Happy Thursday!

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

1. ​AI Shoppers Are Here - And They Just Spent $24 Billion
2. We're Looking for 10 Shopify Stores Ready to Scale with AI
3. ​We Made This Ad In 3 Minutes Using This AI Tool​
4. ​Instagram Just Became an SEO Tool
5. ​Gary B - The AI Dashboard That Talks Back

What did everyone enjoy last week?

The most clicked link was ... The Shopify Growth School​

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

​AI Shoppers Are Here - And They Just Spent $24 Billion​

Prime Day broke records. But the real story? AI did the shopping.

Last week’s Prime Day drove $24.1B in U.S. e‑commerce sales, but the jaw-dropper wasn’t just the revenue. According to Adobe, traffic from AI tools - think chatbots, shopping assistants, personal recommenders - spiked 3,300%. That’s not a typo.

Here’s what that means:

• Shoppers are asking bots what to buy - real-time product guidance is now a thing.
• AI chat tools, smart plugins, and browser agents are quietly becoming the new customer journey.
• People aren’t just Googling - they’re prompting.

Let’s be real. If you run a Shopify or DTC brand and you’re not thinking about AI, you’re already playing defense. Not next year. Not after your competitor does it first. Right now.

The brands winning in this AI era aren’t just testing tools - they’re building around them. They’ve got AI support that answers real questions and drives sales. Their product data is clean so bots can parse it. And their content - FAQs, comparisons, summaries - is written for AI, because bots often read before buyers do.

So what now? Start small but move fast. Add a tool like Tidio or Gobot. Use Shopify Magic to streamline product copy. Clean up those FAQs and make your PDPs prompt-ready. Treat AI like your top affiliate - because this holiday season, your best customer might not even be human.

​We're Looking for 10 Shopify Stores Ready to Scale with AI​

Work 1-on-1 with GrowthHit’s team to uncover what’s blocking sales, launch AI-powered growth tactics, and scale fast - risk-free.

Trying to break through that next revenue ceiling? Want to add $100K+ in sales before the end of the year?

We’re opening up 10 spots for our August AI Growth Sprint - an 8-week program built to help Shopify brands scale smarter using real AI-backed strategies.

This isn’t a course. It’s not a DIY YouTube rabbit hole. And it’s not some vague “done-for-you” offer that leaves you guessing.

You’ll work directly with the GrowthHit team - the same crew that scaled Neat Apparel, our sweat-proof Shopify brand, to 7 figures in 12 months. We’ve done this across 150+ DTC brands and now we’re handing you the playbook.

Expect AI-powered email flows, high-converting landing pages, smarter ad creative, and a step-by-step plan tailored to your brand.

You should apply if:

• You’re doing at least $10K/month on Shopify
• You’ve got consistent traffic (organic or paid)
• You’re ready to make bold, high-impact changes
• You’re open to coaching and want real traction
• You’re willing to share your numbers so we can get to work

And yes - there’s a 100% money-back guarantee. If you show up, implement, and don’t see results, you get your money back. No drama.

👉 Only 10 brands will be accepted into the August cohort. Apply here if you want in.

​We Made This Ad In 3 Minutes Using This AI Tool​

Testing Lovart AI for effortless, scroll-stopping creative.

We’ve been hands-on with Lovart.ai - a new AI tool that turns product photos into polished, on-brand creatives in seconds.

No designer. No complicated prompts. Just upload an image, pick a style, and boom: ads that look like you hired a Vogue-level art director.

What stood out? Speed and simplicity. You don’t need layers of approvals or a design brief - just an image and an idea.

In just 3 minutes, we had a campaign-ready asset that felt premium enough for high-end fashion, but fast enough for a last-minute flash sale.

We’re testing it for campaign promos, archive drops, and any moment where you need ads fast but still want to look top shelf.

If you’re running a lean team or testing creative often, this tool is a cheat code. Honestly, it’s the first design tool we’ve used where the output looked better than what we mocked up ourselves.

​Turn AI Into Your Income Engine​

Uncover 200+ ways to launch, automate, & scale income streams using AI - no tech background required.

​HubSpot’s​ groundbreaking guide "200+ AI-Powered Income Ideas" is your gateway to financial innovation in the digital age.

Inside you'll discover:

• A curated collection of 200+ profitable opportunities spanning content creation, e-commerce, gaming, and emerging digital markets, each vetted for real-world potential
• Step-by-step implementation guides designed for beginners, making AI accessible regardless of your technical background
• Cutting-edge strategies aligned with current market trends, ensuring your ventures stay ahead of the curve

Unlock a future where artificial intelligence powers your success. Your next income stream is waiting.

