The 4 Levers to Scale Your D2C Brand in 2025

Are you trying to scale a direct-to-consumer (D2C) e-commerce brand in 2025? It might seem like a big task, but to make it simpler, you can break it down a bit. It comes down to pulling just four critical levers: 

1. Traffic
2. Conversion
3. Average order value (AOV)
4. Lifetime value (LTV)

Each lever represents a pillar of growth, and by mastering them, you can more simply create a sustainable, scalable strategy that drives revenue and deepens customer loyalty. This post will dive into each lever, offer actionable insights, and share data-backed strategies to help you thrive in a competitive market.

Lever 1: Traffic – Attracting the Right-Fit Customers

Traffic is the lifeblood of your e-commerce store. However, not all traffic is created equal. The key is to drive high-quality traffic by focusing on your “right-fit customers.”

What Are Right-Fit Customers?

So, what are right-fit customers?  Well, they are the people most likely to buy from you repeatedly. They align with your brand values, find your products compelling, and see your brand as the solution to their problems. But here’s the challenge: many brands don’t truly know their ideal customer and who they are!.

Strategies to Drive High-Quality Traffic:

1. Leverage Data-Driven Marketing: Use tools like Google Analytics and Facebook Audience Insights to understand your audience demographics, interests, and behaviors.
2. Experiment with Paid Channels: Test campaigns across Meta Ads and Google Ads to see which platforms attract your most engaged customers.
3. Optimize for Organic Growth: Invest in SEO and content marketing to drive sustainable traffic. A HubSpot report notes that SEO-driven leads have a 14.6% close rate compared to 1.7% for outbound marketing.
4. Collaborate with Influencers: Partner with micro-influencers to tap into niche communities that trust their recommendations.

Lever 2: Conversion – Turning Visitors into Buyers

Once you’ve attracted the right audience, your next challenge is to convert them. This means providing an exceptional user experience and enough information to help them make informed purchasing decisions.

Key Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) Tactics:

1. Simplify Navigation: Ensure your website is easy to use. 
2. Leverage Social Proof: Highlight customer reviews, testimonials, and user-generated content to build trust.
3. Use Compelling Product Pages: Include high-quality images, detailed descriptions, and videos that demonstrate your product’s value.
4. A/B Test Everything: From call-to-action buttons to landing page headlines, regularly test elements to see what drives the best results.
5. Offer Live Chat Support: A Forrester report found that 44% of online shoppers value having their questions answered in real time.

Lever 3: AOV – Maximizing Each Transaction

So, how do you maximize each transaction? Well, to do this, we need to look at your average order value (AOV). It measures the average amount customers spend per transaction. Increasing your AOV means more revenue per customer visit. So, how do you increase AOV? Here are a few ideas:

Strategies to Increase AOV:

1. Upselling and Cross-Selling: Suggest complementary products or upgrades during the shopping process. Amazon’s upselling strategy generates 35% of its revenue.
2. Bundle Deals: Offer product bundles at a slightly discounted price to encourage larger purchases.
3. Free Shipping Thresholds: Set a minimum cart value for free shipping. For example, “Spend $50 to get free shipping.”
4. Personalized Recommendations: Use AI tools like Klaviyo or Rebuy to suggest products based on browsing and purchase history.
5. Limited-Time Offers: Create urgency with limited-time discounts on higher-value products or bundles.

Lever 4: LTV – Encouraging Repeat Purchases

Lifetime Value (LTV) is the total revenue you can expect from a customer over their relationship with your brand. Boosting LTV not only increases revenue but also reduces reliance on costly customer acquisition. Here’s how to enhance it:

How to Enhance LTV:

1. Segment Your Customers: Use email marketing tools to create customer segments based on purchase behavior and preferences.
2. Develop a Loyalty Program: Reward repeat customers with points, discounts, or exclusive perks. 
3. Upsell Post-Purchase: Send follow-up emails offering related products or subscription options.
4. Provide Exceptional Customer Service: Happy customers are 60% more likely to make repeat purchases (Zendesk).
5. Create Remarketing Campaigns: Use Facebook and Google to retarget past customers with personalized offers.

The Importance of Customer Research

In order to effectively pull these four levers, you need to do customer research–and a lot of it. Most brands are just guessing who their customers are, what problems they face, and how they make purchasing decisions. Avoid being one of those brands since this really doesn’t make for a great plan. Conducting customer research comes down to a few key steps:

Steps to Conduct Customer Research:

1. Conduct Surveys: Use tools like Typeform or Google Forms to gather insights about customer preferences.
2. Analyze Purchase Data: Understand what your customers are buying, how often, and in what combinations.
3. Engage Directly: Use social media polls, forums, and email interactions to understand customer pain points.
4. Map the Buyer Journey: Identify every touchpoint where customers interact with your brand and pinpoint areas of friction.
5. Leverage Third-Party Data: Use market research platforms like Nielsen or Statista for industry benchmarks.

The Bottom Line: Don’t Guess — Strategize

Growing your D2C brand in 2025 doesn’t require reinventing the wheel–but it does require not guessing. It requires a disciplined approach to Traffic, Conversion, AOV, and LTV, all with robust customer research. When you understand your customers deeply, you can:

• Identify where to focus your efforts.
• Align your marketing with customer needs.
• Optimize every step of their journey with your brand.

Don’t be like most brands, operating on guesswork and assumptions. Take the time to collect data, understand your audience, and make smarter decisions. By doing this, you’ll position your business for long-term success in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Greg Shuey

Greg is the founder and CEO of Stryde and a seasoned digital marketer who has worked with thousands of businesses, large and small, to generate more revenue via online marketing strategy and execution. Greg has written hundreds of blog posts as well as spoken at many events about online marketing strategy. You can follow Greg on Twitter and connect with him on LinkedIn.