Happy Thursday!

In 5 minutes, you'll be learning about the following:

1. ​Shoppers Love AI, But They’ll Still Leave You at Checkout, Report Finds
2. ​AI to the Rescue: From One Low-Res Product Photo to a Full Suite of Assets
3. Neat Build in Public Update: ​The Growth Lever That Tripled Our Sales Overnight
4. ​How the OG Delivery App Found a Fresh Way to Win Customers Back
5. ​How this Fashion Brand Pivoted from Wholesale to DTC & Built a Multi 7-Figure Brand [PODCAST]

Jim Huffman, GrowthHit & Neat Apparel CEO
​(Want a friend? Let's connect on Twitter or LinkedIn)

​Shoppers Love AI, But They’ll Still Leave You at Checkout, Report Finds​

The future of shopping isn’t just about AI bots - the basics still matter.

Picture this: you’ve got a shopper who just asked an AI assistant which sneakers will make them look faster (because, let’s be honest, we’ve all asked dumber questions). The AI gives a slick answer, pulls in product recs, maybe even compares prices across stores. Pretty cool, right?

And then… that same shopper clicks through, adds the shoes to their cart, and bails at checkout because the site takes too long to load or the promo code doesn’t work.

That’s the reality painted in the new Future Shopper 2025 report. People are warming up to AI in retail - 68% of shoppers have tried tools like ChatGPT to help with shopping. They’re asking questions, pulling ideas, even using it to compare options. Consumers don’t even care if content is AI-generated. In fact, almost half said they like how retailers are starting to use AI.

But here’s the kicker: 45% still abandon purchases because the digital experience is too frustrating. That’s almost half of all shoppers walking away, not because they don’t trust AI, but because the fundamentals aren’t there.

It’s like throwing a fancy espresso machine in your kitchen but never buying coffee beans. The tech is impressive, but if the basics aren’t right, no one’s getting their caffeine fix.

So what’s the lesson here? AI can open doors, sure. It can help shoppers discover and evaluate products in new ways. But it won’t save you if the core experience is broken. People don’t stick around for personalization gimmicks if your checkout flow is clunky. They don’t care about your chatbot if your shipping times are slow.

The future of eCommerce isn’t just about being the brand with the flashiest AI assistant. It’s about being the brand that quietly, consistently removes every single excuse for a customer to leave.

The winners? They’ll be the companies that get both right - the shiny new tools and the simple, human-first experience.

The full Future Shopper 2025 report is packed with insights beyond AI - like why shoppers now expect two-hour delivery, why personalization still misses the mark, and why price continues to beat sustainability.

If you're a nerd like me who loves diving into these trends, then do check out the full report here 👉 Download the full report here​

​AI to the Rescue: From One Low-Res Product Photo to a Full Suite of Assets​

The scrappy way we delivered for a rebrand with almost nothing to work with.

A couple weeks back, I told you about Nano Banana - Google’s new AI image editor that’s actually worth your time.

It’s not the first AI photo tool out there (Adobe, Canva, and half the startups on Product Hunt already have their versions), but this one stood out because it felt practical. It’s fast, consistent, and doesn’t destroy the details like so many others do.

Well, this week we stress-tested it on a real project. Our client PeriActive just rebranded and launched a new bottle design. The catch? They only had one low-resolution photo of the new product. Not exactly ideal when you’re trying to build out a marketing campaign.

Instead of waiting weeks for a photoshoot, we ran that single photo through Nano Banana. The result? A whole set of clean, on-brand product images we could actually use for ads and content. (Check out the GIF above to see how that sad, low-res shot turned into polished visuals.)

What surprised me wasn’t just that it worked - it’s how real the results looked. The bottle kept its shape and branding, the edits didn’t feel like copy-paste jobs, and suddenly that one low-res photo turned into a full suite of campaign-ready assets.

In other words, we went from “we’ve got nothing to work with” to “we have options” in less than an afternoon. For a client like PeriActive, that speed meant they could start testing ads and rolling out content immediately instead of waiting on the logistics of a photoshoot.

And that’s the bigger story here. AI tools like Nano Banana aren’t here to replace great photography - they’re here to save you when time, budget, or circumstances leave you empty-handed. They give you momentum when you need it most.

For us, it turned a single blurry photo into a launch-ready campaign. For you, it might be the difference between sitting on your hands for two weeks or shipping something tomorrow.

​The Growth Lever That Tripled Our Sales Overnight​

When we acquired Neat™ at the end of 2023, we had no idea how much we’d learn. In just 12 months, we’ve grown it from $9K/month to $114K/month - all while building in public and sharing the highs, lows, and lessons with you in real time. This week ....

We tripled sales overnight with Neat™ (and I can’t believe how obvious it was).

And we did it…

❌ Without more ad spend

❌ Without a celebrity influencer

❌ Without a 50% off promo

It came from one simple lever: price

👉 First, we position Neat as an everyday essential.

EX: Casual wear. Office wear. Date-night wear.

👉 Second, Stop selling single tees. Start selling packs.

EX: The “Daily Grind Bundle.” The “Starter Pack.” Henley Pack.

That shift took our average order value from $38 → $120.

Plus, conversion rate went up.

Sales basically tripled. Overnight.

Takeaway: Growth isn’t always about working harder.

It’s about finding the lever that gives you a nonlinear leap.