​Get The Guide Here​

​Instagram Just Became an SEO Tool ​

Yes, your IG posts can now show up in search. Here’s how to use it to grow.

Instagram just made a move that changes the game for founders, creators, and brands - Google can now index public Instagram content. Translation: your posts, Reels, and even profile can show up in Google search results. This turns your IG content into a legit growth channel outside the app.

Starting July 10, any public, professional Instagram account is eligible to have its content appear in Google search. That means more eyeballs, longer shelf life for your posts, and visibility even if you don’t have a blog or website.

For DTC brands and Shopify stores, it’s a rare opportunity to treat social content like a micro-landing page that works 24/7.

Here’s how to make it work: First, make sure your IG profile is set to public and you’re using a professional account. Then, start optimizing your content like you would a blog post. Think in keywords: what would your ideal customer search for? Bake those into your captions, Reels, and alt text. Focus on value-first content - how-tos, guides, tutorials. And give your bio a refresh with clear, searchable keywords.

Quick heads-up: this also means your content is more public than ever. If there’s old stuff you don’t want showing up on Google, audit it now. Or opt out entirely in your settings.

Bottom line - social search is here. This update blurs the line between SEO and social media. The brands that adapt will win free traffic, stay top of mind longer, and get discovered before the competition. Treat every post like a piece of evergreen content that could rank. Because now, it actually can.

​The Amazon Prime Hangover is Real​

​We acquired Neat, a sweat-proof apparel Shopify brand, in September 2023, and we’ve been documenting every win, fail, and lesson along the way here.​

What we learned after paying $80 per customer during Prime Day’s retail bender and how we’re fixing it next year

The Amazon Prime Hangover is real. We felt it at Neat™ .

Our CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) jumped fast after Prime Day—like everyone woke up from a retail bender thinking,

“Did I really need that fourth Bluetooth speaker?”

The tough part?

We didn’t pull back ad spend fast enough.

The data lagged. Performance dipped. We waited a day too long.

We ended up paying $80 per new customer for 2 days. (See graph below.)

Lesson learned.

At Neat, we’re not trying to out-Amazon Amazon.

We don’t compete on price.

We compete on product, positioning, and performance.

Next year, we’ll be more proactive - pulling spend earlier, shifting strategy faster, and prepping offers that ride the wave, not fight it.

Good News: Sales are picking back up.

Bad News: We paid the Amazon prime tax this year!

​Gary B - The AI Dashboard That Talks Back ​

We built it. We showed it live. Now you can watch the replay.

What if your Shopify dashboard didn’t just report numbers but actually told you what to do next?

We gave a behind-the-scenes look at the AI-powered dashboard we’ve been building. It connects your Shopify, Meta, Google Ads, Klaviyo, and more - then tells you exactly where to focus for growth.

It doesn’t just show you charts. It gives you strategic recommendations, answers your questions, and even pulls from your meeting notes to guide testing, fixes, or scale moves.

It’s like hiring a growth strategist who actually knows your data and doesn’t sleep.

If you missed the live session, you’re in luck. We recorded the whole thing. Whether you’re a Shopify founder, marketer, or data nerd looking for leverage, this one’s worth your time.

🎥 Watch the full replay here → RECORDING HERE​

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​The 7-Figure Exit Behind Couch.com (And the $600K Domain Bet That Made It Happen)​

What would make someone spend a small fortune on the domain Couch.com? In this episode, Alex Back reveals the real reasons and how it helped him build and sell a 7-figure business.​
​
Jim sits down with Alex Back, founder of Couch.com and Apt2b, to unpack the journey of bootstrapping an eCommerce brand and exiting with impact. From domain strategy to traffic growth and earnouts, this is a masterclass in building smart and selling well.
​
Alex doesn’t hold back on what worked, what flopped, and what he’d do differently.
​
​Key Topics Covered:

• Why “couches” was the niche of choice
• The surprising ROI of a premium domain
• Building sustainable traffic through SEO
• Structuring a strong co-founder relationship
• What makes the right time to sell
• Smart growth hacks that moved the needle
• Why earnouts might be underrated

If you’re building, buying, or selling an eCom brand — this episode is packed with real talk and hard-won insights. Subscribe for more tactical founder convos like this.

Listen now wherever you get your podcasts

​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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