IPOs, TikTok records, and forced AI Integration

Your Weekly DTC Industry Roundup

Another week in the DTC world, and everyone's talking about who's making money and who's just making noise.

Here's everything you may have missed from the ecommerce trenches over the past week or so:

• Klarna just went public and their stock jumped 15% - here's what it means for BNPL's future
• A beauty brand sold £2M in 14 hours on TikTok Live (and broke their own record doing it)
• The Beanstalk conference revealed which DTC brands are actually thriving right now
• Meta rolled out new AI ad features that could change how you target customers
• TikTok is forcing merchants to use their AI ad tool whether they like it or not
• Plus the moves that separate winners from wannabes when everyone's fighting for the same customers

Let's dive in …

Financial Markets

Klarna's IPO Pop Signals BNPL Isn't Dead Yet

While most fintech companies are struggling to stay relevant, Klarna just proved buy-now-pay-later still has serious legs …

The Swedish payment giant went public Tuesday, pricing shares at $40 and watching them surge 15% to close at $45.82 on their first day. Not bad for a company that saw its valuation crash from $45.6 billion in 2021 to $6.7 billion just two years later.

But here's what matters for DTC brands: Klarna isn't just a BNPL company anymore. They're pushing hard into banking services, launching debit cards and savings accounts. Their CEO says investors are finally asking fewer questions about buy-now-pay-later because they've proven they're building a full financial ecosystem.

The takeaway? Payment flexibility is still what customers want, but the smart money is betting on companies that can offer more than just installment plans.

Read more details

Ecommerce Performance

P Louise Sells £2M in 14 Hours on TikTok Live

From a £20K loan from her grandmother to breaking TikTok records …

Beauty powerhouse P Louise just did what most brands only dream about, moving £2 million worth of products in 14 hours during a TikTok Live session. That's £143K per hour, 31,000+ orders, and 35,000 products sold.

The crazy part? This broke her own previous record, cementing her spot as the #1 beauty brand on TikTok Shop across the UK and EU. Her average order value is now 4x higher than last year, and she's opening a 19,000 sq ft flagship store in Manchester.

This isn't just about having good products. It's about understanding that TikTok Live is becoming the new QVC for Gen Z. The brands winning here aren't just posting content - they're building real-time shopping experiences that feel more like entertainment than selling.

Check it out

Sponsor

GrooveLife’s BFCM & Q4 funnel strategy revealed 👀

If you’re looking to win BFCM without going heavier on discounts, this is worth your time.

On Sept 18 at 1pm EST, GrooveLife’s Director of Ecommerce Mike De Lia and Director of Retention Ryan Heft are going live with aftersell to walk through their full Q4 setup.

What’s inside:

• How they’re using checkout and cart offers to drive AOV
• What’s working in post purchase upsells (+ actual test results)
• How they’re monetizing the thank you page
• Their full fallback plan if sales slow mid-campaign

It’s 45 minutes of real tactics from operators who’ve done this before—and are doing it differently this year.

Sign up here

Industry Insights

What 400 DTC Brands Actually Talked About at Beanstalk

If you're one of the three people in DTC Twitter who didn't make it to Beanstalk, here's what you missed …

Sean Frank dropped the real talk on what $20 billion worth of DTC brands are actually dealing with right now. Spoiler alert: it's not all sunshine and unicorns.

The biggest theme? Profits are down across the board. Everyone spent six months reworking supply chains, moving warehouses into the USA, and dealing with tariffs that are breaking the economics for a lot of businesses. But here's the twist - growth is back on the table after being a "four-letter word" from 2022-2024.

The wildest part? Nobody can agree if the US consumer is strong or if we're heading off a cliff. For every brand screaming recession, another one is posting 60% growth. The hedge everyone's making? Channel expansion and AI preparation, because nobody knows who's going to win the next platform war.

See full breakdown

Advertising Tech

Meta Doubles Down on AI Ad Automation

Meta just announced a suite of AI updates that could change how you think about ad targeting …

At their Brand Building Summit, they expanded Reels Trending Ads to all eligible advertisers after early tests showed solid brand awareness boosts. The tool uses AI to place your content next to culturally relevant, trending Reels videos automatically.

They're also rolling out new ad formats on Threads, including carousel support and the ability to use Instagram posts in Threads ads. Plus they're extending their "value rules" tool to awareness campaigns, letting you guide Meta's AI to focus on your highest-priority audiences.

The pattern is clear: Meta wants you to set parameters and let their algorithm do the heavy lifting. Whether that's good or bad for your business depends on how much you trust their AI versus your own media buying skills.

Learn more here

Platform Changes

TikTok Forces Merchants Into AI Ad Automation

TikTok just went full dictator mode with their advertising requirements …

Starting September 1st, all TikTok Shop merchants have to use their new AI ad tool "GMV Max" for paid campaigns. You set a budget and ROI target, and TikTok's algorithm handles everything else - targeting, budgeting, optimization.

Advertisers are pushing back hard because they're losing manual control and visibility into performance outside TikTok's closed ecosystem. This move is faster and more compulsory than anything Google or Meta has tried with their AI ad tools.

But here's the reality: TikTok is betting their algorithm knows your customers better than you do. And given their track record with organic content, they might be right. The question is whether you're willing to give up control for potentially better results.

Read full story

Podcast

What is the Best Offer for BCFM This Year?

In this week’s episode of The DTC Hotline, Richard “The Professor” Gaffin is joined by Tony “The Chopper” Chopp (VP of Paid Media) and Luke “The Weatherman” Austin (VP of Ecommerce Strategy) to answer the toughest operator questions … live from the Hotline.

They tackle:

• How to structure BFCM offers that boost perceived value without killing your margin
• Why “returning customer media” might be more incremental than you’d expect
• What Spend-to-aMER modeling can reveal about overspending (or underspending) this Q4
• The evolving role of aMER in brands with high repeat revenue
• How to sequence your Black Friday offer ladder—and why bundles, thresholds, and gifts still win
• The future of media mix modeling, and where incrementality testing is headed next

This is where your ecommerce questions get answered … direct, practical, and unfiltered.

📞 Call or text us your questions: 866-DTC-2263

Watch now

Final Thoughts

What This Means For You

Here's what this week's chaos actually tells us about where the industry is heading …

If you're thinking about payment options, Klarna's success shows customers still want flexibility, but the winning platforms will offer more than just installments. Start thinking about your full checkout experience, not just payment terms.

If you're on TikTok, P Louise proved that Live selling isn't just a trend. It's becoming the new standard for direct-to-consumer brands. The question isn't whether you should be doing Live commerce, it's when you're going to start.

If you're worried about the economy, the Beanstalk insights show the market is split between winners and losers more than ever. The brands thriving right now aren't the ones with the best products - they're the ones with the most diversified channels and the smartest operational moves.

If you're running ads, both Meta and TikTok are pushing toward AI automation whether you like it or not. You can fight it and maintain control, or lean into it and potentially unlock better performance. But you can't ignore it.

The real pattern here? The platforms and tools are getting smarter, but success still comes down to understanding your customers and being willing to adapt faster than your competition.

While everyone else is debating whether AI will replace human creativity or complaining about losing control …

The winners are quietly figuring out how to make both work for them.