Alexia LaSalle 7/1/26 Alexia LaSalle 7/1/26

Friction Maxxing and What It Means for Modern Consumer Brands

The impulse economy is unwinding. In 2026, consumers are creating their own hoops to jump through before they buy. The brands that hold up under scrutiny are the ones winning new and repeat customers from those that are lacking.

Alexia LaSalle 6/1/26 Alexia LaSalle 6/1/26

High-Income Consumers Are Commercially Exhausted

Your customer is insta-jaded and can't TikTok take it any longer. This month: why high-income consumers are losing confidence, where their dollars are actually going, what it's costing you in shipping, and the one acquisition channel that meets them where they are.

Alexia LaSalle 5/1/26 Alexia LaSalle 5/1/26

Tariff Refunds, Return Fraud, and the Value-Seeker

Your costs are up, your customers are cautious, and someone just returned an empty box. This month: what the tariff refund process actually means for small brands, why nearly half your customers now identify as value-seekers, and the return fraud numbers that should make every founder's stomach drop.

Alexia LaSalle 4/7/26 Alexia LaSalle 4/7/26

Every DTC Fee Just Went Up. Here Is What Is Actually Changing.

Every fee just went up. Amazon, USPS, FedEx, UPS. Here is what is changing, what the return data is telling us, and one piece of genuinely good news from Shopify.