From customer acquisition and conversion to founder storytelling and retention, we're sharing some of the conversations that stayed with us after Ecom North 2026.
We recently travelled to Toronto for Ecom North, spending time alongside founders, marketers and ecommerce operators who are navigating many of the same challenges we see across the DTC brands we work with every day.
There were plenty of tactical conversations, but what stood out most wasn't necessarily a new platform, tool or advertising strategy.
It was the importance of getting the fundamentals right.
Understanding your customer. Communicating your value. Building trust. Listening to data. And creating an experience that gives people a reason to come back.
Here are six takeaways we're bringing back to SWTCH HOUSE.
1. Your Best Promise Matters More Than You Think
Inspired by Ezra Firestone
Brands spend a lot of time talking about what makes them different. But are they communicating why that difference matters to their customers?
One of the ideas Ezra Firestone discussed was the importance of a strong ownership and benefit statement.
For example, being Canada's first brand to offer something may be an interesting point of differentiation. But what does being first actually mean for the customer?
Does it solve a problem more effectively? Deliver a better experience? Offer something they haven't been able to find elsewhere?
The distinction matters.
A product feature tells someone what they're buying. A benefit helps them understand why they should care.
For brands investing in paid advertising, that clarity is especially important. You're competing for attention in a crowded environment, often with only a few seconds to communicate why someone should stop scrolling.
Our takeaway: Don't assume your customers understand what makes your product valuable. Make the benefit clear, specific and relevant to their needs.
2. Small Conversion Improvements Can Make a Big Difference
Inspired by Ezra Firestone
As a performance advertising agency, we spend a lot of time thinking about customer acquisition. But bringing qualified traffic to a website is only part of the equation.
What happens after someone clicks matters just as much.
Ezra highlighted several ecommerce conversion tactics worth testing, including:
Sticky add-to-cart buttons that remain visible while customers browse.
Trust badges and reassurance messaging on product pages.
Relevant product recommendations, bundles and upsells.
Clear money-back guarantees and risk-reversal messaging.
Product quizzes that help shoppers find the right option.
Stronger landing pages built around specific customer needs.
None of these tactics is particularly revolutionary. And that's part of the point.
Brands can become so focused on launching new campaigns, testing new creative and increasing advertising budgets that they overlook opportunities within the shopping experience itself.
Consider a brand investing heavily in Meta advertising. If customers are clicking through but struggling to understand the product, find the right variation or feel confident enough to purchase, increasing the advertising budget won't necessarily solve the problem.
Our takeaway: Before assuming your advertising needs more budget, take a closer look at the customer journey. Improving conversion can make your existing traffic more valuable.
3. Repetition Is Underrated in Creative Strategy
Inspired by Gillian Liu, Founder of Kiyiko Beauty
One of our favourite reminders from Ecom North was that brands don't always need to come up with an entirely new message.
Sometimes they need to communicate the same winning message in more ways, more often.
During her presentation, Gillian Liu discussed the example of milky toners and how a product concept can be communicated repeatedly through different creative executions.
This is something we think about often when developing performance creative.
If a particular product benefit consistently resonates with customers, why move away from it simply because you've already talked about it?
Instead, explore new ways to communicate that same benefit.
A single message can become a founder-led video, a customer testimonial, a product demonstration, an educational carousel, a comparison ad or a UGC-style review.
The creative changes, but the underlying message remains consistent.
This is particularly relevant for beauty and wellness brands, where customers may need multiple exposures to a product before understanding its benefits and deciding to purchase.
Our takeaway: Creative velocity isn't about constantly inventing new things to say. It's about finding more effective ways to communicate what your customers already respond to.
4. Sometimes the Founder Is Too Close to the Brand
Inspired by conversations from Kiyiko Beauty and Farm Girl
Founder instinct is incredibly valuable.
After all, founders often have a deep understanding of why their products exist, who they're creating them for and what makes their brand different.
But that emotional connection can also create blind spots.
One of the recurring themes throughout Ecom North was the importance of listening to customers and allowing data to challenge assumptions.
What a founder believes customers should love isn't always what customers actually respond to.
We see this in advertising creative, product positioning and customer acquisition strategies.
Sometimes the creative a founder feels least excited about is the one that performs best. Sometimes the product they expected to be a bestseller isn't the one customers keep purchasing.
