Nobody's paying closer attention to your brand than the person who just bought from it.

They just trusted you with their money, the product's on the way, and they're actually watching their inbox to see what comes next. What you send in that window does more for repeat sales than almost anything else you'll mail all month.

Today we're getting into what CAKES gets right about welcoming a new buyer, where the flow leaves money on the table, and what happens when your post-purchase automation and your campaign calendar aren't really talking to each other.

Let's break it down.

Also inside:
→ How 351,000 fewer emails became Daily Spoon's smartest marketing move
→ This is what it sounds like when a $500 abandoned cart picks up the phone. 👇
→ Three new product drops just in time for summer

How 351,000 fewer emails became Daily Spoon's smartest marketing move

Most brands assume the answer to flat revenue is sending more campaigns.

But Demo Agency did an Uno reverse when it came to Daily Spoon.

They built the automation first, tightened up segmentation, and focused on sending the right message instead of more messages.

The payoff:

• 351,000 fewer emails sent
• 51.5% average open rate
• A stronger retention engine built to drive repeat purchases

Turns out better targeting beats a bigger send button every time.

→ Read the full comeback story

*Sponsored

CAKES body: The hidden risk of mixing post-purchase and promotional emails

CAKES body makes the stuff that solves under-the-outfit problems: nipple covers, body tape, sticky bras, all wrapped in a cheeky, confident voice that's all their own. Here's everything that hit one new customer's inbox after they bought a single CAKES Tape kit, from the order confirmation through the next two-and-a-half weeks, and where we'd tighten it.

1. Order #5014139 confirmed

Focus: Order confirmation, the first impression after checkout.

Why This Works:

• It opens like the brand, not a receipt. "Time to celebrate, your CAKES are on the way" sets a fun tone before you've even scrolled to the order details.

• The 60-minute edit window is a lovely touch. Giving people an hour to catch a wrong address saves them a panic and saves CAKES a support email.

• Everything you'd want to check is right there, what you bought, the discount, the total, plus a "you saved $4.80" line that feels good on the way out.

• One clear button, "View your order," with a soft "or visit our store" underneath. Nothing's fighting for the tap.

Opportunities for Improvement:

• It's a product you'll use up, and there's no hint of what comes next. A quick "tomorrow we'll show you how to wear it" would get people watching for the next email.

• Nobody points you toward what goes with Tape. This is one of the most-opened emails you'll ever send, so a gentle "you might also love the Cleavage Bra" wouldn't hurt.

• "...you make them iconic" is a great line, and it's stuck near the bottom. Let it do more up top.

2. Your CAKES Tape is on the way

Focus: Shipping notice that doubles as a how-to-use guide.

Why This Works:

• This is the smartest email in the whole flow. Instead of a bare tracking link, it walks you through how to actually apply the tape, prep, apply, secure, layer, so it works the first time you try it.

• That matters for a product like this. Most tape disappointment is just user error, and CAKES heads it off before the package even lands.

• Then it shows you five ways to style it. A plain utility product suddenly turns into an outfit idea, and you start picturing all the tops you could wear it under.

• It makes you want more without asking. Once you've seen five looks, one kit doesn't feel like enough.

Opportunities for Improvement:

• It goes out as the shipping email, so you're reading how to use something that isn't in your hands yet. The same email timed to delivery day would land when you can actually try it.

• All those styling ideas, and nothing to shop off them. A soft "loved the megalift look? the Cleavage Bra nails it" would turn browsing into a second order.

• The best-sellers list at the bottom is the same one everybody gets. After a Tape order, it could point straight at what goes with Tape.

3. What we wore to the Hot Pink Party

Focus: Cause-marketing brand story, the first campaign a new buyer gets.

Why This Works:

• It leads with a story instead of a product. A night out for breast cancer research, the whole team in CAKES, real money raised, that builds a kind of loyalty no discount can buy.

• The numbers make you believe it: over $1.5M donated, a $400,000 fund, a commitment running into 2027. Specifics are what keep cause emails from feeling like a feel-good photo op.

• "If you've ever worn CAKES, you've already been part of that" is a lovely line. It makes you part of the good thing instead of a spectator.

• It still gives you somewhere to go, a soft "shop best sellers" and a "learn more," without turning the cause into a pitch.

