Ecommerce: The 80:20 Product Rule

Most ecommerce brands think that more products mean more sales.   Usually, it means more complexity, more stock problems, more cash tied up, and worse performance.   In this episode, Mark and Ian unpack one of the biggest truths in ecommerce growth:   A small number of products usually drive the vast majority of the revenue.   They break down:   Why 20 percent of your SKUs often drive 80 percent of your sales? Why adding more products can actually slow down growth How too much range creates stock headaches, ad inefficiency, and wasted cash What Bedding Envy taught them about white sheets, bestsellers, and running out of the products that matter most Why narrower ranges with deeper stock often scale better than huge catalogues How Google and Meta behave when your revenue is spread too thinly across too many products Why “more choice” online does not work the same way it does in retail stores The difference between recruitment products, add-on products, and dead-weight SKUs   This is a big one.   Because a lot of ecommerce owners are not short of products.   They are short of focus.   If your range is getting bigger, but your growth is getting harder, this episode will explain why.   P.S. Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business:     1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let's talk about accelerating your growth - https://go.hammersleybrothers.com/scheduleuk-ant   2. Grab a copy of our book - https://gohigh.hammersleybrothers.com/get-the-book 3. Join the Ultimate Guide To Ecommerce Facebook group and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too - https://www.facebook.com/groups/924567391291786

This is Episode 5 in our series on why your ads are not scaling, and this one is about something most ecommerce owners do without even realising. They panic. One bad day. One bad week. ROAS dips. Sales wobble. And suddenly, they are changing budgets, fiddling with campaigns, second-guessing the platforms, and essentially resetting the machine before it has had a chance to work. In this episode, Mark and Ian break down: Why emotional decision-making wrecks ad performance Why do most people change things far too quickly? How Google and Meta actually need time to optimise Why looking at single-day performance is a trap The power of using moving averages instead of reacting to noise Why the best ecommerce operators know when to hold their nerve How stock, seasonality, and demand create lumpy growth Why are some months naturally stronger than others, and that does not mean anything is broken? How to keep Google and Meta in sync instead of pulling one lever too hard The reason teams fail is that everyone is looking at different numbers. This is really about maturity. The brands that scale are not the ones constantly panicking and changing direction.  They are the ones who understand the model, know their numbers, and only make changes when the data actually indicates it. If you are forever tweaking ads, budgets, and campaigns because of a bad day or two, this episode is for you. P.S. Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business: 1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let's talk about accelerating your growth - https://go.hammersleybrothers.com/scheduleuk-ant   2. Grab a copy of our book - https://book.hammersleybrothers.com/ 3. Join the Ultimate Guide To Ecommerce Facebook group and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too - https://www.facebook.com/groups/924567391291786

Episode 4 of our 5-part series on why your ads aren’t scaling.   Most ecommerce brands obsess over ads, creatives, targeting, and campaign structure. But the leak usually happens after the click. If your follow-up is weak, your ad account will always feel capped because you are paying to create interest and then doing nothing to convert most of the buyers   In this episode, we cover:    • What we actually mean by follow-up is the time between the first click and the sale.  • Why the biggest lever is not fancy flows, it’s capturing more emails first  • The fastest way to boost conversion rate without touching your ads  • Why weekend email promos can generate massive revenue even from first-time buyers  • The simple rule: stop building flows if your email capture is 1 percent  • How follow-up turbocharges ad performance by lifting conversion rate and ROAS  • When remarketing matters and when it doesn’t, short window problem-solving purchases  • The overlooked power of SMS abandoned cart, and when to save SMS for big promos  • Timing strategy for email and SMS so your message lands when people are actually on their phone  • Why making checkout easier often beats trying to solve every objection   If you feel like your ads should work, but they don’t scale, fix your follow-up and watch what happens.   Next episode: you are freaking out and changing things too often.     P.S. Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business:     1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let's talk about accelerating your growth - https://go.hammersleybrothers.com/scheduleuk-ant   2. Grab a copy of our book - https://book.hammersleybrothers.com/ 3. Join the Ultimate Guide To Ecommerce Facebook group and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too - https://www.facebook.com/groups/924567391291786

