Hey it’s Chase and Jimmy here!

Today we kick off Day 1 of Commerce Roundtable San Diego with Gary Vee about to take the stage! If you're joining us live in America's Finest City, we are stoked to see you.

If you missed out on this years event, we better see you next time! But in the meantime we've got some action-packed content for you this morning - let's dig in...

Selling dog food isn’t like selling shoes.

You’re not just competing on price or flavor, you’re asking pet parents to switch. And switching means worry: Is it safe? Will they like it? Is it worth it?

Sundays tackled that head-on with a promo email that paired puppy-dog eyes with a crystal-clear discount. The design was emotional, interactive, and built to knock down objections one by one.

But did it do enough to turn first-time buyers into long-term subscribers?

In today’s breakdown, we’ll unpack what Sundays nailed, where it missed, and the quick wins every brand can steal for their next promo send.

Also inside:

✔️ What’s really blocking a sale? Stop guessing and just ask!
✔️ The ultimate Shopify tracking solution
✔️ Industry Intel: This week in social & search
✔️ Hiring Vault: 9 New retention marketing jobs

Let’s break it down 👇

What’s really blocking a sale? Stop guessing and just ask!

Shoppers won’t always tell you why they abandon a cart, click away from a product page, or bounce at checkout. But popup surveys can.

Done right, they capture real-time feedback in the moment - showing you the exact friction points stopping a sale and the opportunities you can fix right away.

In this Omnisend guide, you’ll learn:

• How to design popup surveys that feel natural, not annoying

• The best moments to trigger them (exit intent, post-purchase, time on page)

• The types of questions that uncover insights you can actually use

Don’t wait for customers to ghost your brand. Ask the right questions, at the right time, and turn feedback into conversions.

Sundays for Dogs’ Promo Email: One Pup Pic to Rule Them All

Sundays aren’t just selling dog food with this email. They’re tackling one of the hardest marketing challenges out there: getting someone to switch.

Switching dog food is emotional. Pet parents worry about health, taste, price… you name it. So Sundays leans on the lethal combo of puppy-dog eyes and a no-strings-attached discount.

Let’s find out if it actually works.

Header + Body Blocks

What We Love

✔ Interactive scroll. From the floating beef jerky bits to the close-up of that good boy’s nose right down to the offer, this layout guides your eye naturally.
✔ The face (and the food). No amount of copy can compete with a pair of hopeful dog eyes.  You’re emotionally engaged and simultaneously get a close-up of the actual product.
✔ Crystal-clear offer. 25% off. One-time order. Deadline spelled out to the minute. You don’t need to squint for details or wonder about the catch. Clarity builds trust, and trust gets clicks.
✔ The benefits ticker. It’s like they anticipated every hesitation (is it safe? Is it healthy? Is it convenient?) and knocked them down in five or six words.

What We’d Do Differently

❌ Proof, proof, proof. Dog parents want reassurance. Don’t bury reviews in the footer; pull one up here. Even a single quote would make a world of difference.
❌ Add some “why us”. The discount gets clicks, but why this food? Without the differentiation, they risk price shoppers who buy once and bounce.
❌ Explain the subscription dynamic. The hook here is “no subscription required.” But for long-term retention, it might be worth answering: what is the subscription, what savings does it bring, why do most parents choose it? Transparency here could set the stage for upsell later.

Footer Block

What We Love

✔ Short, but not shallow. No clutter. Just clean links to FAQs, reviews, and a content hub. It respects attention spans while giving options for those not ready to convert yet.
✔ Branded close. “Sundays for dogs, designed for parents” is a tagline that builds trust and affinity. Paired with the yellow “S” logo, it’s a quiet brand moment that sticks.
✔ Preference management FTW.  Including a “manage preferences” link next to “unsubscribe” is a low-key retention play. We love to see it!

What We’d Do Differently

❌ Add social icons. No Instagram or TikTok? For a brand built on emotional connection, leaving social links out is a big miss. Pet parents want to see other pups enjoying the food.

Final Thoughts: What Email Marketers Can Learn

Sundays’ promo is a textbook example of how to lower friction for first-time buyers in high-trust categories. It’s emotional, risk-free, and trust-building. That’s the trifecta when you’re asking customers to take a leap on something as personal as pet food.

