Kevin Cohen

Any DTC site with an AOV under $80 is NOT a business! At that AOV, you NEED to shut your DTC site down! Because the math doesn’t work anymore. Here’s what this looks like in real life for most brands in 2026: • CAC: ~$40 • Gross margin: ~60% • Revenue on an $80 order: $48 And that's before you even account for: Shipping, fulfillment, returns, customer support, and platform costs. This is why so many brands we work with are deprioritizing or fully shutting down DTC and reallocating budget to Amazon. Yes, Amazon takes a cut. But they also handle your logistics, fulfillment, returns, plus you get access to UNMATCHED buyer intent. For low-AOV products, Amazon is often the only channel where unit economics actually make sense. If your AOV is under $80, you’re probably better off letting Amazon do the heavy lifting. Move where the buyer behavior is going. Amazon might just be your biggest opportunity. ♻️ Repost if this resonates. Need help scaling on Amazon? 🔗 Click the link on my profile.

29

7 Comments

Something is starting to move our clients' Amazon numbers that has nothing to do with Amazon: organic Reddit traction in the right subreddit. A REAL customer posts about their product with ZERO incentive attached. And Amazon search volume starts climbing 📈 Same pattern we saw with TikTok: Discovery happens somewhere else. The transaction still lands on Amazon, because that is where the buying habit lives. Reddit works as a credible discovery channel for one reason: the community polices itself ruthlessly. The image on the left is not an edge case. It is what happens every time a brand tries to shortcut it (do not think you'll be special and it won't happen to you) The image on the right is what actually moves the needle. Specific, detailed, unprompted. Someone who genuinely knows the category talking to people who genuinely care. You cannot buy that. You can only earn it. For Amazon teams building their off-platform strategy, Reddit is worth watching closely. Watch what your category's most engaged consumers are already saying. Then build around that.

3

2 Comments

With rescheduling cannabis marketing could finally move out of survival mode and into real brand building. Rescheduling opens the door to broader advertising channels, clearer guidance from platforms, and fewer workarounds that limit scale. It also changes how brands think about investment. Marketing budgets can shift from short term discount driven tactics to longer term brand equity, education, and loyalty. Email, paid media, partnerships, and content strategies all become easier to plan when compliance risk is reduced. Measurement improves. Attribution improves. So does confidence from executives, investors, and partners who have been hesitant to lean in. This does not mean cannabis marketing becomes easy overnight. State regulations will still be enforced. Platform policies will still lag. But the conversation changes from can we do this to how do we do this well. The brands that win will be the ones preparing now. Building clean data, strong retention programs, clear brand voice, and compliant creative that is ready to scale the moment the rules loosen.

7

1 Comment

Your ad costs are rising. Your ROAS is shrinking. But some Shopify brands are quietly growing without increasing their ad spend at all. How? Affiliates and referrals. Not the same thing — and confusing them is costing you money. Here's the quick version: → Affiliates bring in strangers (creators, bloggers, influencers who earn commission) → Referrals convert friends (your existing customers recommending you to their network) One builds reach. The other builds trust. The best Shopify brands run both. I've put together a complete guide covering: ✅ The real difference between affiliates and referrals ✅ Self-managed vs. network-based programs — and when to use each ✅ The best Shopify apps for each channel (with pricing) ✅ Commission structures that actually attract good partners ✅ Which approach fits your revenue stage Whether you're doing $10k/month or $500k+, there's a setup in here that fits where you are right now. Full guide in the comments 👇 #Shopify #EcommerceMarketing #AffiliateMarketing #ReferralMarketing #DTC #ShopifyTips

6

1 Comment

Identifying Shiny Objects Most DTC brands tried to scale by going wide. More channels. More tools. More bets. Vincero Collective went the opposite direction. When business got hard, they didn't add channels, they got better at the one that was already working. Doubled down on Facebook. Stopped chasing the shiny object. Squeezed more out of what they had, according to their co-founder and COO Sean Agatep They're now on pace for their best year ever. Top line and profit. The lesson isn't "only use Facebook." It's this: deep expertise in a single channel compounds. Spreading thin doesn't. And it applies to your tech stack too. More tools rarely means more results. Intentional stacks do. Build your brands intentional tech stack at Blurbs. Link to this episode and more in in the comments. #TechStack #Martech #D2C Tom Barbaro Cogent Collective

4

1 Comment

Announcing our new e-book: Online Brand Protection Through MAP Compliance. One argument I keep making to brands: your pricing policy is either enforceable or it is cosplay. Every brand I speak to has a pricing policy. Very few have one that would survive a legal challenge, and even fewer have one their retailers actually respect. And this e-book is the working framework for the ones who want to fix that. A digestible field manual. 8 chapters. Insights from 5 expert practitioners: — Michael Murphy, K&L Gates on the legal framework — Martin Heubel, Consulterce on Amazon's price-follower dynamics — Megan K. Harmon, ThornCrest on unauthorized seller operations — Chris Perry, firstmovr on digital shelf consistency — François Maingret, Cleanis® Inc on distributor pricing Free download in the comments. #PricingPolicy #MAPPricing #ecommerce #onlinebrandprotection

10

2 Comments

📍 Hey, this is Steve — The DTC COO. We’re days away from Black Friday, and today I’m breaking down one of the smartest DTC merchandising setups I’ve seen — from Jaxxon (men’s jewelry). Here’s why their onsite experience works so well 👇 💡 Smart Upsell: When you add a product to cart, they instantly offer a travel case at 50% off — with a clear discount message (“Save $25 for a limited time”). That’s a perfect way to boost AOV while adding real value for the customer. 🎁 Holiday Packaging & Add-Ons: They feature gift wrapping and cleaning kits as optional add-ons — simple, high-margin upsells that turn convenience into profit. That wrapping probably costs them ~$2–$3, and they’re charging $6 — an effortless margin play. 🚚 Fulfillment Messaging: “Ships tomorrow, free from Los Angeles.” That’s confidence. It creates instant trust and urgency. Every detail here increases conversion, margin, and customer satisfaction — all before BFCM weekend even begins. If your brand isn’t fully dialed in for Q4 2025, there’s still time to refine your onsite merchandising, bundling, and AOV strategy. 🔗 Visit DTCCOO.com to book an intro call — let’s optimize your store and scale your business before the holiday rush.

7