Ecommerce Playbook: Numbers, Struggles & Growth

Common Thread Collective

2020 transformed the world of ecommerce forever. For the modern DTC brand, the rewards have never been greater. But the waters have also never been choppier, and the way forward has never been more uncertain. So how do you navigate this dangerous new reality? No matter how you do it, you’d better not do it alone. That’s where the Ecommerce Playbook Podcast comes in — join Common Thread Collective’s Taylor Holiday & Richard Gaffin as they bring you guiding insights from across CTC’s portfolio of growing DTC businesses. Whether you need a clear view on the macro issues affecting the world of ecommerce, or want to reorient your business around groundbreaking new big-picture strategies, Taylor & Richard are here to help answer the tough questions about what it takes to scale — and sustain — an ecommerce business.

  1. 1d ago

    We're Opening Our Doors to 7-Figure Founders This September

    Richard breaks down what's holding most 7-figure brands back from crossing into 8-figure territory, and announces CTC's first in-person workshop designed to close that gap. On September 2nd, 2026, CTC is hosting the Seven-Figure Growth Workshop at our Costa Mesa office. Taylor Holiday will deliver the keynote, and founders will rotate through five hands-on workshops covering forecasting, team building, creative operating systems, paid media, and AI tooling, led by the CTC leaders who run these disciplines every day. Tickets are on sale now. Link in show notes. What you'll get at the workshop: Accurate revenue forecasting that drives confident paid investment How to build the right team and keep them (led by Dane, VP of Employee Development) A creative operating system that scales volume without chaos (led by Ally, Dir. of Growth Strategy) Paid social fundamentals and how to build a performing ad account (led by Tony Chopp, VP of Paid Media) How to build scalable AI tools that actually move the needle (led by Anmar, Dir. of Profit Engineering) Direct access to Taylor Holiday + CTC strategy staff throughout the day Networking with other 7-figure founders in the same building moment. Show Notes: Axon is offering $5K ad credit when you spend $5K. Go to https://axon.ai/en/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

  2. 3d ago

    Google Ads: CTC's Complete Playbook

    Tony Chopp, VP of Paid Media at Common Thread Collective, breaks down CTC's Google Ads Canon, the complete framework we use to turn Google into a true demand-harvesting machine for 7-9 figure ecommerce brands. Learn how to expand your search frontier beyond product queries, set incrementality-adjusted ROAS targets, and structure campaigns for maximum profitable growth. In this episode: Why Google is demand harvesting, not demand creation — and why that distinction changes everything The four-quadrant search term framework: mapping competition vs. volume to find untapped intent Expanding your search frontier into problem and use-case queries (the silicone ring example) Landing page strategy: matching page intent to query intent, not defaulting to generic PDPs The trifecta: smart bidding + broad match + responsive search ads Incrementality-adjusted bidding: Google brand benchmark = 0.27 iROAS, non-brand = 0.6 iROAS Six-campaign structure: Brand Search, Non-Brand Search, and PMax/Shopping split by acquisition vs. retention Brand search defense strategy: when to bid aggressively and when to pull back Feed optimization: complete attributes, optimized titles, daily updates, less than 10% disapproval rate How Statlas normalizes iROAS across all channels for true apples-to-apples budget allocation Key Stat: Google brand search has an average incrementality benchmark of 0.27 — meaning most of that attributed revenue would have happened anyway. Are you bidding against platform numbers or real incremental numbers? Show Notes: Your free LTV audit is waiting at smile.io: https://bit.ly/4bKlMCv 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

  3. Jul 16

    Your Unsold Inventory Is Costing You More Than You Think

    Most ecommerce brands head into Q4 carrying too much inventory and not enough cash, and those two problems are directly connected. In this episode, Richard Gaffin sits down with Anmar Anmar Abdul Jawad, Director of Profit Engineering at CTC, to walk through the Cashmas in July framework, a four-step process for liquidating slow-moving inventory in Q3 so your brand has the capital and focus it needs to win in Q4. What we cover: Why brands fall into either an execution gap or a strategy gap with inventory The real cost of holding inventory, including storage fees and opportunity cost on cash How cash constraints force brands to pull back spend and miss cohort value The four-step liquidation process: SKU identification, financial modeling, operating plan, and asset execution Why sequencing discounts correctly depends on your brand's historical discount behavior How CTC's portfolio-wide data gives brands an edge on ad angles and creative strategy Why adding a third party for liquidation adds capacity instead of displacing your evergreen business Key insight: Brands that are cash-constrained in Q3 have to reduce new customer acquisition spend precisely when efficient CAC opportunities are available. Liquidating inventory early funds the cohorts that drive your Q4 contribution margin. Ready to run Cashmas in July for your brand? https://commonthreadco.com/pages/cashmas-in-july Show Notes: Go to http://outersignal.com/thread to get 50% off your first two monthsExplore the Prophit Engine: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/prophit-engineThe Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at podcast@commonthreadco.com to ask us any questions you might have

  4. Jul 14

    Cashmas in July: Turn Q3 Inventory Into Q4 Cash

    Stale inventory and thin cash flow are the two things that show up in nearly every Q3 conversation we have with ecommerce brands. In this episode, Richard Gaffin and Randall Thompson break down Cashmas in July, a CTC framework for turning slow-moving inventory into real cash before Q4 bets get expensive. Topics covered: Why Q3 is the lull that destroys Q4 setup The cash event data: $156K Q3 cash generation led to 42% YoY Q4 growth How to wrap inventory in a narrative instead of slashing prices What CTC builds in a 30-day Cashmas event (creative, email, media, narrative) The awareness effect: Q3 ad spend primes Q4 buyers Why the brands that moved inventory early felt momentum, and the ones who waited felt flat Key stat: Brands that ran Q3 cash events saw Q4 growth of 42% to 67% YoY. Brands that did nothing averaged -8% to +11%. Cashmas in July: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/cashmas-in-july Show Notes: Your free LTV audit is waiting at smile.io: https://bit.ly/4bKlMCv 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

