If the last few weeks have felt uneven, you’re not imagining it. We’re seeing it too.
Performance has been mixed with some recent softness in acquisition and higher average order values driven by price increases and merchandising shifts. The customers who are still buying are buying well, but they’re a little less inclined to try something new. That’s a very normal signal in a softening market.
And it’s not a reason to panic. It is a reason to stay disciplined.
We’ve been here before. Markets shift, demand tightens, and the instinct is to pull back quickly. But the brands that react too aggressively, especially by cutting proven channels, tend to feel it longer and harder on the other side. 
We’ve seen what happens when print gets eliminated entirely. Demand drops fast, customer habits break, and recovery is slow. In some cases, brands have seen 50–70% declines after going dark. That’s not a performance issue, that’s a presence issue.
This isn’t about doing less. It’s about doing it better.
Stay Close to What Works
A lot of what you’re already doing well in digital applies here. Segmentation. Testing. Measuring incrementality. Those don’t go away in softer markets, they matter more.
The difference right now is precision. We’re seeing the strongest brands:
- Go deeper on segmentation, beyond basic RFM, to find the variables that actually move performance
- Protect and prioritize the house file (including reactivation), where stability and contribution are still strongest
- Shift focus on top-line demand to true contribution and incrementality
This is where discipline shows up. Not in cutting, but in tightening.
Use This Moment to Really Test
Soft markets are one of the best times to test. The noise comes down, and the signal gets clearer.
- Are you measuring incrementality by asking what a cohort truly needs print to convert?
- Are you validating which buyers rely on print vs. where it supports digital?
- Are you improving efficiency without weakening performance?
This is the work that sets up the back half of the year. We’re seeing brands lean into:
- Format and page count tests that reduce cost without sacrificing demand
- Smarter prospecting strategies, trimming marginal segments and protecting what works
- Reallocating savings into targeted acquisition and higher-value audiences
Do the work now, so you can scale (or re-scale) with confidence later.
There’s More in Your File Than You Think
When acquisition gets harder, your customer file matters more.
And for a lot of brands, there’s still untapped opportunity sitting there. Especially in reactivation.
Lapsed buyers, even 24+ months out, are often overlooked by digital models, but they’re known customers. When you reach them the right way, they can come back at a much lower cost than new acquisition and with strong contribution.
That’s not a fallback strategy, that’s a smart one. Dig deeper. Segment smarter. Be intentional about who you’re trying to bring back and why.
Q3 / Q4 Is Still the Prize
For most brands, the biggest volume of revenue and acquisition still happens in Q3 and Q4. That hasn’t changed. And for H1-heavy businesses, the playbook doesn’t change, only the timing does.
What matters now is how prepared you are when it gets here. The decisions you make around testing, cost control, and segmentation will determine how efficiently you scale.
The Bottom Line
Soft markets don’t require panic. They require precision.
Don’t abandon what works. Don’t stop mailing. Don’t overcorrect. Tighten your strategy. Get sharper in execution. Measure what matters.
At CohereOne, this is exactly what we’re doing with clients every day, testing smarter circulation, validating incrementality, and finding cost efficiencies without sacrificing growth.
Now is the time to have that conversation. Where can you optimize? Where can you reallocate? Where do you need better answers before peak?
Tighten, don’t eliminate.
In the next post, we’ll break down cost-efficiency opportunities with proven test results showing meaningful savings without giving up performance.