TikTok Banned, New Growth Models, and Klaviyo Pricing Shakeup

If you thought 2024's platform changes were dramatic, 2025 is already rewriting the playbook. 

The Supreme Court just dropped a bombshell on TikTok, while fundamental shifts in growth models and email marketing costs are forcing brands to rethink their entire approach to customer acquisition and retention.

Let's unpack what this means for your business.

Today:

• TikTok's Final Countdown (and your immediate action plan)

• Product-Led Growth: DTC's New Big Unlock?

• Klaviyo's Price Shakeup: The Hidden Costs of "Flexible Billing"

• Quick Hits → Find tariff news and hidden growth levers

Learn how to level up your checkout flow this year

Acquiring customers is expensive. And it’s not getting any cheaper. The only option to maintain profit? Improve margins by raising prices or cutting COGS (difficult). 

OR…you can increase the value of every customer who buys from you with upsells. 

The question is how? 

Simple. Become a master at optimizing your checkout flows with Upsell Academy. 

Because it’s not just about throwing your whole catalog at every visitor. Instead, you need to understand how to:

• Match the offer to the customer

• Sequence offers to lower friction and increase uptake

• Systematically A/B test tactics and strategies

In Upsell Academy, here’s what you’ll learn from industry experts → 

Discover how an alcohol alternative brand is driving nearly $1M in incremental revenue using post-purchase upselling

• Use A/B tests for different product recommendations, upsell formats, and pricing strategies to generate the highest conversions possible

• Craft a seamless, branded checkout and tackle common abandonment issues

• Aftersell created Upsell Academy because growth shouldn’t just be about optimizing Meta and increasing your ad spend budgets. 

So if you’re ready to turn browsers into big cart customers start your (free) learning journey here. 

TikTok's Endgame: What the Supreme Court Decision Really Means for DTC

The speculation is over. In a stunning 9-0 decision [↗️ Supreme Court ruling via Michael Sobolik], the Supreme Court has upheld the law requiring TikTok's parent company ByteDance to sell or shut down U.S. operations. 

The ruling, which takes effect Sunday January 19 (today), determines that national security concerns outweigh First Amendment considerations, putting an end to a platform that transformed DTC marketing in the US.

The Court was unequivocal in its reasoning: "Even if China has not yet leveraged its relationship with ByteDance Ltd. to access U.S. users' data, there is no basis for concluding that the Government's determination that China might do so is not at least reasonable".

For DTC brands, the numbers paint a stark picture:

- $8 billion in US ad revenue at stake

- 170 million US users affected

- 35.8 million social commerce buyers needing a new home

- Average user engagement time of 58.4 minutes per day vanishing

The Platform Pivot: Where Smart Brands Are Heading

The immediate challenge isn't finding a single TikTok replacement – it's building a more resilient multi-platform strategy. Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts emerge as natural first moves, but each requires a distinct approach.

Instagram Reels is the first, most obvious option, especially since it is opportunitically joining the social affiliate game (see the full post by Jordan above). But it demands a slight shift in content strategy: 

Unlike TikTok's preference for frequent, casual posts, Reels rewards higher production value and measured posting cadence. The platform's higher-income audience and robust shopping features make it particularly valuable for premium brands.

YouTube Shorts offers something TikTok never could: the power of the world's second-largest search engine. 

While the format mirrors TikTok's short-form style, Shorts' integration with YouTube's broader ecosystem means content has a longer shelf life and greater discovery potential. Brands finding success here focus on educational content that answers specific customer questions.

The New Wave of Emerging Platforms

As brands look beyond established platforms, several emerging contenders are positioning themselves to capture TikTok's market share:

• Flip - Social shopping platform combining video reviews with seamless e-commerce

• Lemon8 - ByteDance's lifestyle-focused app blending Instagram and Pinterest elements

• RedNote (Xiaohongshu) - Product review-focused platform with massive Asian market presence. That said, it is also likely to be banned. 

• Triller - Music and entertainment platform recently helmed by ex-TikTok executive Sean Kim

• Clapper - Rising short-form video platform gaining traction with creators

Among these newcomers, Flip is generating the most buzz in the DTC community. Jordan West reports that brands are seeing remarkable early results, with some reaching $5 million in monthly sales. 

What makes Flip particularly appealing is its Shopify-friendly integration and built-in ads program that automatically grants usage rights for platform content.

Lemon8, despite its ByteDance parentage, is carving out its own identity. Where TikTok embraced raw authenticity, Lemon8 favors more polished, lifestyle-focused content. This distinction is attracting brands seeking a more premium positioning, particularly in the beauty and fashion verticals.

Triller and Clapper, while smaller, shouldn't be overlooked. Triller's recent hiring of former TikTok executive Sean Kim signals serious ambitions, while Clapper's focus on creator monetization is attracting influential content producers looking for new homes.

Takeaway: While no single platform may fully replace TikTok, the emergence of specialized alternatives offers brands the opportunity to build a more diverse and resilient social commerce strategy.

Product-Led Growth: DTC's New Big Unlock?

The term "product-led growth" (PLG) might sound like tech jargon, but some are saying it’s the new growth lever for successful DTC expansion. While software companies have long used their products to drive organic growth, physical product brands are now discovering their own version of this powerful strategy.

"Product development is the new head of growth," argues Taylor Holiday. "One of my predictions for 2025 is that brands start to discover that there is a way higher 'return on invested capital' in product development than there is on plowing more cash into paid media."

This shift comes at a critical time. With rising ad costs and platform uncertainty, brands are realizing that exceptional products can create their own momentum.