  5. Jul 9

    How 7-Figure Brands Can Win in Q3

    Joy Sharma runs CTC's PE7 program for mid to high 7-figure brands. His claim: if you're stuck at a growth plateau, he can diagnose what's wrong without looking at your ad account. The answer is almost never creative. It's almost never ad structure. It's offer-market fit. In this episode, Joy breaks down why Facebook's auction works against you as you scale spend, how the AOV-to-CAC ratio determines your ceiling, and why Q3 is the single most important window for 7-figure brands to get this right before Q4. In this episode: Why growth plateaus are a business problem, not a marketing problem How Facebook's auction gets harder as you spend more The AOV vs. CAC framework that reveals who you're actually competing against Why Q3 is the window to solve offer-market fit before Q4 spend ramps How CTC's Marketing Moments service guarantees incremental revenue The sequence that matters: product-market fit → offer-market fit → creative strategy Key insight: Creative strategy is a volume mechanism, not an efficiency mechanism. If you're trying to solve a business problem with a marketing solution, that's where 7-figure brands go to die. Show Notes: Axon is offering $5K ad credit when you spend $5K. Go to https://axon.ai/en/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

  6. Jul 7

    How Meta Actually Works in 2026

    Meta has fundamentally changed how it targets and delivers ads, and most brands are still operating on the old rules. In this episode, CTC's VP of Paid Media Tony Chopp breaks down the CTC Methodology for Meta advertising: why creative is now the targeting, how Meta's Andromeda and GEM systems make decisions no human operator can match, and the counterintuitive principle that defines how our profit engineers manage accounts every single day. Topics covered: How Andromeda and GEM replaced audience-first targeting The breakdown effect and why historical ROAS doesn't predict future ROAS Campaign structure: evergreen vs. marketing moment campaigns Signal quality, CAPI integration, and event match quality scores Budget liquidity and why day-to-day spend variance is a feature, not a bug The four-phase framework for solving underspend Why turning off ads is the single most common mistake brands make Key stat: Meta's Andromeda enables a 10,000x increase in model capacity per impression opportunity. Show Notes: Book a free demo at tapcart.com/ctc to learn how brands like Aviator Nation, BEIS, Athletic Brewing, and thousands more are winning with Tapcart 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

  7. Jul 2

    The Measurement Gap: iROAS, Geo Holdouts, and Progressive Truth

    Your platform ROAS is not the truth. It's a story your attribution tool tells you. Luke Austin, breaks down exactly how CTC approaches marketing measurement — and why the gap between platform-reported numbers and actual incremental revenue is where most brands make their worst capital allocation decisions. This is Part 3 of the CTC Canon Series — our codified methodology across the core disciplines of ecommerce growth. In this episode, Luke covers the full measurement framework: why geo holdout tests are the gold standard, how CTC's database of hundreds of incrementality tests gives every new brand a head start, and what it means to build "progressive truth" over time instead of chasing a single source of truth. Topics covered: Why media efficacy is always in flux — and why any system that treats it as fixed is lying to you The measurement gap: reality vs. fiction, and how to move closer over time Geo holdout tests explained — how they work, why they're the gold standard CTC's incrementality benchmarks by channel: Facebook acquisition (1.14x iROAS), Google Branded (0.27x iROAS), and more Why Google branded search dramatically over-reports ROAS How iROAS normalization enables true apples-to-apples channel comparison The three-stage framework: aggregate benchmark, individual test, accumulated median Why iROAS is always subordinate to contribution margin Show Notes: Go to https://bit.ly/4aiEz79 to start your free migration with Omnisend today 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

  8. Jun 30

    The Modeling System That Powers 30%+ Revenue Growth

    Most brands forecast from gut feel and ROAS. CTC runs on four interlocked proprietary models that produce a daily P&L forecast with 3.1% accuracy across more than $3 billion in GMV. In Part 2 of the Canon series, Luke Austin breaks down each model, how they connect, and what a Profit Engineer actually does with them Topics covered: Why a single ROAS number can't run a business The Spending Power Model — ACoNS curves and what spending power actually tells you The Retention Model — forecasting returning revenue cohort by cohort The Event Effect Model — how to get daily precision without breaking monthly targets The Creative Demand Model (teased — full breakdown in the creative strategy episode) How these four models wire together into a connected forecast system What R-squared below 0.6 signals about your retention data The three optimization points every brand should know: max CM, max revenue, max LTV CM Key stat: 3.1% forecast accuracy across $3B+ in GMV managed — producing 30%+ revenue growth and 40%+ contribution margin growth. Show Notes: Go to https://bit.ly/4aiEz79 to start your free migration with Omnisend today 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

See All (443)

4.9
out of 5
72 Ratings

About

2020 transformed the world of ecommerce forever. For the modern DTC brand, the rewards have never been greater. But the waters have also never been choppier, and the way forward has never been more uncertain. So how do you navigate this dangerous new reality? No matter how you do it, you’d better not do it alone. That’s where the Ecommerce Playbook Podcast comes in — join Common Thread Collective’s Taylor Holiday & Richard Gaffin as they bring you guiding insights from across CTC’s portfolio of growing DTC businesses. Whether you need a clear view on the macro issues affecting the world of ecommerce, or want to reorient your business around groundbreaking new big-picture strategies, Taylor & Richard are here to help answer the tough questions about what it takes to scale — and sustain — an ecommerce business.

Information

You Might Also Like