☎️ Where the smartest D2C minds meet this week

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This Week’s Highlights

🛠️ Behind The Tool: Darren built InboxAlly to solve email’s biggest blind spot: actually reaching the inbox.

💰 Deal of the Week: Richpanel helps operators cut support costs by turning CX into a self-serve machine.

🛸 Signal Boost: This week’s playbook: impress investors and convert more subscribers.

📞 Missed Calls: From Lululemon’s fight to stay relevant to AI’s holiday readiness, these stories reveal where D2C leaders are bracing for change.

🔥 The D2C Deep Dive: Orbitkey proves “boring items” are an open field for D2C disruption.

Presented by Consio

👉 Recover abandoned carts and convert VIPs via targeted outbound calls

👉 AI Agent screens inbound calls and routes only qualified leads

👉 Track revenue end-to-end with native Shopify and Klaviyo integrations

🚨 Friends Rate Discount: Get 1,000 Free Minutes

Consio is the phone sales platform for ecommerce brands. Inbound first: their AI Agent answers in real time (24/7), handles pre-purchase FAQs, qualifies callers, books meetings, and routes only high-intent conversations to the right rep with full Shopify context. For outbound, launch segmented campaigns (abandoned checkout, high-AOV leads, VIPs) in minutes with a commerce-built power dialer and voicemail drops. Run calls with your team or scale on demand with our vetted part-time agents. Native Shopify & Klaviyo integrations keep setup simple and track revenue from call to sale.

Book a Demo

Behind The Tool: Darren From InboxAlly

“Our platform doesn’t just tell you what’s wrong, it actively moves the needle.” Founder, Darren Blumenfeld

Read The Full Interview

Most brands think email deliverability comes down to subject lines, content tweaks, or avoiding “spammy” words. But as inbox standards tighten, that’s no longer enough. Enter InboxAlly: a proactive deliverability platform that doesn’t just monitor problems, it actively improves inbox placement by training providers to trust your domain.

Founder Darren Blumenfeld built InboxAlly after seeing too many brands invest in great emails that never reached their audience. His NASA-engineered, data-driven approach has turned InboxAlly into a trusted tool for agencies, enterprises, and high-volume senders looking to boost engagement and protect revenue.

Deal of The Week: Richpanel

Friends Rate Discount: 10% Plan Discount

Richpanel is a complete customer service platform for e-commerce that features a self-service portal and a help desk. The multichannel help desk software lets your customer support team manage all communication channels in one place, creating a seamless experience for both the customer and support team. Richpanel features a self-service portal for end customers to aid them in resolving the most common issues immediately in real time, 24x7. Pay Less, Automate More with Richpanel.

Learn More

🚨 Richpanel is a partner of 1-800-D2C. Let them know we sent you to receive the deal!

DTC IRL

1-800-D2C’s Top Community Event of the Week:

The largest virtual e-commerce event of the year is back. DTCx10 Global is bringing together 40+ ecomm experts from North America, EMEA, and APAC to unpack the trends shaping online retail, from AI-driven innovation to next-level customer experience strategies.

October 1–2, 2025 | Virtual + Free | Starting @ 11 am EST

What You’ll Learn?

👉 How top DTC brands (Dr. Squatch, Thread Wallets, Jaxxon) are gearing up for BFCM

👉 AI + automation tactics reshaping marketing, CX, and retention

👉 Turning logistics + service into growth drivers, not cost centers

👉 Global insights from 40+ operators across NA, EMEA, and APAC

Register Now

Missed Calls: Latest Trends, Biggest Topics, and Can’t Miss News

Lululemon’s ‘downward spiral’ — and how the brand plans to break out of it

• Lululemon is facing slowing sales growth, increased competition in athleisure, and questions about its innovation pipeline.
• The brand is looking to reinvigorate performance through new product innovation, tighter category focus, and a refreshed growth strategy.

💡 D2C Takeaway: Even category leaders aren’t immune to fatigue. In crowded markets like athleisure, consistent innovation and sharp positioning are essential to stay relevant.

💡 Operator POV: For Shopify and D2C operators, this is a reminder not to coast on past wins. Build innovation cycles into your roadmap and test new categories or products before customers lose interest.

AI shopping tools are evolving, but are they ready for the holidays?

• Retailers are rapidly experimenting with AI shopping assistants, recommendation tools, and chat features to enhance customer experience.
• While AI adoption is accelerating, questions remain about reliability, scalability, and whether the tech can handle peak-season demand.

💡 D2C Takeaway: AI promises to transform shopping, but execution still lags. Retailers need to balance innovation with reliability, especially in high-stakes holiday periods.

💡 Operator POV: Operators should pilot AI tools now, not later. Test small-scale use cases like product recommendations or support flows to learn fast, but don’t gamble core CX on unproven tech during Q4.

Signal Boost

Quick hits and resources from around the industry we think are worth your time this week.

Clean Investor Dashboards: The Modern Board Reporting Playbook for E-Commerce Websites

Clarity is the name of the game for D2C businesses. With clean and accurate reporting, you'll in increase your chances of impressing prospective angel investors and procuring funds for your D2C enterprise.

How to Track & Boost Your Email Revenue per Send

We cover advanced strategies from priming and preparing your newsletter subscribers to convert off on any and all emails you may send during your marketing campaigns.

The D2C Deep Dive: Orbitkey

Orbitkey transforms the messy keychain into a sleek, silent everyday carry essential. Their core product, the Orbitkey Key Organizer, stacks your keys into a compact, jingle-free bundle using premium materials and a secure locking mechanism.

Why we love Orbitkey: They turned a mundane object (your keys) into a design statement and functional upgrade. That kind of elevation of an everyday touchpoint is exactly what builds brand love in D2C.

Modular ecosystem: Their system extends beyond just key holders; you can attach accessories like a Chipolo Bluetooth tracker, multi-tools, or custom hardware swaps.

Community & positioning: Orbitkey speaks to people who care about design, order, and minimalism. They position themselves at the intersection of utility and aesthetic, making something as simple as keys feel premium.

Shop Orbitkey

Are you D2C (Down to Collab)?

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:

For Brand Founders:

• List your brand on 1-800-D2C to show off your incredible tech stack.
• Have an inspiring journey about building your brand? Get featured in our Under The Hood interview series and share how you’re scaling, innovating, and winning.

For Tool Founders:

• List your tool on 1-800-D2C today to show off your brands and become a Friend’s Rates member. Sign up today.
• Want to share the story behind your tool and how it's changing the D2C space? Fill out our founder questionnaire to get featured in our Behind The Tool interview series!

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