Anonymised example · Sports nutrition, D2C

How we stopped a sports nutrition brand paying for customers it already had.

A UK natural sports nutrition brand on Shopify, with sales sliding and new customers drying up.

Model
D2C ecommerce
Ad budget
£10k+ a month
Channels
Google, Meta, Shopping
With us
Since early 2026
51% → 7%
Share of Google spend going on brand searches
-20% → -5%
New-customer orders vs last year: before us vs since
17% → 20%
New-customer share, April vs April last year
The challenge

Where we started

The previous agency had put over half of the Google budget into brand search, bidding on people already typing the brand name. Reported results looked healthy because 79% of Google’s reported sales came from brand, but new-customer orders were falling around 20% a year.

What we did
First weeks

Fix

  • Split brand from non-brand to see the real cost of a new customer
  • Rebuilt the product feed: titles, barcodes and product types
  • Diagnosed the tracking left by the previous agency
Months two to five

Refocus

  • Set the target on new-customer return, not blended ROAS
  • Launched generic search, DSA and non-brand Shopping to find new buyers
  • Removed non-sales actions from bidding goals so Google optimised for real purchases
From late July

Rebalance

  • Cut brand to 7% of Google spend, letting organic search pick up brand demand
  • Built a six-month plan with the founders around cash and new customers
The results

What changed

51% → 7%
Brand share of Google spend
-20% → -5%
New-customer orders vs last year
Apr & Aug
New-customer orders back above last year
New-customer orders vs the same month a year earlier
Jan 25: -8%-8%Jan 25Feb: -14%-14%FebMar: +4%+4%MarApr: -28%-28%AprMay: -22%-22%MayJun: -17%-17%JunJul: -33%-33%JulAug: -27%-27%AugSep: -19%-19%SepOct: -14%-14%OctNov: +17%+17%NovDec: +14%+14%DecJan 26: -23%-23%Jan 26Feb: -21%-21%FebMar: -18%-18%MarApr: +8%+8%AprMay: -12%-12%MayJun: -12%-12%JunJul: -14%-14%JulAug: +4%+4%AugBeforeWith Trending Tides

Scroll sideways to see every month.

Shopify via Triple Whale. Part of the improvement reflects a weaker 2025.

After falling 25% the summer before, new-customer orders have stopped falling and are holding near last year. The budget now goes on finding new buyers instead of recapturing existing ones.

Orders: Shopify via Triple Whale. Brand share of spend: Google Ads, Sep 2025 to Feb 2026 (previous agency) vs Aug 2026. New-customer comparison: the 12 months before us are April 2025 to March 2026; since is April to August 2026. Part of the improvement reflects a weaker 2025.

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