DTC1153: Q4 Discounts, Meta Hooks & Loop’s Ecommerce Stack

Good morning DTC readers! Hope you had a good long weekend.

Nothing a few coffees can’t fix, right? We’ve got this.

Let’s ease in.

⁉️ How deep should you discount this Q4?

We surveyed 575+ DTC operators on how deeply they’re discounting this Q4, then asked 700+ shoppers what actually gets them to try a new brand.

The results are in Beyond the Discount, a free benchmark report exploring the gap between what brands assume and what shoppers say, with additional insights from Smile.io on loyalty and repeat purchase.

One finding: shoppers most commonly say it takes 20 to 25% off to try an unfamiliar brand. The most common acquisition discount from brands? Just 11 to 20%.

See how your plan compares before you finalize your Q4 strategy.

Download the free report

🪝 Steal these Meta hooks

Performance marketer Adam Taylor shared a swipe file of ad hooks pulled from concepts that have already spent real money on Meta.

The list organizes hooks by awareness stage, from unaware and problem-aware through solution-aware and product-aware. Templates include angles like “Here’s why you have [visible problem]…”, “Never ignore these [number] hidden warning signs…” and “[Number] things about [product] I wish I knew sooner.”

See the list here and bookmark Adam’s post for the next time your creative team needs fresh angles without starting from a blank page.

🍿 Brands are staging fake creator drama to make you swipe through the ad

You’ve probably seen this format by now: a brand calls out a “creator” for ghosting a deal, then drags the story across an entire Instagram carousel.

Laneige is running one right now.

The “evidence” slowly turns into a product pitch, complete with the lineup and newest launch. Then the final slide reveals the creator never existed.

By the time you realize it was an ad, you’ve already seen every product.

💡 Behind every Loop sale: a product discovery quiz, BYOB, and easy exchanges

Earplug brand Loop generates an estimated $7 million in monthly sales through its DTC website.

The brand builds a strong customer experience, from helping shoppers find the right product for a specific need to enabling fast returns and exchanges.

Here are three Shopify apps behind that experience.

1️⃣ Quiz Kit: AI Product Finder

Loop offers different products for different use cases, so this quiz app helps customers find the most suitable option on the first try.

Merchants can build custom quizzes without any coding and gain insight into buyer preferences and behavior.

On Loop's website, customers can browse the collection directly or select "Help Me Choose" in the main navigation to take a one-minute, AI-powered quiz.

The quiz asks whether customers are shopping for better sleep, noise sensitivity, parenting, or another use case, then returns recommendations they can add to cart or view for more detail.

2️⃣ Fast Bundle: Product Bundles

This app raises average order value by letting merchants build bundles in a range of formats.

Loop offers 14 bundle types, plus a build-your-own-bundle (BYOB) option.

The building experience is intuitive: customers can see exactly what's been added to their bundle and which discounts unlock as they spend more.

3️⃣ Narvar: Returns and Exchanges

This app helps merchants convert refunds into retained revenue by offering a range of exchange options instead of a straight return.

Loop offers store credit to customers who aren't satisfied with a purchase, along with an Instant Exchange option for customers who already have a replacement item in mind and don't want to wait for the original to be returned before it ships.

🎧 Amazon Fees Hit 40%: How to Claw Back Margin and Stop Wasting Ad Spend

In 2020, Amazon's fees ran about 26% of your product cost. Today they run 34 to 40%, and once you add advertising most brands are at 50 to 60% before they reinvest a dollar.

For the first time in years, the number of sellers on Amazon is shrinking.

Tyler, Head of Amazon at Pilothouse, is back to explain what he calls the Amazon Paradox: you can't afford to be on Amazon, and you can't afford not to be.

If you sell on Amazon, buy Amazon ads, or keep putting off the decision to launch there, this is the operator's version of the math.

▶️ Watch here | 🎧 Listen on Spotify

‍🤖 Your helpdesk bots shouldn't go rogue on your customers. HumanTouch CX is AI-EU compliant and the first 100 Founding Merchants get white-glove onboarding and a 24-month price lock. Claim your spot here. *

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