Geometry of Growth, Issue #73

Hey y’all!

Apologies for no newsie last Thursday. I was really hoping to squeeze in some newsletter writing time, but Shoptalk week won — and what a week it was! 😅 

The FERMÀT team participated in 6 events in 48 hours, plus our superstar Head of Revenue attended the actual conference itself. It was a whirlwind. Even amongst the chaos of Las Vegas, Shoptalk remains one of my favorite trips every year.

Highlights included massages in the PostPilot Penthouse at the Mandalay Bay, stagefront tables at a private 3lau concert, and munching on some top-notch vegan empanadas while watching Postcard from Earth at The Sphere. Our incredible marketing specialist, Willow, made a fun recap video here.

While we were talkin’ shop, the great Aaron Orendorff was at it again, cooking up another mind-blowing resource with some of the best in the game — Ecommerce Customer Experience: CX & CS in the Service of Profit.

What’s inside? A 7k-word guide with 100+ examples, a 53-page PDF of original insights on all things customer experience, and access to attend a live CX panel on April 16. Contributors include industry legends like Jess Cervellon, Eli Weiss, and Zoe Kahn along with leaders from behemoth brands such as FIGS and Caraway. Dive into the full thing here.

Onto the main event! 💃 

In this week’s newsie: FÜM’s LTV-optimized store, Williams Sonoma’s CEO’s take on tariffs, True Classic’s billion-dollar content marketing playbook, and more.

See you in your inbox next week. Hope you have an awesome Friday & a beautiful spring weekend! 🌸 

Cheers,
Lex 💚

🔥 New Resource Dropped: Ecommerce Customer Experience: CX & CS in the Service of Profit

Is your CX strategy leaking revenue? If so, this guide shows you where and how to fix it.

Consider Ecommerce Customer Experience: CX & CS in the Service of Profit the most comprehensive resource on CX in the DTC world.

With a 7,000-word guide, 100+ examples from real brands, and expert contributions from leaders at FIGS, ILIA, Caraway, and more—it’s designed to help you turn support into a profit center.

Plus, downloading the guide gets you a seat at the April 16th live panel featuring CX legends like Jess Cervellon, Eli Weiss, and Zoe Rosen.

Don't just “do support”—build an experience that drives retention, conversion, and long-term brand love.

🛒 Store of the Week

FÜM

As the tides of trend continue to shift further towards all things health & wellness, I’ve been hearing about FÜM pretty often - a Canadian essential oil inhaler brand. Their product is largely targeted towards those who are quitting smoking or vaping.

This week I opened up their ecomm store for the first time in a few years, and I was pretty surprised! They’ve come a long way since their launch in 2018. I was most impressed by how their entire site swiftly nudges shoppers towards placing high ROI orders for the brand - starter pack & subscription purchases.

Here are some of my favorite elements of FÜM’s shopping experience:

• Navigation/Journey Pack → Furthest left on global navigation, directing shoppers to purchase their starter pack that includes a inhaler device and 3+ flavor diffusers. Additional up & cross-sells built into this PDP which are VERY smart. Subscribe & save option presented as well.

• Navigation/Core Club → Second to left on global navigation. Nudges shoppers to enroll in their subscribe & save program for cores (essential oil cartridges for the device). Highlights subscription program features and benefits, including monthly rewards.

• Homepage/Hero → Concise, clear copy that presents FÜM as a nicotine alternative. Big CTA button to purchase Journey Pack (starter pack); second option to visit their store locator. This is great — it highlights to shoppers (even the ones who don’t click) that their product can be purchased in local convenience stores.

• Homepage/Purchase objections infographic → Love this simple 3-icon infographic right below that hero that addresses 3 core purchase objections (will it work?, is it safe?, isn’t it expensive?)

• Homepage/World’s First Flavored Air Device section → Big fan of this 3D product video that shows how the device works.

• Homepage/As Heard on Pods → A fun social proof section that highlights all of the podcasts FÜM has been featured on — many of which are popular with the Gen-Z & millennial audiences that are buying this device, such as Call Her Daddy, Girls Gotta Eat, and The Joe Rogan Experience

• Homepage/Fresh Sellers → Again nudges shoppers towards the brands highest ROI/LTV purchases - the Journey Pack and subscription purchases.

• Homepage/The Science section → Digs deeper into the “will it work?” purchase objection for the smoking cessation audience. Includes an authority testimonial from a board-certified additional medicine physician and author.

• Homepage/Reset Your Expectations → Very unique section that provides analogies for how FÜM’s product and flavors compare to things like soda, alcohol, and vapes.

• Homepage/Check Us Out In the Wild section → Social proof section with lots of great video testimonials, unboxings, and more. As always…wish this was shoppable, though! (PS: Scroll to this week’s Tool of the Week for a solution for this).

Exceptional work from the FÜM team; they’ve especially done some really impressive work in the PDP department. Definitely recommend checking out how they stack multiple offers, upsells, & cross-sells in there. 😀 

💪 Check out FÜM’s seamless & smokeless shopping experience here. 

🛍 Product of the Week

Rorra Countertop System

Ever looked at your tap water with suspicion but didn't want to deal with the hassle of installing one of those under-sink filtration contraptions? Same.

