As new waves of tariffs hit the DTC landscape, many ecommerce brands are feeling the strain—especially those in categories like apparel, wellness, and electronics. For businesses already operating on slim margins, these rising costs can be a serious blow to profitability. But while brands can’t control trade policy, they can control how they adapt.

In this environment, the most resilient businesses aren’t doubling down on acquisition. They’re turning inward—focusing on retention, community, and customer lifetime value (LTV). Instead of racing to acquire more customers at increasingly higher costs, they're prioritizing relationships with the customers they already have.

At Tapcart, we believe this approach isn’t just smart—it’s essential. Retention is your strongest defense against macroeconomic challenges. Let’s explore how you can use mobile-first strategies to navigate tariff disruptions and position your business for long-term growth.

The Reality of Tariffs: What Merchants Are Facing

In 2024, the Biden administration introduced new tariffs targeting key product categories—including technology, electric vehicles, solar components, and other consumer goods—with some rates jumping to as high as 25%. According to AP News, this has created substantial cost burdens for both small and large retailers. Even social commerce platforms like TikTok Shop have reportedly seen a 20–25% drop in sales due to higher prices impacting consumer demand (Business Insider).

For many eCommerce merchants, especially those reliant on international suppliers, these tariffs have created an impossible equation: either absorb the costs and watch margins evaporate, or pass the increase onto consumers and risk cart abandonment. It's a lose-lose if your business is solely reliant on top-of-funnel acquisition.

Why Retention Is the Most Strategic Path Forward

Rather than fighting for new customers with expensive ads, leading brands are investing in the customers they already have. And it makes perfect sense. According to Forbes, acquiring a new customer can cost five to 20 times more than retaining an existing one.

Better yet, returning customers tend to:

• Spend more over time
• Convert at higher rates
• Refer more friends and family

This means every dollar you invest in retention not only saves you on acquisition costs but compounds in value. As Shopify points out in their Enterprise Retention Playbook, retention is one of the most powerful levers for profitability—especially during periods of economic stress.

At Tapcart, we’ve seen firsthand how brands can protect their margins, unlock growth, and improve customer LTV by doubling down on mobile-first retention. Here are five practical, revenue-generating strategies you can apply today.

1. Reach Your Returning Customers for Free

As SMS costs rise and third-party platforms become more crowded, brands are looking for more affordable ways to drive traffic. That’s where Tapcart’s push notifications shine. Unlike SMS, push is free, unlimited, and delivers industry-leading open rates (often exceeding 88%).

You can use push notifications to:

• Announce early access to product drops
• Promote app-exclusive deals
• Recover abandoned carts with timely reminders

In fact, brands that replace SMS with push have seen significant cost savings without compromising performance. Tapcart even offers a free calculator that helps estimate how much your brand could save by switching from SMS to push, and how much more revenue you could drive from higher conversion and order value in the app. Calculate your ROI here.

Learn more about this strategy in our post on Cart Abandonment Strategies and Push Notifications vs SMS.

2. Secure Predictable Revenue with Subscriptions

Tariffs may fluctuate, but subscription revenue is steady. By encouraging customers to subscribe to monthly or quarterly replenishments, brands create consistent cash flow that cushions unexpected margin hits.

Through Tapcart’s integrations with Recharge, Stay.ai or Skio, customers can easily manage subscriptions directly within your mobile app. This in-app functionality removes friction and increases retention for subscribers.

As Recharge notes in this blog on strengthening customer relationships through subscriptions, subscription models don’t just improve LTV—they also increase purchase frequency and reduce churn. The combination of Tapcart and leading subscription platforms helps merchants build “sticky” revenue while keeping customer satisfaction high. 

3. Offset Tariff Costs by Increasing AOV with Bundling

When faced with higher product costs due to tariffs, increasing the average order value (AOV) becomes a smart defense. By offering bundles, brands can spread increased shipping and import costs across more items, making price hikes feel less severe to customers.

