Thursday 9th October | #47 | Join Free
Hey there. Email marketing is having a moment while your CPC costs are doing... well, the opposite. In today's issue, we're breaking down why email might be your secret weapon for actually affordable customer acquisition. Plus, Google's AI try-on news and why Black Friday still hits big in the UK.
In today’s beyond the basket:
📨 Email Just Got Profitable Again - Here's Why
🖤 Black Friday remains the UK’s biggest shopping day
🛒 Only 15% of shoppers ever make a second purchase
👟 Google adds virtual try-on for shoes
🗣️ Square adds AI insights, voice ordering, and bitcoin payments
+plus four longer reads exploring everything from how to navigate global ad tech laws, to the way BNPL is changing consumers payment expectations.
Let’s Dive in 🤿 - Mike Callachan (BtB Founder)
FEATURE
📨 Email Just Got Profitable Again - Here's Why
As brands chase the next viral hit, email’s been quietly pulling in some of the highest returns in marketing.
Performance is trending up. Klaviyo’s 2025 data shows average open rates at 37.9%, with some industries pushing past 42%. Click-throughs hover between 1.3–2%, but automated flows crush those numbers, browse-abandonment emails average around 5.5%, more than double the norm.
Meanwhile, acquisition costs are squeezing margins. Google Ads CPCs are up ~12.88% YoY in 2025; with 87% of industries seeing CPC increases. When paid channels get expensive, owned channels become essential.
We’re seeing three big shifts behind the numbers:
Segmentation by intent, not demographics.
Forget “male/female” or “new/repeat.” The smart brands segment by behavioural intent: people who browsed but didn’t buy, added to cart but didn’t check out, or purchased something that runs out in 30 days. Flows like these are performing 2–3x better than generic promos because they’re triggered by real actions, not assumptions.Time-sensitive automation is doing the heavy lifting.
Replenishment, back-in-stock, and price-drop emails are quietly adding real revenue. They take little effort but feel timely and personal, like a nudge from a helpful store clerk rather than a blast campaign. According to Klaviyo’s 2025 benchmarks, automated flows like these generate up to 30x more revenue per recipient than traditional campaign blasts. That’s especially true in repeat-purchase categories like beauty, supplements, and pet care, where timing and context beat discounts every time.
Post-purchase is where loyalty starts.
Too many brands stop the conversation after checkout. The best operators build automated “use and learn” series, how-tos, pairings, reminders, early access. These not only reduce returns and churn, but create habits around your brand. With customer acquisition costs climbing, those habits are worth more than any discount.
Your Move: Take a look at your flows this week. If replenishment or back-in-stock triggers aren’t running, you’re missing easy revenue. Every post-purchase message should build loyalty, not just confirm an order. The brands that win Q4 will be the ones that truly own their audience.
QUICK TIP
🎃 Use Halloween to warm up your audience.
A light Halloween campaign, a “treat” offer, quiz, or themed drop, is a perfect way to re-engage subscribers and identify who’s gone cold before the BFCM rush. Warm lists convert better, and pruning now can help keep your deliverability strong when it matters most.
ECOMMERCE
🖤 Black Friday remains the UK’s biggest shopping day LINK
TL;DR: A new report from Sensormatic shows 79% of UK consumers plan to shop on Black Friday this year, far ahead of 37% who expect to buy during Amazon Prime Deals Days and just 9% on Singles Day.
Why it Matters: Despite the rise of rival sales events, Black Friday continues to dominate the UK retail calendar, both online and in-store. Sensormatic predicts the Saturday of the Black Friday weekend (29 November) will be the second busiest shopping day of the entire Christmas season. In 2024, UK retail footfall on Black Friday rose 4.8% year-on-year, driven by shoppers comparing prices across channels in search of the best deals.
Your Move: Shift focus from hype to readiness. Make sure your offer pages, stock data, and checkout flow are flawless before the rush, shoppers will move on instantly if something feels slow, unclear, or out of sync with their expectations.
ECOMMERCE
🛒 Only 15% of shoppers ever make a second purchase LINK
TL;DR: A new Uptain study of 3,000 online stores found that just 14.77% of customers return to buy again, meaning 85% of shoppers are one-time buyers.
Why it Matters: Most ecommerce growth models assume repeat business, but the data shows how rare that actually is. If nearly nine out of ten buyers never come back, rising acquisition costs hit even harder. According to the research returning customers on average spend €80.41 per order vs €59.90 for first-timers, and they’re 5–10x cheaper to convert. Yet after three orders, spend starts to drop, suggesting loyalty isn’t permanent, it has to be re-earned. For most brands, that means the “second order” is the true make-or-break point in customer lifetime value.
Your Move: Build for the second order. Trigger follow-ups about two weeks after purchase, keep offers simple, and make reordering frictionless. The easiest growth lever right now isn’t more traffic, it’s getting one more purchase from the customers you already have.
ECOMMERCE
👟 Google adds virtual try-on for shoes LINK
Image Credit: Google/Alphabet Inc.
TL;DR: Google has expanded its AI-powered virtual try-on feature to include footwear, letting shoppers upload a full-length photo to see how different shoes look on them. The tool is also rolling out to new regions including Australia, Canada, and Japan after strong engagement in the U.S.
Why it Matters: This move pushes Google Shopping further into visual commerce, blurring the line between inspiration and conversion. Try-on tools boost confidence at the point of purchase, especially for fashion categories with high return rates. As shoppers increasingly expect this kind of visual feedback, brands without rich, accurate product imagery may fall behind in visibility and click-through within Google’s ecosystem.
Your Move: If you sell apparel or footwear through Google, prioritise detailed, high-quality product photography and complete attribute data. Google’s AI can only “try on” what it can clearly see, and your listings will perform better when they’re built for visual discovery, not just text search.
ECOMMERCE
🗣️ Square adds AI insights, voice ordering, and bitcoin payments LINK
TL;DR: Square has launched a new suite of tools for local businesses, including AI-powered insights, voice ordering, bitcoin payments, and a mobile storefront app that connects sellers directly with Cash App users.
Why it Matters: Square’s updates push its tools from point-of-sale into full operations mode. The new AI assistant pulls in live weather, events, and review data to help owners make smarter day-to-day calls, while voice ordering cuts labour costs and keeps service running smoothly. Together, the new features make Square feel less like a payments tool, and more like an operating system for modern local retail.
Your Move: If you’re running multi-channel retail or hospitality, test how Square’s AI and automation can take friction out of repeat orders and routine admin, freeing you up to focus on customer experience.
📚 The Reading List
Curated deep dives, longer reads and analysis shaping the future of ecommerce and marketing.
Bed Bath & Beyond launches nationwide franchise system
Entrepreneur (4 min read) Read here
The revived retailer is betting on franchising to rebuild its store footprint, a rare move for a legacy brand once synonymous with big-box retail.
Navigating the global puzzle of ad tech laws
ExchangeWire (6 min read) Read here
A sharp overview of how new privacy and data laws are splintering the global ad tech ecosystem, and what that means for cross-border targeting.
Cards still rule, but online shoppers want payment flexibility
InternetRetailing (5 min read) Read here
New research shows cards remain dominant online, but BNPL, digital wallets, and local payment methods are quickly reshaping checkout expectations.
French retail uneasy over Shein’s rapid store openings
RetailWire (3 min read) Read here
Traditional retailers in France are sounding the alarm as Shein expands physical locations, signalling how fast-fast-fashion is moving offline.
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