šŸ’ø Mattress Mafia

Casperā€™s growth hacking strategy, Amazonā€™s surprising new strategy, and TikTokā€™s subscription experiment.

In partnership with

Good morning, eComm legend.

Thereā€™s a moment in every great online sellerā€™s journey when the game changes. One day, itā€™s all about chasing trends and optimizing margins. The next, you realizeā€”oh, this isnā€™t just about keeping up with the news. Itā€™s about knowing what to do with it.

This week, weā€™re switching things up. Because while itā€™s fun to track Amazonā€™s latest chess moves and TikTokā€™s monetization experiments (like watching a friend keep restarting a side hustle that definitely wonā€™t work), the real money is in strategy. Not just reading headlines, but understanding how to actually grow.

So letā€™s do this. Today, instead of leading with another breaking eCommerce plot twist, weā€™re throwing it backā€”to one of the biggest DTC wins of all time: Casper. The mattress company that made an offer the industry couldnā€™t refuse and sold $1M worth of ā€˜bed-in-a-boxā€™ in its first 28 days.

Why? Because studying Casper now is like trying to learn to golf like Tiger Woods when you canā€™t hold a club yet. Their playbook is gold, but only if you know what parts apply to your level.

If youā€™ve ever wondered what it really takes to scale from idea to empire (and how to borrow the best moves for your own business), todayā€™s your day. And donā€™t worry, weā€™ve still got the news you needā€”because Amazon, TikTok, and Meta refuse to let eCommerce sit still for five minutes.

Letā€™s get into it.

In todayā€™s agenda:

1) šŸ’¤ Casper: From 0 to $1M in 28 days.

2) Amazonā€™s new move: Now featuring... other websites?!

3) TikTok Shop is testing a subscription model šŸ”

4) Metaā€™s new ad tool: ā€œLet me cookā€ šŸ‘©ā€šŸ³

1) šŸ’¤ Casper: From 0 to $1M in 28 days.

Casper didnā€™t just sell mattressesā€”it took over the sleep industry like a well-orchestrated heist, outmaneuvering legacy players and rewriting the rules overnight. The company did what seemed impossible: selling a single, premium, ā€œone perfect mattressā€ online, bypassing the traditional showroom shuffle, and hitting $1M in sales within 28 days. Their journey from zero to their first million is a masterclass in product innovation, branding genius, and digital growth tactics.

We all start somewhere. ā€” Source: Wayback Machine

One mattress to rule them all.

The mattress industry was a tangled mess of choice paralysis. Dozens of brands. Hundreds of models. Confusing pricing. Casperā€™s founders saw the chaos and thought, ā€œWhat if we just made one great mattress and sold it directly to consumers?ā€

So, they did.

With a price range of $500 to $950 (the Queen landing at about $850), Casper offered luxury without the markup. Cutting out the middlemen meant better materials for less. The idea: Simple sells. And customers loved it.

Five co-founders. One bed. ā€” Source: CNBC

The risk-free revolution.

Buying a mattress online without testing it first? Sounds crazy. Casper knew skepticism was their biggest hurdle. Their answer: a 100-night, risk-free trial. If you didnā€™t love it, you could send it back. No questions asked.

It was a bold bet, but it paid off. Millennials, especially urban dwellers used to buying big-ticket items online, flocked to the offer. As orders flooded in, Casperā€™s team scrambled to scale production without sacrificing quality. They werenā€™t just selling mattresses; they were selling trustā€”and it was working.

Loud and clear. Hereā€™s a screenshot of Casperā€™s first landing page from 2014. ā€” Source: Wayback Machine

Everywhere, all at once.

Casper didnā€™t just rely on word-of-mouth. They went all-in on digital marketing. They knew their audience: tech-savvy, podcast-loving city dwellers.

Podcasts? Bet. Casper became one of the most recognized sponsors on major shows like WTF with Marc Maron, Serial, This American Life, and Reply All. Hosts personally tested the mattresses, read ad copy in their signature styles, and offered promo codes. It felt organic, like a friend recommending a productā€”not just another ad.

But they didnā€™t stop there. Right from launch, PR was a huge driver: Casper managed to get featured in dozens of prominent outlets like The Wall Street Journal, CBS, Bloomberg Businessweek, TechCrunch, and The Verge.

Beyond traditional PR, Casper kept coming up with newsworthy ideas that journalists couldnā€™t resist writing about. One example was Casperā€™s Nap Tour: box trucks outfitted with Casper mattress nap pods. People could step in and take a short nap on a Casper mattress in these pods, which even had phones that played bedtime stories. The cost of a couple of trucks and some staff was relatively low for the nationwide PR exposure it garnered.