3 Quick Wins to Steal for Your Own Welcome Campaigns

✅ Design a guided scroll. Don’t just stack content; choreograph the reader’s eye with visuals that create momentum.
✅ Plant proof at the point of decision. Whether it’s a star rating, testimonial, or usage stat, don’t bury credibility in the footer.
✅ Balance trial with education. Discounts lower the barrier, but differentiation keeps them coming back. Teach as you sell.

Remember: emotion pulls people in, proof locks them down. That’s the difference between a one-off trial and a repeat customer.

The ultimate Shopify tracking solution

Every Shopify brand knows the feeling: you find a winning campaign, scale the budget… and suddenly ROAS drops while CAC climbs. The truth? It’s not your creative burning out - it’s your platforms working with incomplete data.

TrackBee solves this with:

- Server-side tracking → Runs alongside your existing pixels, filling in the gaps when they fail. This way, ad platforms get the complete picture in the format they prefer.

- Session enrichment with shopper profiles → Reconnects journeys across browsers and devices, so platforms see who is actually buying.

- Smarter email automations → 2–3x more browse- & cart abandonment events identified, meaning more abandonment flows triggered and more revenue recovered in Klaviyo.

- Effortless setup → Live in 5 minutes. No developers, no complex configs.

Better tracking. Enhanced data. Improved results.

👀 Industry Intel: This week in social & search

Search ads, private photo drops, fact checks, and multilingual content... all the platforms made plays this week to keep creators (and advertisers) closer. Here’s what’s worth knowing, testing, and watching as we head into Q4.

TikTok Search Ads Are Driving 2x Purchase Lift

TikTok revealed that dedicated Search Ad campaigns are doubling purchase lift for brands, especially enterprise retailers. Search volume is up 40% YoY, and Gen Z is using the app more than Google for product discovery in categories like beauty, fashion, and food.

Why it matters: TikTok is officially a full-funnel platform. If you’re only using it for awareness, you’re leaving money on the table, especially heading into the holidays.

Instagram Expands “Shots” to Mimic BeReal + Snapchat

Instagram’s quick-share, no-edit photo feature “Shots” is now rolling out more broadly. You can send a photo to mutual followers, they see it once, then it disappears. Think BeReal meets Snap, but tucked inside IG’s existing intimacy push with Notes and DMs.

Why it matters: Instagram’s betting that low-effort, private sharing will keep users posting. Brands should watch how Gen Z engages, this could influence future DM, UGC, or influencer formats.

Meta Overhauls Ads + Misinformation Tools Across Platforms

Meta announced expanded ad placements across Reels and Threads, including carousel formats, catalog integrations, and new AI targeting tools like value rules for engagement and awareness campaigns. They also updated their Community Notes fact-checking system to notify users when posts they engage with are later flagged, and allow users to request or rate Notes.

Why it matters: On the ads side, Meta’s making it easier to scale across its full suite, without needing separate creatives for Threads or Reels. On the misinformation front, the fact-check alerts mimic X’s Community Notes, but reach remains limited. Still, creators and brands should stay aware, especially going into a mid-term election year.

YouTube Launches Multi-Language Audio for Everyone

After a two-year pilot, YouTube’s dubbing feature is live for all creators. Early users like Jamie Oliver tripled view counts by adding multi-language audio tracks. The platform is also testing localized thumbnails to match viewers’ native languages.

Why it matters: One video can now speak to the world. If you’re building a global audience, or working with creators who are, this unlocks major reach without additional uploads.

👨‍💻 The Hiring Vault

• Email Marketing Specialist, Memphis, TN: Varsity Spirit

• Retention Marketing Manager, Detroit, MI: Shinola

• Coordinator, Email and SMS Marketing, New York, NY: Sol de Janeiro

• Manager - Email And Lifecycle Marketing, New York, NY: Grown Brilliance

• Digital Marketing Specialist, Vista, CA: Plum Paper

• Email Marketing Specialist - Tommy Hilfiger, New York, NY: Tommy Hilfiger

• Associate, Email Designer (HTML), United States: Nutrafol

• Associate Director, Lifecycle Marketing, United States: Scentbird

• Sr CRM Lifecycle Manager, Seattle, WA: Sonos, Inc.

That's a wrap for today!

Appreciate you hanging with Chase and me. We hope you found something you can put to work ASAP.

If you did, don’t keep it to yourself! Send ecomemailmarketer.com to your favorite DTC marketer and get them in on the action.

Catch you next time!

🤘 Jimmy Kim

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