The New Product-Led Playbook

Pela Case offers a compelling example of this approach in action. 

According to CEO Matthew Bertulli in the recent Operators newsletter,  the company launched 5-10 new designs every week throughout 2024. While this pace might seem aggressive, it provided multiple "shots on goal" that could then be amplified through paid channels.

The new product-led approach centers on 4 key elements:

1. Materials innovation

2. Style differentiation

3. Experience enhancement

4. Value equation shifts

How Brands Are Making This Work

The most successful implementations of product-led growth in DTC aren't coming from radical innovation, but from thoughtful iterations that create organic momentum. 

A prime example is Absolutely Ridiculous, one of 2024's breakout sports accessory brands, as noted by Taylor in his linked thread above.

Their viral success came not through ad spend, but through continuous product innovation that resonated so strongly with their target audience that kids were literally hanging their products as decorations.

Three key tactics are emerging:

1. Rapid Iteration

Rather than annual product launches, brands are adopting faster cycles. Pela Case's "5-10 designs weekly" approach allows them to quickly identify winners and scale what works.

2. Community-Driven Development

Smart brands are turning their customers into product development partners. "There are only two things that grow a business: your product and the people who buy it," notes Taylor Holiday."And yet, most of us are underinvesting in both."

3. Value-First Innovation

If you own manufacturing, you can focus on a variety of product development innovations, and they don’t always have to be about direct benefits. Trying improving the quality of the product, making it at a lower price point, or making your supply chain more sustainable to create a buzz.

Creating Marketing Moments

While the direct revenue impact of product innovation is clear, there's a multiplier effect that many brands overlook. Each product launch creates a "marketing moment" – a natural catalyst for conversation and content across every channel.

These moments activate multiple growth levers simultaneously:

• Existing customers get a reason to re-engage and advocate

• Email lists receive fresh, authentic content beyond promotional offers

• Social followers have something new to share and discuss

• PR teams gain newsworthy stories to pitch

• Affiliates and influencers receive fresh content angles

• Top-of-funnel prospects encounter the brand in a value-add context

"What we're seeing is that product launches create their own organic growth loops," explains Matthew Bertulli. "When done right, they generate the kind of authentic enthusiasm that paid media tries to manufacture."

Takeaway: As uncertainty grows around traditional growth channels, product-led growth offers DTC brands a more sustainable path forward. The winners of 2025 will be those who shift from viewing product development as a periodic event to seeing it as their primary growth engine.

Klaviyo's Price Shakeup: The Potential Costs of "Flexible Billing"

Just as brands are adapting to platform changes and new growth models, Klaviyo dropped a bombshell that could significantly impact email marketing costs.

Starting February 18th, (yesterday) the email marketing platform is rolling out what they're calling "flexible billing features". 

But for many brands, it looks more like a dramatic price hike in disguise.

"This is going to hurt," warns Michael Simpson [↗️ via X]. "With our current 100k active profiles, we would be looking at a 345% price increase from $400/month to $1,380 - even though we usually stay under the 250k monthly email cap."

What's Actually Changing

The shift fundamentally alters how Klaviyo charges for its service:

Previous Model:

• Billing based primarily on email send volume

• Profile counts were secondary

• Could maintain larger lists without paying for inactive subscribers

New Model:

• All active profiles count toward billing

• Automatic upgrades if you exceed plan limits

• Forced payment for all profiles, regardless of email activity

"They're closing the loophole where users could have more profiles than they paid for, as long as they didn't email them all," explains Lou Mintzer [↗️ via LinkedIn]. 

"While Klaviyo positions this as 'flexible billing features,' many brands are seeing it as a significant cost increase disguised as an improvement."

Strategic Responses

Smart brands are taking three approaches to manage these changes:

1. List Hygiene Acceleration

Create suppression segments for:

• No opens in 180 days

• No clicks in 90 days

• Exclude previous purchasers from these rules

2. Engagement Optimization

• Set "Global Engagement Exclusions" for low-activity profiles

• Test threshold levels (15-20+ unopened emails suggested)

• Monitor deliverability impacts

3. Platform Diversification

Some brands are exploring alternatives like Omnisend. If you go down that path, be sure that the switching costs and hassles are warranted. In addition, look into potential disruptions and a comparison of features/capabilities to make sure you aren’t spending dollars to save dimes.  

The Hidden Opportunity

While the initial reaction has been largely negative, some brands are finding a silver lining. "This isn't a penalty; it's an opportunity to optimize," argues Lou Mintzer. 

The forced focus on list hygiene could actually improve:

• Email deliverability

• Engagement rates

• Overall campaign performance

However you perceive the change, if you’re a Kalviyo user right now, here are your next steps:

1. Immediate Actions 

- Audit current profile counts and engagement rates

- Create and implement suppression rules

- Calculate projected cost increases

2. Long-term Strategy

- Implement stricter list collection practices

- Focus on quality over quantity in lead generation

- Consider hybrid approaches using multiple platforms for different segments

Takeaway: While Klaviyo's pricing changes represent a significant cost increase for brands with large email lists, the forced focus on list hygiene and engagement could lead to more effective email marketing programs. 

The key is acting as quickly as possible to optimize your approach and avoid a huge billing increase.

Quick Hits

• Section 321 update regarding incoming import tariffs. +30% via Mexico! 

• Shopify files a lawsuit against Redline Steel.

• Amazon now provides geo-level sales data in Vendor Central for brands

• Does the browser extension Honey steal affiliate commissions?

• The growth lever hiding in plain sight? Founder content. 

• Don’t forget to check out Aftersell’s Upsell Academy if you’re looking to improve your AOV this year.