Enter the Rorra Countertop System. This sleek 2.5-gallon water filtration unit is a no-fuss solution for clean water without the headache of installation, electricity, or plumbing. It's basically the lazy person's path to premium hydration (and I mean that as a compliment).

Made from medical-grade 316L stainless steel, the Rorra is both a functional powerhouse and an aesthetically pleasing addition to your kitchen. The gravity-fed system uses their fancy Enfinity™ Filter with electrokinetic nanofiber technology – which is just a science-y way of saying it traps pretty much everything you don't want in your water.

Each filter lasts about 90 days (or 200 gallons), and the system includes a handy indicator to let you know when it's time for a refill or replacement.

At $449 with a filter subscription, it's certainly an investment – but considering you're getting both peace of mind AND a countertop conversation piece, it might just be worth it.

💧 Upgrade your water filtration game with Rorra here.

📖 Content of the Week

RetailDive: Williams-Sonoma says tariffs present opportunity

For most ecomm brands & retailers in the US, the past 24 hours have been plagued by one painful word — tariffs.

In a time when most are sweating over tariff increases, Williams-Sonoma is taking a completely different approach; perhaps you’ll find this “silver lining” perspective approach inspiring.

Shared yesterday via Retail Dive, Williams Sonoma CEO Laura Alber explains how they're actually viewing increased tariffs as a strategic opportunity rather than a threat.

Their strategy moving forward includes a three-pronged approach: getting cost concessions from vendors, shifting production to tariff-free regions, and ramping up their already substantial domestic manufacturing.

For ecommerce brands processing the impending supply chain headaches, there are some valuable takeaways here about turning potential threats into competitive advantages. The key seems to be maintaining multiple sourcing options rather than over-relying on any single region.

🏡 Read Laura Alber’s (CEO, Williams Sonoma) full perspective here.  

🎧 Listen of the Week

Shopify Masters: Inside True Classic’s Billion-Dollar Content Marketing Playbook

If you're looking for some serious ecomm inspiration this week, this episode of the Shopify Masters podcast featuring Ryan Bartlett (Co-Founder of True Classic) should be your go-to. In just five years, he turned a simple idea — a better-fitting men's t-shirt— into a nearly billion-dollar brand. Yes, billion with a B!

Ryan has a super practical approach to content marketing. Instead of chasing trends, he focused ruthlessly on what actually worked. His background in digital marketing shines through as he breaks down how they balanced high-performing direct response ads with brand-building content.

One surprising takeaway? True Classic continues to find that static images with strong social proof perform just as well (sometimes better!) than their video content.

I also loved hearing about their commitment to keeping content creation in-house. In an age where everyone's outsourcing, Ryan explains why maintaining control over their messaging was crucial to maintaining authenticity.

Whether you're running a new DTC brand or looking to level up your existing content strategy, this episode is packed with actionable insights from someone who's clearly cracked the code.

👂️ Listen to Ryan break down True Classic's billion-dollar content marketing playbook here.

🧰 Tool of the Week

Storista

One of the biggest mistakes I continue to see brands make over and over again? Brands leverage amazing organic UGC videos (or worse —invest in killer creative), place them on their site, but make them completely un-shoppable. Heatmaps clearly show the problem. Customers are clicking on these videos trying to buy what they’re seeing…but nothing is happening.

Storista solves this problem by transforming your Instagram Reels and TikTok content into fully shoppable experiences on your Shopify store. Customers can purchase directly within the video experience instead of hunting elsewhere on your site.

The platform offers flexible formats (carousels, spotlights, stories), requires zero developer expertise, and provides detailed analytics to track which videos drive sales. For apparel, beauty, and jewelry brands especially, it's a conversion game-changer that captures customers at their peak interest moment.

🛍️ Start embedding shoppable content with Storista here.

🎉 Upcoming Events

👉️ PS: Want to secure your spot on the guest list for future FERMÀT events in your city? Add your name to the VIP guest list here.

ModernRetail Marketing Summit

April 7 // New Orleans, LA

The FERMÀT team is headed to NoLA for this year’s Modern Retail Marketing Summit! Catch us on the floor at the conference. If you’re also attending, send us a note — we’d love to meet up for a drink or a bite.

Modern Tactics for Scaling in 2025 (IRL Event)

April 17 // New York, NY

Join FERMÀT, Meta, & Hype10 for forward-thinking sessions led by some of the most recognizable names in the DTC marketing ecosystem. Gain valuable insights, explore innovative strategies, and connect with industry leaders shaping the future of direct-to-consumer marketing. Speakers include founders and leaders from Dagne Dover, Marine Layer, 1906, Dose, FULTON, Motion, and more. Happy hour to follow!

Commerce Roundtable Miami

April 25 // Miami, FL

FERMÀT is proud to partner with the Commerce Roundtable team for this year’s Miami spring event! Join us for a day of awesome speakers, meals, and networking opportunities with fellow ecommerce visionaries. Speakers include senior leaders from BattleBox, BREZ, IQ Bar, GOAT Foods, AppLovin, and more.