How Baboon to the Moon Mastered Customer Retention and Skyrocketed LTV

Baboon to the Moon (B2TM) has positioned itself as a leader in the travel accessories market, not just through its bold designs and functional products but through its remarkable retention strategies. The brand excels at turning one-time buyers into loyal community members by focusing on building long-term relationships, personalizing interactions, and continuously engaging its customers at every stage of the journey.

Founded in 2016, B2TM quickly gained traction with its eco-friendly, durable duffels.

• Estimated annual revenue is $2.5M
• Raised $9.3M in funding over 5 rounds
• Latest round in February 2022, securing $3.51M

Homepage drives 76.5% of organic traffic & the branded keyword "Baboon to the Moon" boasts a monthly search volume of 21K. This demonstrates the brand's strong marketing and branding efforts. This high search volume reflects the effectiveness of their strategies in creating brand awareness and driving consistent customer interest.

This case study will explore how B2TM leverages cross-selling, personalized automations, social proof, and a unified brand experience to increase customer lifetime value (LTV) and drive retention.

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1. Building Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) through Cross-Selling and New Releases

B2TM faces a unique challenge: their flagship product, a durable travel duffel, doesn’t need frequent replacement. To overcome this, B2TM has strategically increased LTV by focusing on cross-selling and introducing new product releases. After purchasing the primary duffel bag, customers are introduced to complementary products like matching day bags and pouches that fit into their travel lifestyle. By releasing new colors and limited-edition prints, B2TM creates recurring excitement, encouraging customers to return for the same product in different variations.

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For instance, after a customer purchases a classic duffel, B2TM offers a matching pouch or day bag, or even entices them with a new seasonal color of the same duffel, keeping the brand top of mind. This cross-selling approach not only keeps existing customers engaged but also increases the average order value (AOV), a key driver of LTV.

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2. Authentic Engagement on TikTok: The Face of the Brand

Social media platforms like TikTok have become integral to B2TM’s retention strategy, particularly due to the authenticity and relatability they foster. B2TM’s content creator, Sarah, plays a pivotal role in humanizing the brand and engaging the community. The TikTok content is intentionally unscripted and approachable, creating a natural connection between the brand and its audience. One of the most effective strategies has been leveraging cheeky, informal product tutorials, like this cheeky tutorial, which has been a top performer and driven significant traffic to the website.

This level of authenticity resonates with the audience, who frequently reference Sarah and the brand’s humorous tone in comments and engagement across platforms. By integrating top-performing TikTok content into their email and SMS communications, B2TM ensures consistency in brand voice while enhancing retention across channels.

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3. Leveraging Social Proof and UGC to Foster Trust

B2TM recognizes the importance of social proof in building trust and deepening customer relationships. The brand consistently integrates user-generated content (UGC) into its email, SMS, and social media campaigns. By showcasing real customers using their products in adventurous or humorous situations, B2TM fosters a sense of community and authenticity. Whether it’s a photo of a customer sporting a duffel on a hiking trip or a quirky video of someone packing for vacation, UGC makes the brand feel more relatable and trusted.

A significant part of their email strategy, as highlighted in the email category breakdown, focuses on Product Reviews—making up 12.5% of their email content. These reviews act as powerful social proof, validating the quality and functionality of their products. By sharing real customer feedback in their emails, B2TM builds trust with potential buyers, encouraging them to make a purchase.

This strategic focus on product reviews not only builds trust but also creates a feedback loop where customers feel encouraged to share their experiences. In turn, this generates more UGC and reviews, further enhancing the brand's credibility and driving both conversion rates and repeat purchases. By amplifying the voices of satisfied customers, B2TM successfully leverages social proof to maintain strong customer relationships.

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4. Automations at Scale: A Personalized Touch

Automation is at the core of B2TM’s retention strategy, enabling the brand to deliver personalized touchpoints at scale. After a customer makes a purchase, B2TM sets up tailored automations, such as post-purchase emails providing tips on how to use the product or encouraging users to share UGC. These automated flows ensure that engagement doesn’t stop at the point of sale; instead, it fosters an ongoing relationship with the customer.

One standout example of this strategy is B2TM’s use of segmented emails. If a particular product is out of stock, customers receive personalized emails suggesting alternatives. This not only keeps customers engaged but also builds trust by showing the brand is responsive to individual preferences. This kind of segmentation has led to higher click-through and conversion rates, as customers feel the content is curated specifically for them.

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5. Optimizing Email Capture: Pop-Ups with Value, Not Discounts

Unlike many brands that rely heavily on discounting to capture email leads, B2TM takes a value-driven approach. Their pop-ups are designed to offer meaningful incentives rather than discounts, which helps maintain their premium brand positioning. Some of their most successful pop-ups include a raffle for a free Go Bag or early access to new product launches. These pop-ups have been meticulously tested and optimized in terms of design, size, color, and copy to achieve maximum engagement.

For example, a “Free Bag” raffle pop-up, launched at the beginning of each month, consistently drives email signups without cheapening the brand through discounts. Similarly, offering early access to new product colors or collections has proven highly effective, as customers feel like they are part of an exclusive insider group. This reinforces trust and keeps customers excited about future releases.