Now I’m left wondering… what other "growth levers" are hiding in plain sight?

​How the OG Delivery App Found a Fresh Way to Win Customers Back​

In a discount-driven market, Grubhub chose emotion over price—and it worked.

In a market where customers usually chase discounts, Grubhub found a way to spark real loyalty by showing up for moms when it mattered most.

Once the OG of food delivery, Grubhub has been squeezed by DoorDash and Uber Eats. Most people treat these apps like utilities open two, build the same basket, pick the cheaper one. No loyalty. Just transactions.

So Grubhub went digging. They searched for moments when food meant more than convenience and found one: a mom’s first postpartum meal. Three out of four moms plan it ahead of time, and more than half would rather order delivery from their favorite restaurant than eat hospital food or a home-cooked dish.

That insight sparked the “Special Delivery” campaign. Grubhub sponsored meals for 5,000 moms, teased it with stork ads across NYC, showcased real moms enjoying their first post-labor meal, and gave participants a free year of Grubhub+.

The results? The offer sold out instantly. The site drew 265,000 visits. Moms loved it - 98% responded positively, loyalty in this group jumped 54%, and 92% of participants were brand-new customers. Translation: $228 million in lifetime value.

Lesson: Loyalty comes from meeting customers in meaningful moments. Instead of another discount push, Grubhub tapped into a life event that mattered.

How to use it: Find where your product overlaps with emotional milestones - first apartment, first big promotion, first workout after an injury. Show up authentically in those moments, and you’ll earn loyalty money can’t buy.

​The Difference Between a $1M and $10M Businesses : Live Event​

The playbook for breaking through the “valley of death” and scaling to $10M - join us to learn how.

Most founders hit the same wall around $1-4M.

They’ve hustled their way to product–market fit, but now growth feels like pushing a boulder uphill. Sales slow down, the team is maxed out, and every decision feels like a gamble.

Here’s the hard truth: what gets you to $1M is not what gets you to $10M.

At $1M, companies rely on founder hustle, quick wins, and duct-taped systems. At $10M, companies scale because they’ve built leverage - clear strategy, repeatable processes, and a team that executes without the founder doing it all.

In this session, we’ll unpack:

• The real differences between a $1M company and a $10M company (mindset, systems, execution).
• The traps that keep most founders stuck in the “valley of death.”
• The playbook we’ve used to help brands break through the plateau and scale with clarity and confidence.

If you’re tired of chasing tactics, burning out, and wondering why others leapfrog ahead - this is the roadmap you’ve been missing.

October 17, 10:00AM Pacific Time / 1:00PM Eastern Time

👉 Sign up for free here​

​How this Fashion Brand Pivoted from Wholesale to DTC & Built a Multi 7-Figure Brand​

What do you do when wholesale feels like success but starts killing your brand? For the founders of Mestiza, it meant rewriting the playbook.

In this episode, they share how they survived COVID, pivoted to DTC, and built a multi 7-figure fashion business - while raising kids and refusing VC money.

Jim is joined by Luisa Takas and Alessandra Perez-Rubio, the powerhouse duo behind Mestiza - a New York-based fashion brand worn by celebrities and loved by loyal customers.

The two dive into how they broke into Neiman Marcus early on but quickly realized wholesale wasn’t sustainable. From there, they detail how COVID forced a DTC pivot, how their hero product (“The Shimmy Dress”) became a game-changer, and how they’ve grown profitably while bootstrapping. This is a behind-the-scenes look at resilience, customer obsession, and building a brand with values.

Key Topics Covered:

• Why wholesale nearly derailed their brand vision
• How COVID forced a DTC rebirth that changed everything
• The power of flagship products like the Shimmy Dress
• Tactical tips for customer feedback, crowdfunding, and growth
• How they raised a friends-and-family round and used SBA loans
• Why being moms made them better founders
• The co-founder dynamic that’s lasted longer than most marriages

If you’re building a brand and wondering whether to go DTC, how to grow without VC money, or how to survive the messy middle - this episode is pure gold.

Listen now wherever you get your podcasts

​

​Say Hello to Megan Jannetty​

Turning messy funnels into predictable growth machines.

Here’s the thing about great growth leaders: they don’t just know the playbook -they know how to run it when the game gets messy. That’s Megan Jannetty.

Megan is the kind of strategist brands call when they’re stuck in the weeds -bloated ad spend, leaky funnels, campaigns that look great on a deck but fall flat in real life.

Instead of tossing around buzzwords, she brings order to the chaos. She’s scaled SaaS and subscription businesses by doing what most people skip over: aligning strategy with real business goals and turning data into action.

What I like about her approach is that it’s not about chasing vanity metrics. It’s about consistent wins: lowering costs, driving sales, and building month-over-month growth that actually lasts. Add to that her reputation for collaborative leadership, and you see why people trust her to lead when the stakes are high.

In an industry full of noise, Megan's the one quietly stacking results.

👉 Connect with Megan on LinkedIn​

​Let’s Fix What’s Blocking Your Growth​

• My Agency - GrowthHit​
• AI Growth Strategies to Sell More On Shopify - GrowthSchool​
• The Sold-Out Shopify Playbook - Get the product​
• Podcast - The Shopify Growth Show​
• Proven AI Prompts for Your Shopify Success - Get the library​
• My Book: The Growth Marketer's Playbook​

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