Episode 3 of our 5-part series on why your ads aren’t scaling.   Most people think scaling means new creatives, new targeting, new hacks. But the real issue is usually this: your ads don’t support the platform’s model, so the platform restricts your reach and quietly pushes you into the same tired audience over and over again.   In this episode, we break down:   Why Google and Meta are the two gorillas, and you cannot “make them” do what you want The number one thing both platforms care about before they care about your ROAS Why boring Meta ads get shown to warm audiences only and never escape to true prospecting How catalog-style ads and offer-only ads can trap you in bottom-feeding The real meaning of cost per reach and why it reveals when Meta is limiting you Why do some ads look profitable but are just being shown to people who would buy anyway How to think about splitting spend between prospecting and retargeting so you can actually grow The simple mindset shift: stop trying to sail into the wind and build ads that the platform wants to distribute   If you are stuck, scaling feels impossible, and your Meta spend just seems to hit the same people, this will explain why.   Next episode: your follow-up game is limp. P.S. Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business:     1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let's talk about accelerating your growth - https://go.hammersleybrothers.com/scheduleuk-ant   2. Grab a copy of our book - https://book.hammersleybrothers.com/ 3. Join the Ultimate Guide To Ecommerce Facebook group and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too - https://www.facebook.com/groups/924567391291786

Part 2 of our 5-part series on the question everyone asks: why your ads aren’t working. Most people blame Meta, Google, or their agency. But if your landing page doesn’t do the job, your ads never had a chance. In this episode, we break down: Why do we always start with landing pages, not a full site rebuild? The fastest way to find what’s actually broken is to use the top landing pages. Why product pages on mobile are usually the real battleground The Busy Restaurant Test and why it decides whether people bounce in seconds How to reduce bounce rate and make it feel easy to buy Why pop-ups can wreck first impressions if you block the product How big brands choreograph the entire first visit on purpose The conversion rate and AOV tradeoff that unlocks scale Why Shopify gimmicks often lower conversion instead of raising it If your ROAS is sliding, and you keep tweaking ads, this is your reset. Fix what happens after the click, and the ads suddenly look “better” without changing them. Next episode: your ads are boring.   P.S. Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business:     1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let's talk about accelerating your growth - https://go.hammersleybrothers.com/scheduleuk-ant   2. Grab a copy of our book - https://book.hammersleybrothers.com/ 3. Join the Ultimate Guide To Ecommerce Facebook group and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too - https://www.facebook.com/groups/924567391291786

This is part 1 of our 5-part series on the real reasons most ad accounts hit a ceiling. And no — it’s almost never because Meta or Google “doesn’t work anymore”.   In this episode, Mark and Ian break down: Why around 80% of “ad problems” have nothing to do with ads How your margin, AOV, and LTV quietly set the ceiling for Meta and Google What actually happened when we spent $190k and turned it into $1m Why scaling ads starts with fixing the business model, not the creative The story of a brand that went from £1m to £30m by changing one product decision How simplifying your offer can double AOV and suddenly make scale possible Why Meta doesn’t owe you results — and what it actually wants from you If you’ve been blaming your agency, chasing new creatives, or tweaking buttons, hoping scale will magically appear, this episode is the reset.     P.S. Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business:       1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let's talk about accelerating your growth - https://go.hammersleybrothers.com/scheduleuk-ant   2. Grab a copy of our book - https://book.hammersleybrothers.com/ 3. Join the Ultimate Guide To Ecommerce Facebook group and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too - https://www.facebook.com/groups/924567391291786

