Sparks.
What is moving in the trade, and what our own numbers actually say. We publish them whether they moved or not.
What a creator actually costs you
TikTok Shop affiliate commission runs 1% to 80% of GMV, and lowering it takes thirty days. The mechanics are fair. They are also rent.
Nobody agrees what a customer costs
We went looking for the 2026 DTC acquisition cost. Published answers for the same channel ranged from $42 to $230.
Black Friday is decided in August. The checklist
The surcharges are published, the tariffs are live and the free tools are out. Six things worth doing before September.
Your Shopify thank-you page changes on August 26
Shopify upgrades every remaining thank-you and order status page on non-Plus stores, whether you pressed the button or not. Additional scripts stop running.
Your Meta ads bill grew this summer. Here is exactly why
Two separate things happened, and only one of them shows up in Ads Manager.
People ask ChatGPT what to buy. Here is how your store shows up
Almost half of shoppers research with AI now, and Shopify quietly switched on the plumbing that puts your catalogue in the answer.
Month zero
AfterBye has no members. Not a small number of members. None. Here is the ledger anyway.