Hey Cowboys,
Happy Thursday! One more day, and it’s the weekend! We’re live now with the biggest stories in ecomm and DTC.
Today’s guest lineup 👇
Today’s Squad: Retention Founders Driving Revenue
Today we’re chatting with four founders killing it on DTC channels (email, SMS, and creators) to break down how retention marketing really drives revenue.
Jimmy Kim (CEO & Co-Founder, eCom Email Marketer) → 12PM CT
Chris Geiss (Co-Founder& CEO, Seguno) → 12:40PM CT
Alex Beller (Co-Founder & President, Postscript) → 1:45PM CT
DTC Data Report: H1 2026 by CTC
H1 2026 ecommerce data by CTC shows brands are still growing steadily, with revenue up across the board and several channels delivering genuinely strong, testable returns.
Median revenue grew 15.2% YoY, but ad spend grew 28% over the same period (efficiency declined).
AppLovin spend up over 1,000% YoY, with average incrementality of 171% across 18 tests (only one below 100%, five at 225%+).
Meta incrementality averaged 113.4%, but ranged from below 25% to above 200%, the widest spread of any channel.
8-figure brands saw a median lift of $1.2M (13.7%); 7-figure brands added roughly $280K.
July 2026 consumer confidence hit a three-year low, falling below 2023, 2024, and 2025 levels.
Google ROAS up 10% YoY on only 13% more spend, possibly pressured by ChatGPT's rise as an ad surface.
The core takeaway is to run incrementality tests on your highest-spend channels before scaling Q4 budgets, and to audit any platform carrying the majority of your new customer revenue.
Brands that treat Q3 as a coast period risk being underprepared when the holiday season hits.
New Ecomm Cowboy Segment: Ad vs. Ad
Ad vs. Ad is a fresh, (mostly) new segment on Ecomm Cowboy. Join us on the stream today to watch Chris and Colin share their favorite ads of the week in a faceoff-style gameshow.
We’ll argue over which ad is better, why Chris is probably gonna win, and why Colin chooses bad ads. The segment will be judged by our guest Jimmy Kim.
Live now. Come yell at us, y’all.
More Ecomm Top Stories: Grüns, Final Boss Sour, and Quince
Grüns Taps Liquid I.V. Veteran as CMO - Grüns has appointed Aaron Jones as its new Chief Marketing Officer. Jones joins from Liquid I.V. and will lead marketing as the supplement brand continues to expand under Unilever's Wellbeing Collective.
Final Boss Sour Lands Mondelez Investment - Final Boss Sour, the viral sour candy brand from Science Inc., has raised $4 million in new funding with participation from Mondelez International. The brand is also expanding into major retailers, including Walmart, Target, Kroger, Wegmans, and 7-Eleven.
Quince Surpasses $2B in Annual Sales - Quince has surpassed $2 billion in trailing 12-month revenue, doubling its sales from the previous year. The milestone comes months after the company raised a $500 million Series E at a $10.1 billion valuation, fueling speculation about a future IPO.
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Ecomm Cowboy is the go-to live show for ecommerce operators, breaking down the latest DTC, retail, and AI news while interviewing the founders and executives building today's fastest-growing brands.
We’re live every Monday to Friday at 12PM CT.
Have questions or want to come on the show? Simply reply to this email, we’re happy to chat.
Made Possible By:
Seguno - the Shopify-native marketing suite for brands that run it themselves.
Insense - The all-in-one UGC and influencer marketing platform.
Postscript - Make more money from every SMS message.
Proxima - Use real conversion data to power your creative briefs.
Northbeam - Measure the “unmeasurable,” make your marketing profitable.
Rokt Aftersell - More profit from the orders you’re already getting.
Universal Ads - TV ads that deliver for performance marketers.
Richpanel - The AI helpdesk that saves you headaches (and money).
SATHI - Affiliate attribution beyond last-click commissions.
Slash - A better business banking platform.
Trendtrack - Track competitors' winning marketing strategies daily.
Tie - The internet’s #1 shopper ID platform.
See you on the stream,
Ecomm Cowboy Team