Lead Generation for E-Commerce & Retail Companies
E-commerce buyers are the most data-literate B2B audience: they track CAC, ROAS, LTV, and conversion rates in real time and evaluate every vendor against their own dashboards. Generic outbound fails completely because these buyers have specific metrics to compare against. Category-matched proof — showing skincare brands what happened for other skincare brands, showing Amazon sellers what happened for other Amazon sellers — closes the gap between “interesting” and “let’s talk.” Convert achieved a 70% close rate and 210K from platform-specific competitive comparisons against Meta and Google.Why E-Commerce Outbound Is Different
Three characteristics make e-commerce outbound fundamentally different from other verticals: Data-rich buyers evaluate against their own dashboards. An e-commerce founder seeing “we improved ROAS by 340%” immediately compares that to their current ROAS. If the claim is in the right range for their category and scale, it’s credible. If it’s implausibly high or from an irrelevant category, it’s dismissed. Convert’s 70% close rate came from category-specific metrics that matched what DTC buyers expected from their market. Category matters more than company size. A 500K skincare brand than with a $5M electronics brand. Buying patterns, margins, customer acquisition channels, and competitive dynamics are category-specific. Evolved Commerce’s Amazon-native messaging succeeded because it spoke the language of marketplace sellers — ACOS, buy box win rates, and review velocity — not generic “e-commerce growth” language. Rapid decision cycles reward speed. E-commerce founders make vendor decisions in days, not months. If the outreach is relevant and the proof is compelling, meetings happen quickly. Convert’s 84 meetings reflect this velocity — DTC founders who saw category-matched results moved fast.Convert’s 70% close rate — the mechanism: Category-matched DTC case studies created a “that’s exactly my situation” reaction. When a skincare brand founder saw results from another skincare brand at similar scale, the sales conversation started with credibility already established. This is the highest close rate across all 44 campaigns — and it’s entirely attributable to category matching.
How We Target E-Commerce Buyers
| Targeting Criteria | Details |
|---|---|
| Primary Titles | DTC founders, e-commerce directors, marketplace sellers, heads of growth |
| Revenue Range | 25M — past proof of concept, actively investing in growth |
| Platform Filters | Shopify Plus, BigCommerce, Amazon (Seller Central, FBA), WooCommerce at scale |
| Category Matching | Prospects matched to case studies from their exact DTC category or marketplace vertical |
| Signal Filters | Increasing ad spend (Meta/Google), new product launches, platform migrations, seasonal scaling |
| Infrastructure | Azure enterprise setup |
| Exclusions | Pre-revenue brands, brands under $500K revenue, pure marketplace resellers without brand |
Our E-Commerce Outbound Approach
Category-Matched Case Study Deployment
Every prospect receives outreach referencing results from their specific e-commerce category. Skincare brands see skincare results. Amazon sellers see Amazon results. This matching produces the 70% close rates that generic outreach can’t approach.
Platform-Specific Targeting
E-commerce companies are segmented by platform. Shopify Plus brands have different pain points than Amazon sellers, who have different challenges than BigCommerce merchants. Zycada’s campaign targeted BigCommerce merchants specifically because that platform’s sellers face unique scaling challenges. Platform-specific targeting produces 2-3x the engagement of platform-agnostic outreach.
Marketplace-Native Metrics Messaging
E-commerce messaging uses the metrics buyers actually track: ROAS, CAC, LTV, ACOS (for Amazon), conversion rate, average order value. SourceKnowledge’s $210K came from competitive comparisons using platform-specific performance metrics that media buyers evaluate daily.
E-Commerce Campaign Results
Convert — DTC Growth Agency
$315K revenue from 84 meetings. 70% close rate. 5,733% ROI. Category-matched DTC case studies produced the highest close rate of any campaign.
SourceKnowledge — Ad Tech Platform
$210K revenue from 70 meetings. 1,358% ROI. Platform-specific competitive comparisons against Meta and Google.
Evolved Commerce — Amazon Growth
$54K revenue from 33 meetings. 900% ROI. Amazon-native language targeting marketplace sellers.
Velox Media — E-Commerce Marketing
1M.
| Client | Revenue | Meetings | Close Rate | ROI | Platform Focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Convert | $315K | 84 | 70% | 5,733% | DTC (Shopify) |
| SourceKnowledge | $210K | 70 | — | 1,358% | Ad Tech |
| Velox Media | $180K | 60 | — | 1,567% | E-Commerce Marketing |
| Evolved Commerce | $54K | 33 | — | 900% | Amazon |
What Makes E-Commerce Outbound Fail
Generic marketing metrics to data-literate buyers. E-commerce operators don’t care about “leads generated.” They care about ROAS, CAC, and LTV. Messaging that uses generic marketing language signals the sender doesn’t understand the business. Category-agnostic proof. A fashion DTC brand doesn’t care about B2B SaaS results. Category matching isn’t a nice-to-have — it’s the mechanism that produces 70% close rates versus 1-2% reply rates from generic outreach. Slow cadences for fast buyers. E-commerce founders make vendor decisions in days. A 14-day email sequence with polite spacing loses prospects to faster competitors.Book an E-Commerce Strategy Call
Get a custom outbound plan for your e-commerce company — category matching, platform-specific targeting, and projected meeting volume.
Browse All Case Studies
See full metrics from 44 campaigns across 13+ industries including e-commerce and retail engagements.
Does outbound work for Amazon sellers specifically?
Does outbound work for Amazon sellers specifically?
Yes — Evolved Commerce’s campaign targeted Amazon sellers using marketplace-native language: ACOS optimization, buy box win rates, review velocity, and FBA logistics. Amazon sellers respond to outreach that demonstrates understanding of marketplace dynamics, not generic e-commerce messaging. The key is platform-specific targeting (Seller Central sellers at $1M+ revenue) combined with metrics they track daily.
What close rates should e-commerce companies expect?
What close rates should e-commerce companies expect?
Close rates vary by category match quality. Convert’s 70% represents the ceiling through exact category matching (DTC skincare to DTC skincare). More typical e-commerce campaigns produce 20-40% close rates from outbound-generated meetings — still above most verticals because of fast decision cycles and data-driven evaluation.
How quickly do e-commerce outbound campaigns produce meetings?
How quickly do e-commerce outbound campaigns produce meetings?
E-commerce campaigns typically produce initial meetings within the first 2 weeks — faster than any other vertical in our portfolio. Fast decision cycles work in outbound’s favor: relevant proof gets fast responses.
Can outbound work for e-commerce brands selling to retailers (wholesale)?
Can outbound work for e-commerce brands selling to retailers (wholesale)?
Yes — wholesale outbound targets retail buyers, category managers, and merchandising directors. The messaging framework shifts from DTC metrics (ROAS, CAC) to retail metrics (margin, sell-through rate, category velocity). The targeting uses different signals: retail expansion announcements, new store openings, and category gap analysis.
How do you handle the seasonal nature of e-commerce?
How do you handle the seasonal nature of e-commerce?
E-commerce campaigns adjust volume and messaging seasonally. Q4 outreach intensifies during September-October as brands plan holiday spend. Prime Day preparation outreach targets Amazon sellers 60-90 days before the event. Off-season messaging shifts from immediate revenue to planning and optimization positioning. The infrastructure supports volume scaling without deliverability degradation during peak periods.