Happy Thursday.

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Nike is Teens’ #1 Footwear & Clothing Brand - Despite wanting digital sales for the tenth straight quarter, Nike is crushing among GenZ and Gen Alpha teens. Kohl’s is all in on Nike as part of its back-to-school campaign, featuring new in-store displays and full-outfit styling. And yes, if you didn’t notice parents are already shopping back-to-school with an eye for products strategically under $25.

Tecovas Expands Into Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's - Tecovas has partnered with Bass Pro Shops to bring its Western footwear, apparel, and accessories to select Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's stores across North America, as well as BassPro.com, starting this summer. The brand will now also become the official boot of the Missouri Thunder PBR team. Are they set to take over American Western Wear?

Meta Smart Glasses Are Selling Out at National Vision - National Vision says Meta smart glasses are among its fastest-selling frames. The retailer has expanded availability to more than 100 stores, where customers can purchase the glasses with prescription lenses and apply vision insurance benefits. Maybe Zuck is building the next generation’s “iPhone.”

L.A.B. Golf just dropped a $2,000 putter wrapped like an Uncrustables sandwich. The launch tweet did 1.8 million views in a day. Would you have heard of L.A.B. Golf otherwise? I had never heard of them before.

Three putter models, purple and blue, a cartoon PB&J on the sole, packaging built like the iconic Uncrustables box, a coupon for a 15-count carton inside. It's ridiculous. It's also working: one putter model already sold out, along with most of the $100 headcovers, the towels, and the hats.

Is this about selling putters? Not really. Nobody at L.A.B. is modeling their year around grape-jelly Cerakote. This is an awareness play, and the genius is who's funding it. A Super Bowl spot costs millions and produces thirty seconds of attention. This drop produces days of timeline chatter, unboxings, and arguments about the price, and the collectors buying it are covering the bill.

The price backlash is part of the machine. "$2,000 for a putter is diabolical" is doing exactly as much marketing as the product photography. Golfers with money get a grail. Everyone else gets a reason to say the brand's name out loud and notice them.

And the beneficiaries aren't just the two logos on the box. Every one of those putters shows up at a real tee box in front of real golfing buddies, which is the best ad placement in sport.

I'm not spending $2,000 on a sandwich putter. But I know exactly who makes it now, and so does everyone else on the timeline.

Make SMS your biggest revenue channel.

You’re leaving money on the table when your customers text you back.

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Nate Lagos was just on our show, he turned on AI Shopper made an additional $17K in one day while completely off-line. Needless to say, it works. The customers who text you back are one answer away from buying.

→ Get the Conversational Report — directtoconsumer.co/theconversationalreport

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See you live,
Ecomm Cowboy Team