Not every product tolerates advertising
Margin, return rate and shipping costs differ widely. Promoting an assortment across the board burns contribution margin on the wrong items.
E-commerce & retail
Between comparison and purchase there is more than a click.
Online shops, D2C brands, retailers and manufacturers with direct sales work in a highly competitive market with thin margins. What matters is which products get promoted, what a customer is worth over time and where contribution margin is lost.
Analyze my shop
Initial consultation – we look at assortment selection, contribution margin and repurchase.
Business model
What makes the retail business special
The second purchase decides
With thin margins, it is often only repurchase that pays off. Without a look at repurchase rate, any evaluation of a campaign is incomplete.
Comparison happens before the shop
Customers compare products, prices and alternatives before they open a shop. This phase helps decide who is considered at all.
Three bottlenecks
What it typically hinges on
Evaluation by revenue instead of contribution margin
Campaigns look good as long as returns, shipping and purchase price aren’t counted against them.
Assortment without prioritization
All items run at equal priority. Products with margin and repurchase potential get no more attention than remainder stock.
No plan after the first purchase
After the order, only the shipping email follows. Trigger, timing and content for the second purchase are not defined.
Starting points
Where we start
- 01
Sort the assortment by contribution
Items are grouped by margin, return behavior and repurchase potential – that steers what gets promoted.
- 02
Make contribution margin visible
Campaign evaluation based on the metrics that really count in the business.
- 03
Plan repurchase
Triggers, timing and content after the first purchase are defined instead of improvised.
- 04
Serve the comparison phase
Content and ads for the questions asked before buying – suitability, differences, use.
Deliverables
What you end up with
Assortment grouping
Item groups by contribution and role in the assortment, as a basis for budget decisions.
Evaluation logic
A definition of which figures decide whether a measure continues or stops.
Repurchase plan
Triggers, timing and responsibilities after the first purchase.
Search & AI assistants channel plan
Which buying situations run through ads and which questions are answered through content.
Documented cases
Documented cases from retail and D2C
Three online retail projects with the service provided in each.
Jurassic Fruit, YIONN and Lill’s: performance work in e-commerce. The figures documented there come from the respective case studies; no further services were provided.
Example
Example scenario (not a customer case)
A shop promotes the whole assortment evenly and evaluates campaigns by revenue. Returns and purchase prices only show up in the monthly report.
- Budget follows item groups with a viable contribution margin
- Campaigns are evaluated by contribution, not by revenue
- The second purchase has a defined trigger and timing
Three diagnostic questions
Three questions before the conversation
Anyone who knows these numbers can decide right away in the initial consultation.
- Which item groups actually deliver contribution margin after returns and shipping?
- What is your repurchase rate within twelve months?
- By what metric do you decide today whether a campaign keeps running?
What we don’t do
What we don’t do
We take on neither purchasing nor logistics and make no revenue promises.
- No pricing or purchasing advice
- No statements on achievable advertising cost ratios without your numbers
Frequently asked questions
Clearly answered.
We run our campaigns in-house.
Good. Then it’s about decision foundations: which items get budget and by which metric they are evaluated. Execution can stay with you.
Our margin is thin. Is it worth it?
Only if repurchase or basket value supports it. If not, we say so – and look at assortment and contribution margin first.
What changes with AI assistants in the buying process?
Part of the comparison shifts to conversations with assistants. That’s why we treat this phase separately from the actual buying search.
Matching services