Tapcart enables merchants to create dynamic, app-only bundles that encourage higher cart values while delivering perceived savings. This strategy has proven highly effective for brands like The Oodie, who use bundling to drive impulse purchases and maximize margins.

In fact, according to Domaine’s CRO Tariff Playbook, many top-performing brands are using bundling as a lever to balance revenue loss by emphasizing low-tariff, high-ROAS products—ensuring profitability while still delivering value to customers

Shopify's bundling guide also emphasizes the value of this tactic in balancing cost and value for shoppers.

4. Use Dynamic Promotions That Reward the Right Behavior

Discounting is a double-edged sword. Done poorly, it cuts deeply into profit. Done strategically, it drives revenue while protecting margin.

Tapcart’s integration with Abra promotions lets brands create complex, rules-based promos that reward high-value behaviors. For example:

• Spend $100, get 10% off
• Buy 3 or more items, unlock free shipping
• Reward subscribers with exclusive discounts

“Tariffs are squeezing margins, so merchants are getting laser-focused on who gets a deal,” says Daniel Patricio, Co-founder of Abra. “With Abra’s Shopify Functions baked into Tapcart, you can tier discounts—30 % on high-velocity SKUs, 15-20 % on margin-sensitive items—and surface them only to app customers you reach for free through push or SMS. That keeps you aggressive without burning profit.”

The result: bigger baskets and sharper segmentation. Merchants can target promotions by Shopify Markets and set unique discount values for different collections, all inside the same promotion. This level of control protects margins, while still incentivizing purchases. Learn how to implement smarter BFCM tactics with our Mobile Personalization Strategy blog.

5. Build a Mobile-First Community That Lasts

With customer acquisition more expensive than ever, community is the moat that protects your business. Apps give you a direct channel to your most loyal fans—and Tapcart helps you make the most of it.

Brands like The Hundreds and Oh Polly are using app-first strategies to deepen community through exclusive drops, VIP offers, and personalized content. Not only does this drive revenue, it creates emotional brand affinity that makes customers more forgiving of price increases. 

Not only does this drive revenue, it creates emotional brand affinity that makes customers more forgiving of price increases. And as we look ahead to BFCM 2025, this becomes even more impactful: how much of your Q4 ad and SMS budget currently targets your returning users? What if you could reach your top customers (those most likely to convert) instantly and for free via push?

The brands winning BFCM aren't just first to discount—they’re first to engage. Ask yourself: how are you planning to secure purchases ahead of your competitors this Q4? 

Dive deeper into this concept in our blogs on App Exclusives and Community Building and Mobile Conversion Tactics.

Real Results: How Leading Brands Are Protecting Margins Through Retention

Let’s take a look at how real Tapcart customers are thriving by prioritizing retention:

• Naked Harvest reduced their paid social spend and drove stronger ROAS by turning mobile into a re-engagement powerhouse.
• Stadium Goods increased mobile conversions through a seamless in-app experience and well-timed push campaigns.
• OluKai used Tapcart push notifications and exclusive offers to turn one-time buyers into loyal customers.

Each of these brands took control of their customer relationships by creating direct, high-value channels that minimized reliance on volatile acquisition costs.

Final Thoughts: Resilience Starts With Retention

In a world where tariffs, privacy changes, and rising ad costs are reshaping the eCommerce landscape, one thing remains constant: your best customers are your biggest asset. Brands that succeed in 2025 and beyond will be those who invest in owning their audience, building community, and extending the customer journey far beyond first purchase.

Tapcart gives merchants the tools to make that shift—from push notifications and app exclusives to personalized promos, subscriptions, and bundling. If you’re ready to thrive in a higher-cost world, it starts by going deeper, not wider.

Ready to see how mobile-first retention can offset rising costs and drive real results?Try our SMS Cost Savings Calculator to discover how much you could save—or book a Tapcart demo to explore how these strategies can work for your brand.