Culture sells when the product earns it. See the shift inside.
Peak season isn’t over… customers are still deciding who they’ll care about in 2026. And this year is making one thing painfully clear: brands that drive connection are winning.
From Dr. Squatch tapping into cultural fandom and personality-forward storytelling, to AI that personalizes what people actually want, to creators selling trust instead of reach, the most powerful growth lever right now is how deeply people feel aligned with the brands they buy from.
This week’s Hotline is your cheat sheet: creative that converts, credibility that compounds, and experience that keeps shoppers coming back even after the hype of the holidays fades.
🔥 The D2C Deep Dive: Momentum sticks when hype validates what customers already love.
💰 Deal of the Week: Turn checkout into the highest-ROI part of your funnel when every purchase unlocks more revenue.
📞 Missed Calls: The growth pattern is clear: operational intelligence + creative credibility.
🎤 D2C IRL: Triple threat this week: benchmark fulfillment data, subscription growth blueprints, and AI-powered CX playbooks - three paths to keep 2025 growth rolling into 2026.
Your weekly look at the D2C brands setting the bar and what operators can learn from their playbook.
Dr. Squatch is proving hype can fuel real growth when you already have the foundation right. The natural-soap brand has quietly built a $200M+ revenue engine, driven 1,800% retail growth in just a few years, and scaled from online cult favorite to 40,000+ shelves across Target, Walmart, CVS, Kroger, and more.
Now they’re tapping into cultural firepower. With Stranger Things dominating screens again, Dr. Squatch cast Brett Gelman (Murray Bauman) in a new conspiracy-style “Big Soap” campaign exposing the chemicals hiding in mainstream soaps. It’s goofy. It’s perfectly on-brand. And most importantly, it puts their product truth front and center while stealing attention from the moment everyone is already watching.
But here’s what operators should be paying attention to: this isn’t just a collab, it’s a conversion strategy.
The fandom energy does the top-funnel heavy lifting, while retail presence, Amazon dominance, and a proven repeat-purchase product close the loop. Dr. Squatch uses culture to spark curiosity, then lets distribution, CX, and brand trust turn that interest into revenue and loyalty.
They’re not chasing celebrity hype, they’re plugging into relevance their audience already cares about.
They don’t need to over-educate. The story sells the soap. The retail shelf seals the deal.
💡Operator Takeaway: Cultural hype only works when the fundamentals are solid. Differentiate your product first, then amplify it with smart timing and storytelling that reinforces what already makes you win.
Our favorite tools, agencies, tailored deals, and exclusive perks to help you optimize your D2C stack.
Aftersell helps DTC brands unlock more revenue from the most valuable moment in the funnel: post-purchase and increase average order value (AOV) by up to 30%. Built for Shopify, Aftersell lets merchants launch high-converting post-purchase upsells, enhance checkout, and monetize the thank-you page—all without developers. Brands increase AOV, improve customer experience, and capture incremental profit through personalized offers and performance-driven placements. Whether you’re scaling from your first 1,000 orders or managing high monthly volume, Aftersell gives you the tools to turn every purchase into a growth engine.
🚨Friends Rate Discount: 30-Day Free Trial
Aftersell is a partner of 1-800-D2C. Let them know this newsletter sent you to receive the offer!
The D2C world moves fast. These are the stories worth your attention. The ones showing where strategy, spend, and consumer trends are headed next.
Retailers turn to AI for marketing, merchandising
💡 D2C Takeaway: The winners are using AI to tighten margins and boost repeatability, not chase hype. This is the same quiet operational excellence powering brands like Dr. Squatch and Warby. Growth comes from smarter systems, not louder campaigns.
From Reach To Relevance: Current Trends In Influencer Marketing
💡 D2C Takeaway: Big audiences don’t guarantee big outcomes. The best growth now comes from creators who can sell your story… like Dr. Squatch tapping Stranger Things fandom while doubling down on their clean-ingredient truth. Consistency builds customer belief.
MobiLoud turns your existing Shopify store into a high-performing mobile app that boosts retention, repeat purchases, and LTV — without rebuilding anything.
An app is a home-screen shortcut to your brand, and opens up a direct, fully owned communication channel through push notifications.
With MobiLoud, you get a premium, seamless app experience that mirrors your site, works with your full tech stack, and takes just a few weeks to launch. Their team handles everything, from build through to ongoing maintenance and optimization. It’s the simplest, most impactful way to turn casual buyers into loyal, repeat customers.
Key Benefits:
Where operators show up IRL. The top community events and conversations happening right now.
A post-BFCM breakdown where ShipBob reveals real logistics data and fulfillment lessons from the biggest shopping week of the year. This is your chance to benchmark performance, understand where top brands avoided (or hit) friction, and take away actionable ops improvements before the next surge.
Wednesday, December 10, 2025, 10-3 pm CST | Webinar
Ready to see where ecommerce decision-makers gather? EEE Miami is a high-end conference happening Feb 4-5, 2026 at the oceanfront Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne. Expect senior-level leaders, tactical sessions, and an intimate environment built for real connections. Want to elevate your ecommerce strategy and meet top industry operators?
February 4-5, 2026 | Miami, FL
A virtual deep dive into AI-powered CX and the automation workflows already helping brands improve experience, reduce costs, and convert support into revenue. Perfect timing as teams push to finish the year strong without burning out on ticket volume. Make sure to register for your free pass ASAP.
Wednesday, December 10, 2025 | 9 - 1 PST | Webinar
Register for the Virtual Summit
At 1-800-D2C, we spotlight the real builders behind the tools and brands featured on our site and the D2C players putting those tools to work. Let’s collab:
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Everything you need to build a better D2C brand, business and tech stack.
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