DTC866 - Back To School Trends, Superman’s Cultural Relevance, and Q4 Planning

Good morning,

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

🧢 BTS Shopping Meets Tariff Pressure
How back-to-school habits are shifting.

🦸 Superman’s Timeless Pull
Brand lessons from an enduring icon.

🎧 The State of Q4
How brands are planning through uncertainty.

🚨 Daily Tariff Update
Is 15% the new minimum tariff rate? 

❌ A Common Entrepreneur Mistake
Why you shouldn’t listen to everyone. 

You’re reading this newsletter along with new subscribers from: Tonic Health, and Empty Space Clothing. 👋

🚨 $707K Recovered in 60 Days Karen Kane’s Retention Makeover

Think your site traffic is underperforming? You’re not alone.

Karen Kane was leaving revenue on the table until they plugged Instant into their Klaviyo setup. The outcome? Massive wins with no extra spend.

💰 $707K in additional revenue

📈 137K+ abandonment triggers recovered

🛍️ Personalized flows across browse, cart, and checkout

No new ad spend. Just smarter retention.

Join brands like ThirdLove, Maev, and Ancestral Supplements using Instant to turn anonymous traffic into revenue.

☕ 10 Important Back To School Trends You Need To Know 

Tariffs and tighter budgets are reshaping how (and when) shoppers purchase back-to-school essentials. 

Here’s how back-to-school shopping trends in 2025 are different from last year and how to optimize your ecommerce strategy to stay ahead. 

1. 67% of shoppers began buying in July

That’s a 55% YoY increase and the earliest start to the season since the National Retail Federation began tracking this stat.

✅ Launch your BTS campaigns in July to catch early deal-seekers.

2. 51% are shopping early due to tariff fears

Rising prices are top of mind, and shoppers are trying to buy before inflation hits.

✅ Emphasize "buy-now-before-prices-rise" urgency and offer time-limited bundles.

3. 84% still have half or more of their shopping left

If you haven’t put up your back-to-school campaigns live yet, don’t panic.

Even with early starts, most carts are incomplete.

✅ Retarget shoppers with “complete your back to school checklist” ads and personalized bundles.

4. Deal-hunting is the #1 reason for delaying

• 47% are waiting for better prices
• 39% don’t yet know what they need
• 24% are stretching budgets
  
  

✅ Offer back-to-school guides and price-match guarantees to reduce hesitation.

5. Back-to-college spending will hit $88.8B

College spending is expected to reach $88.8B, up from $86.6B in 2024, despite overall spending restraint.

✅ Don’t ignore college students. Highlight dorm essentials, tech, and lifestyle items.

6. 70% of shoppers prefer in-store but that’s not the whole story

Shoppers are craving immediacy and tangibility.

✅ Promote BOPIS (Buy Online, Pick Up In Store) and local pickup as fast, cost-saving delivery alternatives.

7. BOPIS > home delivery for the first time

46% plan to pick up in-store vs. 38% who want home delivery.

✅ Partner with local fulfillment or offer in-store pickup incentives for speed-conscious shoppers.

8. Mass merchants lead but ecommerce is gaining

83% plan to shop mass retailers (up from 77%), but 68% will shop online (up from 65%).

✅ Compete with mass merchants by emphasizing convenience, speed, and curated value.

9. 75% of shoppers are open to switching brands

Value beats loyalty in 2025.

✅ Steal attention with “compare and save” messaging, aggressive first-time offers, and visible price/value positioning.

10. Shoppers will use 5+ retail formats

Cross-channel behaviors are the norm.

✅ Run consistent messaging across paid social, email, SMS, and marketplace listings to stay top of mind throughout the buyer journey.

The takeaway?

This year’s back-to-school consumer is shopping early, deal-savvy, and channel-fluid. 

Ecommerce brands that show up with smart timing, flexible fulfillment, and budget-friendly messaging will earn trust and revenue.

🏆 The Key To Winning This BFCM? Preparation. And It Starts Now.

⛹️ Don’t drop the ball this BFCM. If you’re not already thinking about strategy, you’re handing your competitors a head start on a silver platter. 

🌻 This year, plant the seeds of success early, and reap the rewards. 

