Most ecommerce email advice assumes you always have products in stock. Wicks Fur Change breaks that rule on purpose.
Their candles come in limited drops. Once a scent sells out, it's gone, and that meant most of the usual ecommerce playbook was out the window, which made it one of my favorite puzzles to solve.
Meet Wicks Fur Change
Chelsea and Jake Sarauer hand-pour pet-safe soy candles and wax melts in Wisconsin, and every purchase supports rescue. Their customers don't just buy candles. They wait for the next drop.
What I found
A loyal audience with no way to hear from the brand between drops. A one-email welcome flow, and a signup offer for wax melts only, which turned away anyone who came for candles.
The decisions
Using real scarcity instead of fake urgency. "Only 3 left!" tricks get old fast. But Wicks Fur Change's scarcity is real, so the abandonment emails used the actual drop schedule as the reason to come back. Honest, and it works.
Following them to the farmers market. The biggest list-growth opportunity wasn't online at all. It was their table at the Oshkosh Farmers Market. So we built a signup flow just for in-person events.
Widening the welcome offer. Switching the pop-up from wax melts only to 20% off any first order opened the door to every visitor.
What changed
The pop-up converted at 9.06%, three times the industry average, and the list grew 63.6% in 8 weeks. See the full results in the Wicks Fur Change case study.
What I learned
Sometimes the best list-building channel isn't online at all. It's a table at the farmers market and a friendly conversation.
What this means for your business:
If you sell in drops or seasons, make your real calendar the reason to come back
Don't forget in-person events - they can be your best list builder
Make your signup offer appeal to everyone who visits, not just one product's fans