One of the earliest Casper ads from 2014, featured on WTF with Marc Maron. ā€” Source: Wtfpod.com

Paid advertising, yes. But smart.

But they didnā€™t stop there. Casper got aggressive with search engine marketing (SEM). They found a clever way to dominate Google search results: buying multiple ad placements leading to different domains: Casperā€™s website, its Amazon listing, and review pages. For a search like ā€œbest mattress,ā€ Casper controlled up to six spots on the results page. If you were in the market for a mattress, it was impossible to ignore them.

They also ran some unconventional ad campaigns aimed more at PR than direct response. A notable one was a series of surreal 3 A.M. TV ads Casper aired, which had low-fi visuals and a phone number for an ā€œInsomnia hotlineā€ with pre-recorded messages ā€“ and crucially, no direct sales pitch at all.

1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 6... Right. Six spots. Thatā€™s called domination. ā€” Source: Drip.com

The data-driven machine.

Casper wasnā€™t just making smart marketing movesā€”they were optimizing everything in real time. Data dictated their decisions. If analytics showed customers hesitated on the shipping page, Casper adjusted messaging to highlight free shipping earlier in the buying process. The result: fewer abandoned carts, more conversions.

This feedback loopā€”data ā†’ insight ā†’ action ā†’ dataā€”was a core part of their strategy. And it worked.

On the left: September 2014. On the right: October 2014. Guess what data led to this change? ā€” Source: Wayback Machine

Scaling at breakneck speed.

Success brought new challenges. With skyrocketing demand came the need for serious capital. After an initial organic sales surge, Casper needed fuel to sustain growth.

Investors took notice. Casper raised $1.85M in seed funding before the launch, followed by a $13M Series A just two months post-launch. The numbers proved what they already knew: the unit economics worked. Customer acquisition cost (CAC) versus margins looked solid, and venture capitalists were eager to fund the next big consumer brand.

Thatā€™s a good start ā€” Source: TechCrunch

The secret sauce: a perfectly executed playbook.

Casper didnā€™t just disrupt an industry by accident. They had key advantages from the start: founders with deep experience in product design and manufacturing (from The Merrick Group, NASA, and Ideo), early capital, and a clear vision. But their execution is what turned an idea into an empire.

They nailed:

  • A clear USP in a market desperate for change.

  • Smart demand validation, proving people wanted their product before over-investing in inventory.

  • Flawless digital marketing, from social engagement to Google ad dominance.

  • A seamless purchase funnel, eliminating friction at every step.

  • A killer feedback loop, turning customers into brand evangelists.

Casper didnā€™t just sell mattresses. They redefined how consumers shop for sleep. And they did it all with a cardboard box and a dream.

Do you want to read more? (if yes, I may write a longer version from 0 to $500M)

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X-Ray of the Week: Casperā€™s $500M Growth Engine

šŸ›’ Platform: Shopify
šŸ’ø Pricing: Magical Fees & Surcharges
šŸ’° Upsell: Dynamic Yield by Mastercard
šŸ’³ Payment & Financing: Affirm
šŸŽ Promotions: Discount Kit + Lit Discount Before Checkout
šŸ›”ļø Warranty: Extend
šŸ“¢ Ads: Meta Ads + Snapchat Ads 
ā­ļø User-Generated Content: Yotpo
šŸ’¬ Communications: Attentive
šŸ•µļø Fraud Prevention: Kount
šŸ“Š Analytics: Elevar + Hotjar + Google Analytics

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2) Amazonā€™s new move: Now featuring... other websites?!

Amazon is now sending customers to other websites from its own search results. Yes, you read that right. Amazon is now sometimes acting like a high-traffic mall directory, pointing shoppers to brands' own sites. If you run an eCommerce store, this is a massive shift that could either be your golden ticket or your worst "oops, I didn't optimize for this" nightmare.

Whatā€™s actually happening: If a customer searches for a product on Amazon and Amazon doesnā€™t sell it (or doesnā€™t want to), they might see a link to buy it directly from the brandā€™s website. Itā€™s like Amazon saying, "Hey, we donā€™t have it, but our cool indie friend over here does." If your brand gets included, thatā€™s free exposure to Amazonā€™s ridiculous traffic numbers. If youā€™re not? Well, someone else is eating your lunch.

