Industry
More Shopify stores are closing than opening in mid-2025. That stat alone has rattled DTC circles—and the 20–25% YoY revenue dip for smaller brands in June only confirms what operators have felt all quarter: this isn’t just a summer slowdown, it’s a real shakeout . “The dip
Analysis
In 2025, DTC operators aren’t bragging about CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) anymore. They’re talking TER, MER, and payback windows. With funding tightening and e-commerce growth cooling, Shopify brands are being held to a new standard: capital efficiency. You’re not judged on how fast you grow—but how
Industry
Amazon turned Prime Day into a 96-hour event this year (July 8–11), and the rest of the internet had to play catch-up. With $23.8B in projected U.S. online spend across all retailers—a 28.4% jump YoY—it was less a shopping holiday and more a mid-summer
Strategies
In July 2025, Crocs and Touchland dropped a Jibbitz-compatible hand sanitizer. Tony’s Chocolonely and Hot Take Dough launched a limited-run frozen s’mores cookie dough for World Chocolate Day. Both sold out. Both blew up online. And both proved what savvy DTC founders already know: a good brand collab
Analysis
The numbers don’t lie. After a relatively strong Q1, many DTC brands on Shopify are watching sales stall out this summer. But is it just another sluggish July—or the start of a broader reset? From rising tariffs and margin pressure to consumer confidence cratering, the mid-2025 picture is
Industry
In May, David Nutrition stunned the DTC world with a $75M Series A at a $725M valuation—just 12 months after launch. The bar brand, co-founded by RXBar’s Peter Rahal, landed in 3,000+ retail stores and is pacing toward $100M in year-one revenue (Finsmes, Athletech News). Investors like
Strategies
DTC operators love their acronyms: LTV, CAC, MER. But here’s one that actually deserves a spot in your playbook: P2P. Peer-to-peer sales isn’t about affiliates. It’s not multi-level marketing. And it’s definitely not new. You’ve seen it happen a thousand times—someone raves about a
Strategies
You’ve seen the same stack 100 times: Klaviyo, ReCharge, Loop, maybe a loyalty widget. Solid. But if that’s where your tech stack stops, you’re probably leaking revenue in a dozen places. Because under the surface of the Shopify App Store—beneath the top 10 charts and “Staff
Strategies
Meta’s AI chatbots can now message customers first. That means your brand can drop into a customer’s DMs—on Instagram, Messenger, or WhatsApp—with a friendly, helpful nudge that feels more like a concierge than a sales push. As of July 3, Meta confirmed it’s testing proactive
Industry
On July 7, President Trump extended the “Liberation Day” tariff pause to August 1, 2025, giving DTC brands a 25-day grace period to brace for impact (Reuters). If negotiations with trade partners stall, the U.S. will reinstate a 10% tariff on all imports—plus country-specific surcharges up to 70%
Analysis
Most DTC brands are trying to squeeze 10% growth out of bloated acquisition costs. A few are casually racing to $50 million. In a June 19 breakdown, Eli Weiss dissected the new class of rocketship brands—DTC startups hitting $30–$50M in revenue within one or two years (Eli Weiss)
Strategies
The “your customers won’t download it” era of branded apps is over. In the past week alone, multiple Shopify operators have shared wins from rolling out mobile apps—not just to look more polished, but to unlock free push messaging, simplify reorders, and drive loyalty on autopilot. One founder