Ecommerce Playbook: Numbers, Struggles & Growth

By the time Black Friday arrives, Skullcandy wants customers ready to buy.
Evin Catlett, Skullcandy’s Global VP of Ecommerce and Growth Marketing, joins Taylor Holiday live at Commerce Roundtable in San Diego to explain how the brand uses TikTok Shop and creator content to build demand ahead of its holiday promotions. She shares what helped TikTok Shop gain traction after a slow start and how her team selects products for creator campaigns that support sales across Skullcandy’s website, Amazon, and retail stores.
In this episode:
Building a digital growth strategy inside a brand with extensive retail distribution

Why Skullcandy kept investing in TikTok Shop after a slow launch

The role of creator content in generating demand across sales channels

Coordinating Black Friday offers across DTC, Amazon, and retail

Evin’s approach to investing before the sale so customers are ready to purchase

Giving shoppers reasons to buy directly through loyalty benefits and exclusive products

Planning for holiday sales through Christmas and the end of the year

Key takeaway: Evin reports seeing retail sales of specific products move within weeks of creator campaigns. Measuring the full impact across channels remains a work in progress.
This episode is brought to you by:
- Trybe: https://bit.ly/4xXvD08
- Alia: https://bit.ly/4yuP8ON
- Bill: https://bit.ly/4e9JQQm
Show Notes:
Go to http://outersignal.com/thread to get 50% off your first two months

Learn more: https://commonthreadco.com

Track your brand’s performance: https://statlas.io

Work with us: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/contact

Have a question for the Ecommerce Playbook? Email podcast@commonthreadco.com

Justin Palmer, Founder & CEO of Home Life Brands, joins Taylor Holiday live at Commerce Roundtable in San Diego to discuss Black Friday customer retention and turning holiday shoppers into customers who stay.After 12 years in pet ecommerce, the company behind iHeartDogs and The Hero Company prioritizes acquiring customers in September and October, when they’re more likely to buy again during the holidays. Justin explains how member discounts, early product access, and daily inventory planning shape the brand’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday strategy.For DTC brands preparing for BFCM 2026, Justin shares an approach to driving repeat purchases and building membership revenue around products customers don’t need every month. Charitable experiences and personal impact updates give members an ongoing reason to engage beyond the initial discount.In this episode:- Why September and October acquisitions tend to return during the holidays, while November and December buyers are more often one-time gift shoppers- Finding the intersection of three customer interests to develop more specific products and ad creative- Building membership revenue around products with limited natural repeat purchase frequency- Giving members early access and discounted pricing before Black Friday- Testing product concepts with existing customers and cold audiences before ordering inventory- Using daily inventory projections to adjust pricing and ad spend ahead of the shipping cutoff- Giving iHeartDogs members a reason to stay through meal donations, monthly rescue flights, and personal impact dashboards- Producing AI ad creative at scale when predicting winners is increasingly difficult- Building toward automated offers, from a discount idea to a landing page and published ad creative- Why Meta remains the primary acquisition channel, and where TikTok Shop, Amazon, and AppLovin fit- Moving media buyer compensation toward contribution margin rather than last-click revenue aloneKey stat: Justin says memberships account for roughly 25% of the business’s revenue, helping provide stability outside the holiday season.Community impact: The Hero Company has also funded more than $2 million in donations to organizations that match veterans with service dogs.This episode is brought to you by:- Trybe: https://bit.ly/4xXvD08- Alia: https://bit.ly/4yuP8ON- Bill: https://bit.ly/4e9JQQmShow Notes: Go to ⁠https://www.universalads.com/middleman ⁠and use code UACTC to get $2,500 in matched ad credits when you spend $2,500.- Learn more: https://commonthreadco.com- Track your brand’s performance: https://statlas.io- Work with us: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/contact- Have a question for the Ecommerce Playbook? Email podcast@commonthreadco.com

Kyle Yeoman, President of Groove Life, joins Taylor Holiday live at Commerce Roundtable in San Diego to explain why the brand is pulling back on discounts.

With profits tripling, Kyle breaks down the changes behind Groove Life’s turnaround, from cutting operating expenses to rebuilding product pages. He also shares the brand’s Black Friday plan: start the Wednesday before, run the sale for one week, and stop.
In this episode:
What changed when discounted sales grew from 20% to 40% of revenue
Why brands get stuck in “discount prison” and what it takes to get out
Groove Life’s 2026 plan to reserve discounts for Father’s Day and the holiday season
Why fixing operating expenses came first
The product page changes that lifted conversion rates 61% YoY on the updated pages
Why Groove Life is keeping its Black Friday sale to one week
How the brand approaches linear TV and YouTube beyond traditional attribution

One thing worth noting, Kyle reports that site changes cut Meta CPA in half, measured on the same seven-day click attribution window.

Key stat: Kyle reports that site changes cut Meta CPA in half, measured on the same seven-day click attribution window.

This episode is brought to you by:
Trybe: https://bit.ly/4xXvD08
Alia: https://bit.ly/4yuP8ON
Bill: https://bit.ly/4e9JQQm

Show Notes:
Q4 waits for no one. AppLovin is offering $5K ad credit when you spend $5K. Go to applovin.com/ctc to set up your first campaign
Explore the Prophit Engine: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/prophit-engine
The Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at podcast@commonthreadco.com to ask us any questions you might have

Kyle Yeoman, President of Groove Life, joins Taylor live at Commerce Roundtable in San Diego to break down one of the most counterintuitive pivots in DTC: committing to fewer discounts and watching profits triple. Kyle shares the exact framework Groove Life used to escape "discount prison" — and the site changes alone that cut their Meta CPA in half.
In this episode:
How Groove went from 20% to 40% of revenue through discounts — and what that revealed

The "discount prison" problem: why you can't turn off what you built your funnel on

The 2026 reset: fix OpEx first, then eliminate year-round promotions

Why rebuilding one PDP drove 61% YoY conversion rate improvement

The exact Q4 strategy: no sale until Wednesday before Black Friday, one week only

How linear TV remnant + YouTube operates outside traditional attribution

The mindset shift: constraint as competitive advantage

Key stat: Meta CPA cut in half — seven-day click, apples to apples — from site changes alone. No ad changes required.
Show Notes:
Q4 waits for no one. AppLovin is offering $5K ad credit when you spend $5K. Go to applovin.com/ctc to set up your first campaign

Explore the Prophit Engine: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/prophit-engine

The Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at podcast@commonthreadco.com to ask us any questions you might have

Tyler and Alex from TBAR just joined CTC — and in this episode, Shack sits down with them right after their first-ever stage presentation at Commerce Roundtable to break down everything they know about building winning TikTok Shop programs.
This is the tactical breakdown behind one of the fastest-growing creator commerce agencies in the space: how they built their client roster (Ridge, David Protein, Jones Road and more), why video volume beats virality every time, how they structure creator communities in Discord, and where social commerce is heading next.
In This Episode:
Why TikTok limits views on shoppable videos (and why that actually doesn't matter)

The GMV Max algorithm explained: why it's a slot machine, not a science

How to get 3 videos back for every sample you send

The creator community flywheel: Discord, coaching, competitions, retainers

Halo effect to Amazon, Shopify, and retail — when to expect it and how to measure it

Where social commerce is heading: YouTube Shop, Meta Reels, and live selling

Show Notes:
Go to https://bit.ly/4cbihFx to Claim $25,000 in Lutiq platform credits

Explore Tikok Shops; https://commonthreadco.com/pages/tiktok-shop-agency

Explore the Prophit Engine: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/prophit-engine

The Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at podcast@commonthreadco.com to ask us any questions you might have