DTC 869 - A/B Testing on Amazon, and Revenue Ecosystem

Good morning,

Here’s what you’ll find in today’s DTC:

⚡ The Power of Incrementality 
Why you should A/B test on Amazon.

💸 Key to Sustainable Growth
Building a persistent revenue ecosystem.

🚨 Daily Tariff Update
India faces a hefty tariff.

You’re reading this newsletter along with new subscribers from: Cane Brew, Finite Cellars, and Busby & Fox. 👋

🚀 Pilothouse Took This Brand from $10M to $21M on Amazon. Here’s How.

A fitness brand came to Pilothouse with solid traction, but they knew there was more on the table…

In one calendar year, they’d more than doubled revenue ($10.8M → $22.6M) and increased gross profit by 53%. On Amazon alone.

The strategy behind the surge: 👇

✅ Merchandising: Launched new products, bundled SKUs, simplified variations
✅ Promos: Tripled deal volume, with monthly promos across new SKUs
✅ PPC: Refocused budget, launched new campaigns, owned top 5 generic keywords
✅ DSP: Ran Streaming TV ads to convert competitor traffic
✅ Listings and Ops: Upgraded creative, streamlined FBA prep, prevented stockouts

Ready to get your Amazon strategy dialed? 

[FEBU hero image A/B test, winner on the right hand side] 

⚡ Why Amazon Sellers Should Care About A/B Testing

Small changes. Big wins.

If you’re new to A/B testing on Amazon, it can feel like a slow, uncertain process.

Some tests run for eight weeks and end with no clear winner. 🫤

Frustrating? Maybe. But that doesn’t mean A/B tests are useless.

Here’s the truth:

Amazon’s A/B testing tool (Experiments) is built for statistical significance, so when it does produce a result, it’s one you can trust. 

No guesswork. Just real data.

And even when a test is inconclusive, you still learn something.

For example, you test lifestyle photos vs. product-only images, and the results come back flat.

That tells you the image style isn’t the difference-maker, so maybe it’s the copy that needs testing next and could be what's driving performance.

Each test helps you refine your creative strategy.

What Happens When a Test Does Work?

Pilothouse analyzed 24 recent A/B tests and found:

• Average conversion lift: 23%
• Average monthly revenue increase: $7,893
  

One test led to a 91% conversion lift. But even the lowest-performing test (just 1% improvement) still added $10K+ in yearly revenue.

That’s real money from the traffic you already have. No extra ad spend required.

The takeaway?

A/B testing on Amazon is one of the simplest ways to increase revenue with minimal effort. It’s built right into the platform, and the upside is huge.

Don’t wait for a perfect idea. Just start testing!

🤘 Ready To Rock Q4? Get The BFCM Playbook for Smarter Peak Season Planning

Smarter planning now = smoother Q4 later. 🏆

Grab Swap’s latest BFCM guide.

👏 It breaks down 5 critical steps to protect margin and prevent chaos this peak season before ad costs spike and ops hit overload. 📈

Inside:

• 🎁 The biggest returns mistake most brands still make
• 📈 Why early planning drives 21% higher ROI
• 📦 How Allbirds tariff-proofed their global shipping
• 💸 The July promo strategy that fuels Q4 retargeting

Plan to turn those Q4 wins into Q1 momentum. 🚀

👉 Download the guide that helped brands like Manors Golf grow 140% YoY.

📦 Your Daily Tariff Check-In

Whether it’s a minor tweak or a major shift, we’ll keep you posted on the latest tariff changes—so you’re always in the know. 

July 30, 2025 update:

• India May Face 25% Tariff on Aug 1
  
  • President Trump announced a 25% reciprocal tariff on Indian goods, effective August 1, 2025, if a deal isn’t reached by this week.
    
  • Trump shares that this is because of India’s high tariffs on U.S. exports as well as India’s continued trade with Russia including energy and arms deals.
    

Keep in mind: These details are current as of writing but could change before this reaches your inbox.

🎧 How to Build a Revenue Ecosystem That Prints Money—Even When Ads Don’t 

In this episode of TWBERP, Jordan Gordon from Pilothouse breaks down the overlooked engine behind sustainable growth: the Persistent Revenue Ecosystem. 

While most marketers obsess over acquisition, Jordan shows how brands can scale profitably by maximizing the value of customers they’ve already paid for.

If you’re in DTC and your email or SMS strategy feels like an afterthought, this episode is a wake-up call.

In this episode, we dive into:

What Persistent Revenue Ecosystem means: The infrastructure that keeps your business alive between launches and media spikes (e.g. email flows, SMS, retargeting).

"It’s the system that holds the entire business together and drives repeat buying when paid efforts slow down."

The 3 stages that matter in retention: Jordan breaks down the three stages and why intra-quarter conversion is the retention metric that matters most.

"You should know your conversion rate from a new email to repeat buyer—if you don’t, you’re flying blind."

How to survive when paid spend drops: Brands that invested in this ecosystem could weather big drops in ad spend with minimal revenue loss.

"Even with fewer new names coming in, revenue held strong because the system kept people coming back."

👉 Listen to the full episode with Jordan here.

🤑 Walmart’s latest New-Seller Savings is too huge to miss. If you’ve never applied to Walmart Marketplace before, that makes you eligible for up to $75K in incentives^ once you start selling. ^Conditions apply. Join Marketplace. *

📥 Got a B2B Biz? 

Join dozens of B2B companies finding demand-gen success through our niche community of 150k brand leaders and founders this year. Talk to our team to learn more.

Have you heard our latest podcasts?

• 🩳 Thigh Society’s Lean Growth Story: Chub Rub to 2M+ Units Sold
• 🔑 AKNF 528: Cracking TikTok Shops: The GMV Max Revolution 
• 🦸 Ad-venturous 12: Predict Relevance To Create Resonance 
• 🎨 TWBERP 43: Campaign Emails That Inspire, Not Blend In 
• 🍷 Maker Wine’s Strategy: How The Canned Wine Brand Grew
• 😀 AKNF 526: Ad-venturous Preview 

Don’t forget to rate the DTC Podcast on Apple (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

DTC Newsletter is written by Rebecca Knight and Frances Du. Edited by Eric Dyck.

Please note that items in this newsletter marked with * contain sponsored content.