fundamentals of growth. Imagine this: the cost-per-click for certain retail terms has ballooned 16x between 2022 and 2024, particularly around Black Friday (Investing.com). It's a tough landscape, and as one e-commerce expert notes, “It’

You don’t need another Facebook ad. You need a channel your competitors are ignoring. Direct mail is back—and for mid-size DTC brands, it’s quietly becoming a profit lever. Benchmarks show ~41% average ROI on direct mail, outpacing search and social, and 80–90% open rates that dwarf email’s ~20–30% (PowerDirect; DRMG). That’s not nostalgia. It’s performance. 10 Reasons DTC Brands Are Turning to Direct Mail AdvertisingSee why DTC brands are using direct marketing and earning higher ROI, better r

TikTok Shop is on a tear—and Q4 is when it matters for Shopify brands. U.S. sales are up triple digits in 2025, with big-name operators piling in and consumers signaling they’ll keep buying in-app during holiday moments. TikTok says 83% of shoppers discover products on the platform and 76% have purchased via live, while Black Friday 2024 topped $100M with 30,000+ live sessions and single-creators clearing seven figures in a day (TikTok Newsroom, TikTok Newsroom, Business Insider). Cost-wise, Tik

SEO isn’t dead, but it’s definitely not what it was last quarter. Google’s AI-powered Search Generative Experience (SGE) is changing the rules—fast. Instead of rewarding your hard-won #1 rankings with traffic, Google now answers many queries directly on the results page, no click required. If your Shopify store’s organic traffic is down, you’re not imagining things: SGE is already siphoning off a meaningful chunk of search clicks (SEOSandwitch). Here’s what’s really happening, and how DTC operat

If you’re running a DTC brand in 2025, BNPL isn’t just another button at checkout—it’s how millions of Americans expect to pay. U.S. shoppers financed $82.4 billion in online purchases using BNPL in 2024, up nearly 10% YoY (Reuters). By August 2025, we’d already hit $56.3 billion—well on pace to shatter last year’s record. But here’s what matters for operators: BNPL isn’t just for big splurges anymore. One in five BNPL users now use it for groceries (LinkedIn News), and 30% are financing everyd

Remember when free returns were the DTC cheat code? They lowered buyer anxiety, fueled “bracketing” (buying multiple sizes, planning to return most), and helped brands win first-time shoppers. But what started as a trust-builder has become a margin-eater. 63% of consumers now buy with the intention to return extras, up from 55% pre-pandemic (Axios). In 2023, U.S. shoppers sent back $743 billion in goods—14.5% of all retail sales (Financial Times). Apparel is ground zero: online return rates ave

Q4 is coming in hot—and if you’re running a DTC brand on Shopify, you already know what that means: digital ad prices are about to hit escape velocity. In 2024, display ad CPMs jumped nearly 40% year-over-year by late Q3, setting the stage for an even wilder holiday surge (GlobeNewswire). And if you’re not one of the billion-dollar behemoths, every wasted dollar stings—especially when you’re pouring 25–35% of revenue into marketing, compared to the 2–3% big-box retailers spend (Direct-to-Consume