Instant can help. 💥

Brands that launched with Instant at the start of Q3 saw 85% more Q3 shoppers return for BFCM than those who launched right before Q4. 📈

It’s always a good time to maximize your traffic, but right now, it’s critical. 🚨 

Get your BFCM head start. 

What can Instant do for you?

🎧 How 600+ DTC Brand Operators Are Navigating Q4 Uncertainty and Margin Pressure – Insights with Keen's Justin Jefferson

On this episode of the DTC Podcast, we sit down with Justin Jefferson, VP of Strategy & Insights at Keen and unpack key findings from our survey on how 600+ brand operators are navigating Q4 uncertainty. 

Justin shares how leading DTC brands are making smarter decisions through scenario planning, forecasting, and more disciplined budget allocation while calling out the traps many fall into, from knee-jerk cuts to overreliance on ROAS.

In this episode, we dive into: 👇

• The state of Q4: Brands can either double down or pull back during tariff uncertainty, but zigging when others zag can help capture share at lower ad costs.
  
• What’s Your Backup Plan?  Only 20% of brands have actual contingency plans in place, while 58% adjust reactively, leading to suboptimal responses.
  
  "Think strategically to act nimbly... forecast best, base, and worst-case scenarios."
  
  
• Smart budget allocation: Test before the peak season. Pulling back on experimentation now stunts future performance.
  
  "If you don’t test now, you’ll launch Q1 without insights—new channels and tactics could be untapped."
• Why ROAS is Outdated: And why brands are moving towards marginal ROI and long-term profitability modeling. 

👉 Listen to the full episode with Justin here. 

You can access the full Q4 Planning & Profitability Report here.

📦 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 25, 2025 update:

• Trump Sets Broad Tariff Policy Range of 15% - 50%
  
  • The administration confirmed a new baseline tariff policy, ranging from 15% to 50%, for countries without bilateral trade agreements. Smaller nations may start at 10%.
    
  • "We're going to have a very, very simple tariff for some of the countries," Trump shared. "We'll have a straight, simple tariff of anywhere between 15% and 50%."
    
  • Trump added that only a "couple" of countries could see the 50% rate due to larger disagreements, and that others could see the lower rate if they opened up their markets to American goods.

🎧 What Makes Superman 2025 So Resonant?

In this episode of Ad-venturous, Aves uses the evolution of Superman—from 1930s comics to the latest film—to explore how brands can achieve true cultural resonance through timing, relevance, and deep understanding of their audience.

In this episode, we dive into:

• Superman’s Origin Story:  How the hero took shape over time through multiple creative iterations by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
  
• Cultural Timing Matters: Why Superman’s 1938 debut struck a chord during a time of global uncertainty and why themes of hope and goodness are resonating again today.

 “It is a very weird time culturally for things that are very American… people are resonating deeply with… kindness and goodness.”

• Gunn’s Reboot Strategy: Gunn returned to Superman’s roots: optimism, simplicity, and sincerity, sidestepping the brooding tone that didn’t land in previous versions.
  
• Brand Lessons in Relevance: Great brands listen deeply. Cultural context + real audience insight (not just tools) = enduring relevance.

“You need to have a genuine curiosity about people… good advertising is just efficient, successful resonance and relevance done repeatedly.”

• Storytelling & Nachos? Aves compares branding to reheating nachos: keep what’s essential, make it fresh for today’s world, and never lose your core flavor.

 “Get back in touch with your original nachos or brand’s core essence… figure out how to reheat them for the climate that you're in.”

👉 Listen to the full episode with Aves here.

🛍️ Start working on your Black Friday plans now or it’ll be too late! Instant helps you find your anonymous shoppers ahead of time and enter BFCM season with your best foot forward. Book a demo until August 7th and get a free month on us. *

📥 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?

• 🎨 TWBERP 43: Campaign Emails That Inspire, Not Blend In 
• 🍷 Maker Wine’s Strategy: How The Canned Wine Brand Grew
• 😀 AKNF 526: Ad-venturous Preview 
• 📸 Ad-venturous 11: UGC v.s. CGC, v.s. EGC 
• ⚡ TWBERP 42: Optimizing for Profit, Not Just Conversion Rate
• 🌱 Three Ships System for Trust-Driven Brand Growth 

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

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

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here.

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