Opportunities for Improvement:

• For someone who literally just bought, there's no "hey, you're part of this now." Tying it back to the purchase would make it hit even harder.

• The "see what the team wore" link sends you to Instagram, but there's not a single photo in the email, so the fun part happens somewhere else.

• It's only day three. Great email, but worth asking whether a new buyer needs a cause story this fast, or whether a little more help with the thing they just bought would serve them better.

4. BIG NEWS. ITTY BITTY TRIANGLES.

Focus: Product launch for smaller cup sizes.

Why This Works:

• You know instantly if it's for you. "For cup sizes A-C" right up top means the right people lean in and nobody wonders about fit.

• It names a real annoyance, tiny swim tops that come with giant foam pads, and says "we fixed that." That makes it feel like an answer, not just another product.

• It tells you exactly which one to grab: Grippy for tiny swim tops, Sticky for minimal tops. No guessing.

• It doesn't forget the other end of the range. "Got a little more up top?" with a "find your size" link keeps the DDD+ crowd in it too.

Opportunities for Improvement:

• This person just bought Tape, and nothing connects the two. "Since you grabbed Tape, here's the swim version" would make a broadcast feel like it was meant for them.

• It leans on the photos to do the selling, with no quick "here's why these beat your usual covers" for someone still new to the lineup.

• It's a launch with no reason to hurry. Even a soft "new, and the first run won't last" would give a nudge to act now.

5. UP TO 30% OFF BUNDLES STARTS NOW

Focus: Summer Kickoff bundle sale.

Why This Works:

• The bundles come with a reason to buy, a Summer Starter Kit for your whole rotation, a Gym & Swim Bundle for sweat and water. The discount has a purpose attached.

• The savings are real and specific: "5 pairs, save $79," "30% off." That beats a vague "sale's on" every time.

• "No codes. No catch. Just a little something to kick off your summer" is exactly the brand's easy, no-games voice. You believe it.

• Signed by Taylor and Casey, so even a sale email still feels like it's coming from the people who built the thing.

Opportunities for Improvement:

• It lands ten days after this person paid near full price for a single kit, with no wink at the fact they're already a customer. That's the kind of thing that makes a fresh buyer wish they'd waited.

• A bundle built around what they already have would land better than a generic one. They've got Tape, so the natural pitch is "here's what completes your set."

• "Up to 30% off" buries the actual deal. Lead with the single best number and it hits harder.

6. Please review your latest purchase from CAKES body

Focus: Post-purchase review request.

Why This Works:

• The timing's right. About two weeks out is long enough to have actually worn the thing before anyone asks what you thought.

• You can leave a rating without leaving the email, the stars are right there, so it's a single tap instead of a trip to a form.

• The copy is warm and easy. "Whether it's one sentence or a little story" makes it feel like no big deal, so more people actually do it.

• It frames the ask around helping someone else, not "rate us," which is a much nicer reason to reply.

Opportunities for Improvement:

• There's nothing in it for you, and no follow-up. A little thank-you or a "share a photo" nudge would get more reviews and more real content to use.

• A five-star and a one-star go to the exact same place. Happy people could be pointed toward telling a friend, unhappy ones toward support, and right now neither happens.

• It's the warmest a customer will feel all flow, and it ends at the review. That goodwill could carry a gentle "here's what pairs with your Tape" or a thank-you treat.

7. WELCOME TO MIAMI

Focus: Swim Week brand moment with use-case product routing.

Why This Works:

• It sells the whole lineup through one event. Each product gets matched to an outfit problem, tiny 'kinis, deep plunges, open backs, so the catalog feels picked-for-you instead of dumped on you.

• The voice carries it. "Nothing sticks where it shouldn't" and "you don't need a Swim Week invite to dress like you're ready for the runway" are confident, funny, and unmistakably CAKES.

• It's content and commerce at once. The behind-the-scenes Swim Week angle gives you a reason to open, the product matching gives you a reason to shop.

• It puts the new launches in a real context, Itty Bitty Triangles and the Cleavage Bra tied to actual Miami outfits instead of just announced again.

Opportunities for Improvement:

• It's a wall of text. The outfit-by-outfit breakdown is great, but it needs a photo of each piece in the look to deliver on the styling promise.

• For someone who just bought Tape, there's no "you've already got the first piece" hook to make the rest feel like the next step.

• One button for the entire lineup. Letting people jump straight to the product for their problem would save a click.