And sometimes the language customers use to describe a product is more compelling than the messaging the brand spent months developing.
As agency owners who are also building our own consumer brand, we understand both sides of this.
It's important to have conviction in your vision, but equally important to stay curious about what the market is telling you.
Our takeaway: Your instincts should inform your strategy, not prevent you from learning something new. Customer feedback and performance data are valuable perspectives, even when they challenge your original assumptions.
5. DTC Can Be More Than a Sales Channel
Inspired by Jennifer Boville, Founder of Farm Girl
One of the most interesting growth stories we heard came from Farm Girl.
Jennifer Boville shared how the brand intentionally spent its first year focused on direct-to-consumer before expanding into retail.
That first year wasn't simply about generating sales.
It was an opportunity to gather customer data, listen to feedback, build brand awareness and establish social proof.
By the time Farm Girl moved into retail with Walmart, the business had spent time learning who its customers were, what they responded to and how its products were being received.
During her presentation, Jennifer shared that Farm Girl was on track to reach $100 million in revenue just three years into its journey.
What stood out to us wasn't only the growth trajectory. It was the intentional approach to building a foundation before expanding distribution.
For emerging consumer brands, DTC offers something incredibly valuable: a direct relationship with the customer.
You can observe purchasing behaviour, collect reviews, test messaging, understand product preferences and use those insights to inform future decisions.
Our takeaway: DTC doesn't always need to be viewed solely as a revenue channel. It can also be a powerful testing ground for building a brand that's better prepared for its next stage of growth.
6. Product Benefits Matter. But Your Story Builds Emotional Connection.
Inspired by Jake Karls, Co-Founder of Mid-Day Squares
One of the most memorable presentations came from Jake Karls of Mid-Day Squares.
His message was a reminder that while product benefits are important, they're not always what creates the strongest emotional connection with customers.
Mid-Day Squares built a following by documenting the real experience of building a business.
The wins. The challenges. The disagreements. The uncertainty. And everything in between.
Jake acknowledged that their approach wasn't for everyone. Some people didn't connect with their unfiltered style.
But many others became invested in the people and the story behind the product.
That willingness to share the journey gave customers something to connect with beyond the functional benefits of a snack bar.
And there's an important distinction here.
Authentic founder storytelling doesn't mean every brand needs to adopt the same personality or share every detail behind the scenes.
It means finding a genuine way to let customers understand the people, purpose and experiences shaping the business.
For founder-led beauty, wellness and lifestyle brands, that can be an especially meaningful opportunity.
Our takeaway: Product benefits give customers a reason to consider buying. Your story can give them a reason to care about the brand behind the product.
One More Thing: Your BFCM Strategy Shouldn't End at Checkout
Inspired by Josh Chin's BFCM retention session
With Black Friday and Cyber Monday approaching, one additional conversation felt particularly timely.
Brands invest significant resources into acquiring customers during BFCM, often using their most aggressive promotions of the year.
But what happens after those customers purchase?
Josh Chin discussed several retention opportunities that brands can plan before the holiday rush, including:
Sending a thoughtful thank-you email after purchase.
Building communication flows around delivery and the post-delivery experience.
Offering limited-time loyalty incentives during BFCM.
Creating reasons for holiday customers to return in December.
Planning January reactivation offers rather than waiting for sales to slow down.
One particularly interesting idea was using future-dated store credits to encourage customers to return in January.
Of course, these strategies need to make sense for a brand's margins, purchasing cycle and customer behaviour.
But the bigger principle applies broadly.
Acquiring a customer is only the beginning of the relationship.
Our takeaway: A successful BFCM strategy shouldn't be measured only by the revenue generated over a promotional weekend. Brands should also be thinking about how those newly acquired customers become repeat customers.
The Fundamentals Still Matter
If there was one overarching theme we took away from Ecom North, it was this:
Growth isn't always about doing more.
Sometimes it's about understanding your customers better, communicating your value more clearly and making the most of the opportunities already in front of you.
From paid advertising and creative strategy to conversion optimization and retention, the strongest growth opportunities often come from understanding how these pieces work together.
At SWTCH HOUSE, these are the conversations we're having every day with the DTC brands we work alongside.
And getting into rooms with other founders, marketers and operators is a valuable reminder that no matter how much the ecommerce landscape evolves, staying curious, testing consistently and listening to customers will always matter.
