Good morning, eComm legend.

Alright, deep breath… this one’s gonna sting.

4 Bullet Points is retiring next week.

Aaaaaaand there it is. Ripped the Band-Aid off. That stung a little.

It had a good run, but let’s be honest—it always sounded a little too much like a PowerPoint your boss sends at 8:52 PM with a “Quick thoughts?” (which, of course, means pulling an all-nighter).

So, no transition: meet Don't Park That Cart.

Same old, same old. Still the same newsletter in your inbox on a Wednesday. Same obsession to help you grow your eCommerce store. Same weirdos behind the keyboard.

But something is changing: we’re doubling down, going all in, stacking the best insights, tactics, and strategies to help you actually grow.

Now, our life mission is simple: to help you get customers who don’t park that cart. And there are explosions too (have you seen the thumbnail?).

Over time, this will become the one place you turn to when you want to scale, optimize, and win in eComm. Think of it as upgrading from “just vibes” to “full send.”

Big things are coming next week, but for now, let’s focus on today: your business, your growth, and keeping customers from ghosting you—not like Timmy, your high school lab partner who promised to do his half. Let’s roll.

In today’s agenda:

1) Canada, Mexico, China: Tariffs are up, margins are down.

2) TikTok just bulldozed TikTok Creator Marketplace for something better 🏗️

3) Flexport just made logistics... kinda sexy?

4) Yottaa’s new Web Performance Services = a triple espresso shot for online shops ☕️

1) Canada, Mexico, China: Tariffs are up, margins are down.

More tariffs! Yay! As of March 4, 2025, imports from Canada and Mexico now carry a 25% tax and Chinese goods jumped to 20%. If your supply chain touches any of these, congrats—you’re about to have a very interesting next few months.

Your costs just jumped: If you import, your price tags are going up. It’s about as avoidable as stepping on a wet bathroom floor while wearing socks. Goods hit hard include machinery, cars, and even aluminum for those cute branded cans you just started making. If your suppliers are in China, that extra 10% tariff means a 20% total tax.

What to do right now: It’s not panic mode, but it’s definitely “pull up a spreadsheet and pour coffee” mode. Your options:

• Renegotiate with suppliers (because loyalty is cool, but lower costs are cooler). Ask for bulk discounts or see if they’ll eat part of the cost.

• Source from tariff-free or lower-tariff countries (Vietnam, Taiwan, and Latin American countries outside Mexico). They’ve been scaling up production and can be cost-effective. Try Accio to find suppliers.

• Optimize pricing (yes, customers will hate it, but small increases > running a charity). Test strategic hikes on bestsellers first.

• Cut unnecessary imports (if it’s not a bestseller, do you need it?).

Next steps, before it’s too late: This isn’t a one-time headache. As long as these tariffs are in place, the costs keep stacking. Lock in new supply chains, tighten your pricing strategy, and brace for customer pushback. If you wait too long, your competitors will have already adapted, and you’ll be left playing catch-up like someone who just remembered they were supposed to post on Threads.

Sources: cbsnews.com, axios.com

2) TikTok just bulldozed TikTok Creator Marketplace for something better 🏗️

TikTok just hit refresh on brand collaborations like a Sims player who got tired of their messy house and bulldozed the whole thing. TikTok Creator Marketplace will officially retire (RIP) on April 1, and in its place will be TikTok One—a shinier, more advanced ecosystem.

TikTok Creator Marketplace, but make it obsolete: TikTok Creator Marketplace launched in 2019, back when "Renegade" was a full-time job and people still believed whipped coffee was gourmet. It was supposed to be a simple way for brands to find influencers, run campaigns, and pay creators without shady DMs. Fast forward to 2023, and brands complained it was clunky, creators said payouts were sketchy, and TikTok itself realized it was outdated.

What’s actually new: The new TikTok One is the equivalent of finally upgrading from gas station coffee to a real espresso machine (more efficient and better results):

• AI-powered creator matching: Instead of manually scrolling through influencers, TikTok suggests them based on style, audience, and engagement history.

• Trend intelligence tools: It scans meme trends, song virality, and hashtag velocity so you’re not hopping on a dead trend (my dad tried the "ice bucket challenge" last month).

• Co-creation workspace: Better collaboration tools so you don’t have to send “per my last email” messages to influencers.

Next steps: Running TikTok ads without TikTok One is like trying to win a Dance Dance Revolution battle in flip-flops. Here’s how to win:

• Migrate your data from the Creator Marketplace (or another dashboard called the TikTok Creative Challenge) to TikTok One.

• Start with AI creator matching: Instead of guessing which influencer “feels right,” let TikTok One’s algorithm match you with creators who actually fit your brand.

• Use the trend tracker religiously: If a niche sound is blowing up, test a quick campaign before it dies in 48 hours.

If your TikTok ad strategy is just “vibes and hope,” you might as well be making it rain Monopoly money. TikTok One actually helps you track what’s working before your budget ghosts you. Not bad.

Sources: techcrunch.com, tiktok.com

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3) Flexport just made logistics... kinda sexy?

Flexport just pulled a Tony Hawk Pro Skater 900 on supply chain management—spinning out 20+ AI-powered logistics tools and landing clean. The Winter Release is here, and while it's not dropping a mixtape, it’s got serious upgrades for eCom brands tired of their supply chains moving at dial-up speed.

Flexport Intelligence is a supply chain therapist…: Your supply chain is messy, inconsistent, and full of surprises (like that one friend who “forgets” their wallet every time). Flexport Intelligence turns chaos into clarity by letting you ask normal-people questions like, “Why are my shipments always late?” and getting instant insights. It auto-builds reports, visualizes data (because spreadsheets are a crime), and saves all your searches in one place. Finally, some answers.

…while Control Tower is the command center: This is Flexport’s “big brother” tool, watching over your entire shipping network—even the parts it doesn’t manage. It’s got real-time tracking, supplier scorecards (for when vendors start getting sloppy), and can even help you cut freight costs by 10% on average. Basically, it’s like having a top-tier operations manager, minus the six-figure salary.

Tactical moves:

• Know if Flexport is right for you: If you’re doing $500K in revenue but keeping inventory in your big garage, probably not. If you’re scaling past $5M, dealing with imports, expanding internationally, or targeting 2-day delivery, it’s worth considering.

• Check your supplier’s report card: Those scorecards show who’s actually reliable (and who’s a red flag).

• Run a test order: If you’re skeptical, start small. See if the AI planning tools actually help before going all in.

What this actually means for you: Less wasted time, fewer shipping “surprises,” and actual cost savings—aka, more cash to spend on things that actually grow your brand. Logistics isn’t sexy, but neither is losing customers because your inventory got stuck in a warehouse limbo (I said LIMBO, not LAMBO).

Sources: flexport.com

How to grow a DTC brand on Amazon

Growing on Amazon takes more than great products.

✅ Drive high-quality traffic – Partner with 8K+ vetted publishers, affiliates, and influencers.
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* Executive Cheat Sheet

• Tariffs – Taxes imposed on imported goods, which increase costs for businesses and consumers.

• AI-powered creator matching – A technology that uses artificial intelligence to recommend influencers to brands based on style, audience, and engagement data.

• Control Tower (Logistics) – A centralized system that provides real-time visibility and management over an entire supply chain.

• Bot Mitigation – Security measures that detect and block automated bot traffic to prevent fraud, fake traffic, and website disruptions.