This podcast is the second half of our fastest, most repeatable path to $10 million in revenue.   Not theory. Not trends. The actual mechanics that separate brands that compound from brands that stall.   Mark and Ian break down what really moves the needle once traffic is flowing: Why email isn’t “retention”, it’s the engine that lets you outbid competitors The three levers that determine revenue per visitor (and why most brands pull the wrong ones)  Why average order value is the easiest win in e-commerce, if you know where to look How most brands completely misuse email capture and quietly cap their own growth  Why margin, LTV, and stock, not ads, set your real growth ceiling The difference between chasing a bestseller and building a scalable range Why the $10m version of your business looks nothing like the $1m version This episode is built from real decisions, real numbers, and examples from our own businesses, including the mistakes that hurt and the moves that unlocked the next level. If you’re scaling hard, or wondering why your current effort isn’t translating into growth, this is the playbook. Email. Model. Margin. That’s where the leverage is.   P.S. Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business:     1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let's talk about accelerating your growth - https://go.hammersleybrothers.com/scheduleuk-ant   2. Grab a copy of our book - https://book.hammersleybrothers.com/ 3. Join the Ultimate Guide To Ecommerce Facebook group and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too - https://www.facebook.com/groups/924567391291786

In today's podcast Ian and I set ourselves the task of using the Hammersley Brothers model to get to 10 million a year as fast as possible.  What we would do and why.  How to scale using the model, how we think about growth and how this applies to 2026. P.S. Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business:   1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let's talk about accelerating your growth - https://go.hammersleybrothers.com/scheduleuk-ant   2. Grab a copy of our book - https://book.hammersleybrothers.com/ 3. Join the Ultimate Guide To Ecommerce Facebook group and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too - https://www.facebook.com/groups/924567391291786

AI this. GEO that. “New hacks.” “New secrets.” Most of it is noise. In this episode, Ian and I break down what actually matters heading into 2026 — based on what really happened in 2025 across real brands, real numbers, and real P&Ls. No hype. No crystal balls. Just patterns we’re already seeing. We cover:     •    Why AI won’t save you if you don’t already understand your numbers     •    How AI is quietly being baked into Shopify, Meta, Google, and Klaviyo (whether you want it or not)     •    Why “hobby” categories (sewing, knitting, crafts) are set up unusually well for growth     •    The slow death of small, low-spend ad agencies — and why that’s good news for founders     •    Why disruptor brands will keep stealing share from incumbents     •    The rise of health, wellness, and awkward-to-buy-in-store products     •    Why tracking is getting harder — and why server-side is no longer optional     •    The real skill gap opening up in 2026: business architecture, not tactics If you’re still relying on:     •    Fixed ad budgets     •    Agencies asking “what’s the spend this month?”     •    Guessing instead of knowing your margins, CAC, LTV, and cashflow 2026 is going to hurt. If you do know your numbers? It’s shaping up to be one of the biggest opportunity years we’ve seen. 🎧 Listen now and reset how you’re thinking about the year ahead. P.S. Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business:   1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let's talk about accelerating your growth - https://go.hammersleybrothers.com/scheduleuk-ant   2. Grab a copy of our book - https://book.hammersleybrothers.com/ 3. Join the Ultimate Guide To Ecommerce Facebook group and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too - https://www.facebook.com/groups/924567391291786

This episode kicks off 2026 with a bang — we’re looking back at the bold predictions we made for 2025… and checking which ones held up. Was it the comeback year we thought it would be? Mark and Ian break down: Why 2025 was the first “normal” ecommerce year since Covid How disruptive, lean brands outpaced the big boys Why AI in ad creative went from novelty to essential tool The rise of skeleton teams doing 8-figure numbers What we got wrong (dropshipping and trust anchors) Why 2026 might not be as easy to call… If you’re planning your next 12 months, this is your starting line.   P.S. Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business:   1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let's talk about accelerating your growth - https://go.hammersleybrothers.com/scheduleuk-ant   2. Grab a copy of our book - https://book.hammersleybrothers.com/ 3. Join the Ultimate Guide To Ecommerce Facebook group and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too - https://www.facebook.com/groups/924567391291786