How to make this work for you:

  • Get Buy with Prime set up. If youā€™re already selling through your own site, this Amazon feature lets Prime members get free two-day shipping from youā€”huge trust booster.

  • Optimize your site for conversions. If Amazonā€™s sending you traffic, but your site looks like a 2008 MySpace page (RIP Tom), people will bounce.

  • Track referral traffic from Amazon. Use UTM parameters to see how much traffic youā€™re actually getting. If it's working, lean in harder.

  • Make checkout stupidly simple. If your cart process has more steps than a SoulCycle class, youā€™ll lose those sweet, sweet impulse buyers.

This test is currently limited, but Amazon doesnā€™t experiment for fun. Theyā€™re gathering data, and if it works for them (translation: makes them more money), expect this to expand. If youā€™re an eCommerce owner, your action plan is clear: optimize your DTC site like your business depends on itā€”because, well, it kind of does.

Sources: amazon.com

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3) TikTok Shop is testing a subscription model šŸ”

TikTok just dropped a new e-commerce plot twist: subscriptions. Yes, like that gym membership you forgot about but for, letā€™s say, skincare and snacks. Theyā€™re testing a feature that lets buyers subscribe to products at a discount, locking in repeat customers for sellers. Itā€™s basically Amazonā€™s ā€œSubscribe & Saveā€.

Why this matters: If you sell anything that people buy more than onceā€”think vitamins, coffee, face masks, dog treatsā€”this is your moment. Subscriptions mean predictable revenue (less of that feast-or-famine sales cycle), better inventory planning (so you donā€™t run out right after a video goes viral), and an actual chance to turn one-time buyers into forever customers. Bonus: TikTok will probably give an algorithmic hug to sellers using the feature, meaning more eyeballs on your store.

How to get in: Bad news: Itā€™s invite-only right now, like some elite members-only club but for e-commerce nerds. Good news: TikTok loves expanding features when they make money. While you wait, do these:

  • Optimize your best repeat-buy product (subscriptions work best on high-repurchase stuff).

  • Start collecting emails (because when this launches for real, you want to tell your customers directly).

  • Experiment with ā€œsubscribe-likeā€ offers (bulk discounts, VIP buyer perksā€”get customers in the habit).

  • Get loud on TikTok Shop Live (TikTok pushes sellers who use all their features).

  • Apply to every beta TikTok rolls out (you never know when theyā€™ll open the doors).

The fine print: Not everyone gets to play yet, and TikTok loves to test features only to yank them away. But if subscriptions take off, they could make TikTok Shop a serious Amazon competitor for repeat purchases. If youā€™re selling stuff people need regularly, start strategizing now.

4) Metaā€™s new ad tool: ā€œLet me cookā€ šŸ‘©ā€šŸ³

Meta is merging its AI-optimized shopping, app, and leads campaigns into one streamlined setup. No more choosing between manual or Advantage+ā€”now, AI enhancements will be baked in by default.

Metaā€™s new report card for you: Ads Manager now includes a feature called Opportunity Score, giving campaigns a 0-100 rating based on how well theyā€™re set up for AI-driven success. Early testers who actually followed the recommendations saw a 5% drop in cost per result. The score comes with real-time suggestionsā€”aka, ā€œplease let the AI cookā€ā€”to fine-tune targeting, budget allocation, and creative optimization.

What to do right now (if you are already running Meta Ads):

  • Test Advantage+ on low-risk campaigns (if it is available to you, it is still in testing and gradually becoming available.)

  • Use Opportunity Scoreā€™s suggestions (even if you roll your eyes at the AIā€™s confidence).

  • Set up Advantage+ leads campaigns if youā€™re running lead gen adsā€”early tests show theyā€™re dropping the cost per qualified lead by 10%.

  • Check audience settingsā€”Advantage+ optimizations only work if Metaā€™s AI has room to do its thing.

  • Monitor performance manually (ironic, yes), because AI is great, but it still doesnā€™t know your business like you do.

Sources: facebook.com

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* Executive Cheat Sheet

  • Search Engine Marketing (SEM): A digital marketing strategy that promotes websites by increasing their visibility in search engine results through paid advertising.

  • Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): The total cost of acquiring a new customer, including marketing, advertising, and sales expenses, divided by the number of new customers gained.

  • Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO): The process of improving a website or online store to increase the percentage of visitors who complete a desired action, such as making a purchase or signing up.

  • Advantage+ (Meta Ads): An AI-powered advertising feature from Meta that automates ad targeting, budgeting, and creative optimization to improve campaign performance.