DTC969: Crap Eyewear Brand Breakdown

Good morning,

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

• 😎 How Crap Eyewear Can Turn Brand Personality into A Performance Win

You’re reading this newsletter along with new subscribers from: Long Sing Technology, HealthPost, and World Nomads. 👋

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‍😎 Turn Up The Charm And Conversion Rates!

Crap Eyewear has one of the more distinctive brand voices in the sunglasses space.

Effortlessly cool, irreverent, and stylish without trying too hard.

Their visuals and product positioning signal confidence and creativity.

But when it comes to their automated flows, some of that personality gets a little lost in translation.

Let’s break down what’s working and where there’s room to optimize across their email flows.

1️⃣ Welcome Flow

Crap Eyewear’s welcome flow gets the fundamentals right.

It triggers immediately after signup, maintains consistent timing, and stays visually aligned with the brand. From a structural standpoint, it’s solid.

Where there’s opportunity is in how value and personality are communicated in those first moments.

The 20% first-purchase incentive is a strong motivator for signup, yet it’s visually understated.

For a brand known for confidence and bold creative, this offer should be more prominent.

The same applies to the subject lines for the first two emails. Phrases like “Welcome to Crap Eyewear” or “Bioacetate Frames 💚🌐” are clean and on-brand, but they don’t fully capture the youthful energy that defines Crap.

The inbox is the first impression, and this is a moment to signal attitude, not just arrival.

💡 Pilothouse Tips:

✅ Clarify Product Education: Mentioning “Bioacetate” in the subject line is a strong sustainability differentiator, but new subscribers may need more context up front.

A simple line like “Made from plants, not plastic” helps ground the story instantly.

✅ Build Trust Early: Introducing social proof, like customer reviews, in the first email can help reinforce confidence and reduce friction.

Crap’s follow-up email does a great job of showing off its fun and laidback vibe.

There’s a GIF at the top of the email featuring a few candid snaps from an event that brought together music, art, and fashion (peek some of the guests wearing Crap’s sunnies).

Not only do these real moments make great social content, but Crap has also cleverly used them in their email strategy too, so subscribers get a taste of the brand’s personality and ability to create a sense of community offline.

💡 Pilothouse Tips:

✅ Balance Culture and Conversions: Welcome emails tend to perform best when brand storytelling is paired with clear conversion intent.

Adding shoppable elements, featured products, and a clear reminder of the welcome offer would allow subscribers to act while interest is at its peak.

✅ Extend the Flow: Crap has a rich brand story and content ecosystem.

Expanding the welcome series by one or two additional emails could deepen the connection without overwhelming the subscriber.

2️⃣ Abandon Cart Flow

These abandon cart emails look clean and feature a high res image of the product along with a bright checkout button, but they leave out some of the information that helps nudge a shopper toward purchase.

The timing is another area of opportunity. The first abandon cart email doesn’t trigger until 2 days later.

The two-email setup is a solid foundation, but there’s room to build on it.

Adding a third message, a short “your cart’s expiring” note with a small incentive, could capture the last wave of high-intent.

💡 Pilothouse Tips:

✅ Trigger Abandon Flow Faster: Sending the first reminder within ~20 minutes of cart abandonment helps capture intent while attention is still high.

For a younger, mobile-heavy audience, shorter delays tend to perform better as attention windows close quickly.

✅ Leverage Segmentation: Splitting the flow into two paths can unlock quick wins:

• Returning customers: no promo needed, just a reminder.
• New customers: add a small discount or reuse the welcome code to push that first purchase.

✅ Add More Personality in Subject Lines: The current subject lines are clean (“Last call 👀” fits the vibe), but Crap’s tone leans fun and casual. Injecting more of that bold energy can help a functional email feel just as on-brand as the rest of the experience.

✅ End on A High Note: Like we mentioned before adding one more email like a “funnel flusher” can help with conversion rates. Pair it with a limited-time incentive to help close the loop.

✨ Conclusion

Crap Eyewear’s emails look good, but there’s an opportunity for them to work harder.

Their flows have the potential to match the same confidence and personality that drives the brand.

Lead with value, move faster, and make it shoppable. And remember to express your brand voice at all touchpoints.

‍💰 Will Meta Charge Users To Post Links?

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Some users report that they can only share two links per month in organic posts.

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Have you heard our latest podcasts?

• 💄 How Kulfi Beauty Expanded to 720 Sephora Stores with Zero Ads
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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.