What CAKES body gets right

• The transactional emails still sound human. A receipt and a shipping notice are the easiest emails to phone in, and CAKES makes both feel like the brand.

• The shipping email teaches before it sells. Showing people how to use and style what they bought is the best move in the flow, and it pays off in fewer returns and more wear.

• The review ask is timed and easy. Two weeks out, stars in the email, a friendly reason to reply. That's how you actually get reviews instead of crickets.

• It always sounds like CAKES. Receipt or Swim Week invite, the voice never slips, and that consistency is worth a lot.

Where execution could sharpen

• It forgets it's selling something you use up. Tape runs out, and there's no plan to be there when it does. Setting up that next-order moment is the biggest long-term miss.

• Nothing knows what you bought. The launch, the sale, Swim Week, all of it treats a brand-new Tape buyer like a cold subscriber. A few "since you got Tape" threads would lift every one of them.

• The flow and the calendar don't talk. A big sale lands ten days after this person paid full price, and nobody connects the dots. A little coordination would spare them that "should've waited" feeling.

• The warmest moments get left on the table. The confirmation, the styling email, the review request, these are the moments people are most into you, and each one stops at the basics.

CAKES body pairs a strong post-purchase flow with a crowded campaign calendar

The foundation here is strong. The post-purchase flow does a great job educating customers and building trust, but overlapping campaign emails create some unnecessary friction. With stronger segmentation and better alignment between automations and campaigns, every email would feel like a more natural next step toward the customer's next purchase.

Key takeaways for brands

• Make your shipping email do double duty. A how-to-use guide cuts returns and gets people wearing the product right the first time.

• If you sell something people use up, plan for the next order before they run out. It's the easiest repeat sale there is, and the one most flows skip.

• Tie your campaigns back to what someone bought. "Since you just got X" beats a generic blast every time.

• Line up your automated flow with your campaign calendar so a fresh buyer doesn't get full-price-then-discount whiplash.

• Ask for the review after people have actually used the product, and put the stars in the email so it's one tap.

• Use your warmest moments, the confirmation, the shipping email, the review, for a soft, relevant nudge, not just the basics.

This is what it sounds like when a $500 abandoned cart picks up the phone. 👇

You’ve read a thousand takes on abandoned cart recovery. This one you get to hear.

It’s a recording of an AI voice agent calling a shopper who just abandoned checkout.

It asks what stopped them, answers the delivery question a 10% code never could, and takes the sale, right there on the phone.

We were skeptical of a machine on the phone too. Then we listened. It sounds like a real conversation happening at the EXACT moment the shopper almost bought.

The agent is built by Outcraft, a voice layer for ecommerce brands. It picks up where your email and SMS flows leave off… and when carts run four figures, one save pays for it.

🎧 Listen to the call, then decide → outcraft.ai

*Sponsored

Meme drop:

Don't mess with us on attribution. ✋

The drop zone:

A collab made in girly-pop heaven

Sol de Janeiro just crossed into fitness. The Brazilian body care brand teamed up with Bala on a limited-edition set of weighted bangles in their signature colorway. It's a fun brand crossover that makes a lot of sense when you think about it. $55, part of a bigger campaign dropping July 14.

Juni dropped a summer lemonade trio

Jay Shetty's sparkling adaptogen brand keeps expanding. The new summer lemonades (Strawberry, Watermelon, and a Lemonade Iced Tea) lean into the "functional but actually refreshing" lane the brand has been building since launch. They've now hit 10 straight quarters of triple-digit growth and landed in 8,000+ stores. Hard to ignore that trajectory.

Kreatures of Habit put creatine in a protein bar

That's it, that's the the whole pitch (and it works). The DTC fitness brand spent two years developing a bar that stacks performance ingredients into something you'd actually want to eat, and it just landed at Sprouts.

Annnnd that’s a wrap for this edition! 

Thanks for hanging with us, it’s always a pleasure to have you here.

If you found this newsletter helpful (or even just a little fun), don’t keep it to yourself! Share ecomemailmarketer.com with your favorite DTC marketer. Let’s get them on board so they don’t miss next week’s drops.

Remember: Do shit you love.

🤘 Jimmy Kim & Chase Dimond

PS - Your next best customer might be reading this right now. Want in? Email Jimmy to sponsor this newsletter and more.

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