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The channel that makes acquisition affordable

Rising CPMs only matter if a customer buys once. Email and SMS turn a single purchase into a lifetime — which is what lets you outbid competitors for the first one.

What's different here

In e-commerce, email isn't a channel — it's the thing that determines what you can afford to pay for a customer. A brand with 22% repeat purchase rate can bid roughly twice as aggressively as one at 8%, on identical products. That's why we build retention before we ramp acquisition, not after.

38%Of revenue from emaile-commerce & dtc averageFrom Digital Squad client accounts. Orientation, not a guarantee — your starting point changes the range.

E-commerce & DTC clients

NorthwindLumen LabsHarborlineVerdantAtlas FoodsPoka HealthBrightsideCobalt BankMeridianArdentFoundryKestrel
Vertical-specific tactics

What email marketing looks like for e-commerce brands.

These are the plays that wouldn't appear on a generic email marketing page — they only make sense in e-commerce & dtc.

01

Replenishment timing from real data

We calculate actual median reorder intervals per product category from your order history, then trigger replenishment flows against that curve rather than a generic 30-day guess. For consumables this single flow often becomes a seven-figure line item.

02

Browse and cart abandonment layering

Three distinct flows with different urgency, incentive, and content — because someone who viewed a product once and someone who reached checkout are at completely different stages and shouldn't get the same discount.

03

RFM-based segmentation

Recency, frequency, and monetary segments drive both content and send frequency. VIPs get early access rather than discounts; lapsed buyers get win-back offers; new subscribers get education. Sending everyone the same campaign is what trains people to ignore you.

04

Zero-party data capture

Quiz-style capture and preference centers collect stated intent — skin type, size, use case — which powers segmentation that behavioral data alone can't produce, and survives cookie deprecation entirely.

The constraints

What holds e-commerce brands back

01

Rising CAC is eating your margin

Meta CPMs climb every year. Without conversion rate and AOV improvements, your unit economics get worse even when campaigns 'perform'.

02

You're optimizing platform ROAS

A 3x ROAS on 30% gross margin loses money per order. Platform ROAS ignores COGS, shipping, returns, and discounts entirely.

03

One-and-done customers

If every order needs paid acquisition, you're renting customers. Repeat purchase rate is the strongest predictor of DTC profitability.

04

Your store converts below benchmark

The median Shopify store converts at 1.4%. Good ones run 3–4%. That gap is worth more than any targeting change you'll make.

What's included

The full scope.

Everything in a email marketing engagement, applied to e-commerce & dtc.

01

Account & deliverability audit

Authentication records, sender reputation, list health, and flow coverage — with a prioritized fix list.

02

Core automation flows

Welcome, abandoned cart, browse abandonment, post-purchase, replenishment, win-back, and review request — designed, written, and built.

03

Segmentation architecture

Behavioral and lifecycle segments so every send goes to people it's actually relevant to.

04

Campaign calendar & production

A planned monthly calendar with design, copy, build, and send handled end to end.

05

SMS integration

Compliant SMS flows coordinated with email so customers get a coherent experience, not duplicate messages.

06

List growth systems

On-site capture, lead magnets, exit intent, and post-purchase capture — optimized for quality over raw volume.

07

Deliverability management

Authentication setup, warming plans, engagement-based sunsetting, and ongoing placement monitoring.

08

Revenue reporting

Flow-level and campaign-level revenue attribution, so you know exactly which emails earn their keep.

The process

How this runs.

  1. Audit

    Week 1

    Full review of your platform, flows, deliverability, list health, and current revenue attribution.

  2. Fix deliverability

    Weeks 1–2

    Authentication, list cleaning, and sunset policies. Everything else is wasted until the inbox is reachable.

  3. Build the flows

    Weeks 2–6

    Core automations designed, written, and launched — usually the fastest revenue win available.

  4. Campaigns & segmentation

    Ongoing

    Ongoing calendar, segment-specific sends, and continuous subject line and offer testing.

  5. Grow & optimize

    Month 2+

    List growth systems, flow-level testing, and expansion into SMS and push where it makes sense.

Investment

Scoped like the core service, no surcharge.

Every engagement is quoted from your actual brief. There's no vertical surcharge for this combination — request a quote and we'll scope it properly.

Flows

Build the automated backbone once, keep the revenue.

Scoped to your brief

  • Deliverability audit & fixes
  • 8 core flows built
  • Segmentation setup
  • Templates & design system
  • 30-day optimization
Request a quote
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Managed

Full ongoing email and SMS management.

Scoped to your brief

  • All flows built & maintained
  • 8 campaigns/month
  • SMS integration
  • Continuous A/B testing
  • List growth optimization
  • Deliverability monitoring
  • Monthly strategy call
Request a quote

Lifecycle

Complex lifecycle programs and enterprise CRM.

Scoped to your brief

  • Advanced lifecycle mapping
  • 16+ campaigns/month
  • Predictive segmentation & RFM
  • Loyalty program integration
  • Multi-brand / multi-region
  • Dedicated lifecycle strategist
Request a quote

All engagements start with a free audit. Prices exclude media spend, which you pay directly to the platforms on accounts you own.

Questions

E-commerce & DTC questions, answered straight.

Volume doesn't drive unsubscribes; irrelevance does. Properly segmented brands often send more total emails while their unsubscribe rate falls, because each recipient gets fewer irrelevant ones. We monitor unsubscribe and complaint rates per segment and pull back on any segment where they climb.

Email Marketing × E-commerce & DTC

Let's talk about your growth constraint.

Rising CPMs only matter if a customer buys once. Email and SMS turn a single purchase into a lifetime — which is what lets you outbid competitors for the first one.

Our commitment: If your automated flows don't pay back our build fee within 90 days, we build the next set of flows free.