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6. Customer-Centric Communication: Personalization Drives Results

At the heart of B2TM’s retention success is its focus on customer-centric communication. The brand ensures that every touchpoint feels personal and conversational, from SMS campaigns to email communications. A great example of this is their use of plain-text emails that feel more like a message from a friend than a marketing email. These emails, often sent as part of win-back campaigns, directly address customer needs or offer helpful suggestions based on past interactions.

For instance, B2TM might send a plain-text email to a customer who has been waiting for a particular color of a bag, letting them know about similar products that are available. This personalized approach creates a sense of direct connection and authenticity, leading to higher engagement and conversion rates.

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7. Building a Unified Brand Experience Across All Channels

Consistency is key to B2TM’s retention strategy. Whether a customer encounters the brand on TikTok, via an email, or through a website pop-up, the voice, tone, and visual experience remain consistent. This unified approach ensures that no matter where the customer interacts with the brand, they feel part of the same cohesive journey.

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B2TM ensures that the messaging, from acquisition to retention, is aligned with the brand’s personality—fun, adventurous, and inclusive. This seamless experience reduces friction and confusion, making it easier for customers to trust the brand and stay loyal.

Even their email and SMS content often feature the same humor and casual tone found in their social media, reinforcing the brand’s unique voice across platforms.

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8. Continuous Testing and Optimization

A key factor in B2TM’s retention success is their commitment to constant testing and iteration. Whether it's pop-up design, email subject lines, or SMS timings, B2TM continually optimizes based on performance data. For example, their pop-ups have undergone several iterations, with changes in size, color, and copy to see what resonates best with their audience. Similarly, their email campaigns are regularly tested with A/B subject line variations to determine what drives the highest open and click rates.

This relentless focus on optimization ensures that B2TM is always improving its customer retention strategies. The result is a more engaged customer base and a significant increase in both email signups and conversions over time.

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9. Optimized Website Features for Streamlined User Experience

The website itself plays a crucial role in driving both traffic and conversions. Streamlined navigation and enhanced search functionality enable users to easily find what they’re looking for. 

Efficient Navigation and Enhanced Search Functionality

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The website's straightforward menu highlights major product categories, including New Arrivals and Sale sections, enhancing user experience and driving purchase intent. The inclusion of the Sale page within the menu further creates urgency, encouraging faster conversions.

Additionally, the search bar is clearly visible, allowing users to perform quick searches, and well-tagged products ensure accurate results.

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Effective Conversion Optimization on Homepage

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The homepage is designed with effective conversion in mind:

• A notification bar in the header consistently displays offers and remains static as users scroll, ensuring continuous visibility.
• Prominent product categories with clear CTA buttons make shopping simple and direct. Users can view color options and access a 'Shop Now' button directly on the homepage, minimizing steps in the purchase process.
• Visually appealing product images showcase items from multiple angles, giving users a comprehensive view.

Additionally, social proof from influencers featured on the homepage enhances the brand's credibility and encourages conversions.

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Well Optimized Collection Pages

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Baboon to the Moon's collection pages are thoughtfully designed to ensure a seamless user experience:

• Concise product descriptions emphasize key features such as durability, versatility, and the lifetime warranty, capturing users' attention.
• Outdoor-themed product images resonate with the brand's target audience, who engage in activities like hiking and traveling.
• Information such as color options, ratings, reviews, and storage capacity is clearly visible beneath product listings, allowing users to make informed decisions quickly.‍
• Brightly colored CTA buttons further enhance the experience, encouraging fast and decisive action from users.

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Product Pages that Enhances User Experience

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The product pages are designed to maximize user convenience and conversion potential:

• In the first fold, users are presented with essential product details, including features, size and color options, payment methods, and shipping information. The static "Add to Cart" CTA ensures quick purchasing decisions.
• In the second fold, detailed images and comprehensive specifications are provided to give users a deeper understanding of the product.
• Customer reviews and ratings are displayed prominently, fostering trust and increasing the likelihood of conversion.

Additionally, cross-selling complementary products is seamlessly integrated to increase average order value.

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What’s Their Tech-stack? ‍

Shopify and Sanity - Website
Klaviyo - Email
Attentive - SMS and list growth
Google (analytics, tag manager, merchant manager) - Analytics and beyond
TripleWhale - Analytics
Gorgias - Customer Support
Dropbox - Content management
Notion - Organization and project management

Results: Increasing Retention and Lifetime Value

B2TM’s multi-faceted retention strategy has yielded impressive results. By blending personalized automations, authentic engagement on TikTok, value-driven pop-ups, and a customer-centric communication approach, the brand has seen a significant increase in repeat purchase rates, a growing email list, and higher overall LTV.

Conclusion: The Baboon to the Moon Blueprint for Retention Success

Baboon to the Moon has successfully turned customer retention into a growth engine. Their approach—centered on personalization, authenticity, optimized website features, and a unified brand experience—ensures that customers stay engaged long after their first purchase. By focusing on creating a community rather than just generating sales, B2TM has built a blueprint for modern DTC retention that other brands can emulate.

With their strategies of cross-selling, optimizing touchpoints, and leveraging social proof, B2TM demonstrates that retention isn’t just about keeping customers—it’s about nurturing relationships, building trust, and creating long-term loyalty.