Welcome Back to The Ecom Edge!
Ep 11: Checkout Upgrades, Coupon Truths & Christmas in July

👋 Hey Friend,

Memorial Day is here 🇺🇸

Whether you’re beach-bound, BBQ-ing, or just catching up on sleep, I hope you’re able to rest, recharge, and not spend the whole weekend refreshing your campaign dashboards (unless you really want to—we don’t judge here).

This week, we’re digging into:

• 🍎 Apple Pay just leveled up on Shopify.
  It’s no longer stuck in Express Checkout purgatory—now your customers can double-click to pay after applying discounts, reviewing upsells, and interacting with your beautifully customized checkout flow. Translation? Fewer abandoned carts, better UX, and cleaner analytics. Big win.
  
  

• 📅 Promo season is heating up fast.
  We’re talking Father’s Day, National Skincare Day, Juneteenth, and even Summer Solstice. Plus, a gentle nudge to plan your Christmas in July campaigns now (yes, really—July’s always a sleeper month).
  
  

• 💸 Couponing is having a cultural moment.
  According to The Krazy Coupon Lady, 71% of Americans are couponing out of necessity—not hobby. What does that mean for you as a marketer? We’ll break it down.
  

Grab your beverage of choice, throw your phone on Do Not Disturb (unless you’re tracking ROAS in real-time), and let’s get into it. ☕️

🛒 Apple Pay Just Got an Upgrade
(And It’s Bigger Than You Think)

You might’ve seen it quietly roll out, but make no mistake—this change to Apple Pay in Shopify is massive.

Here’s the deal:

Apple Pay is no longer limited to Express Checkout. Now, it shows up in the “real” checkout flow, right alongside your other payment methods like Shop Pay and credit cards.


What’s the big deal?

Previously, if someone wanted to use Apple Pay but also:

• Apply a discount code 💸

• Select a different shipping option 📦

• Interact with checkout extensions like gift wrap or custom fields 🎁

…they couldn’t. They had to skip Apple Pay entirely to do those things. And if they skipped it, Apple Pay disappeared. Now? It sticks around.

Why This Matters:

✅ More Customers Reach the Payment Page

Before, Apple Pay’s frictionless checkout lived on the product/cart pages in the Express lane. If shoppers bailed early, you never got to show them discounts, upsells, or custom logic. Now they can do all that and still use Apple Pay. Clean, complete funnel flow.


✅ Shopify Functions Can Fire at the Right Time

Shopify’s discounting logic, shipping modifiers, and payment gate customizations live in the main flow—not the Express one. So this means your logic finally gets used before they double-click to pay.


✅ Cleaner Analytics

When customers actually go through your full checkout funnel, you get a much clearer view of drop-offs and conversion. Previously, Express Checkouts were a bit of a black hole when it came to analyzing full user behavior.

✅ No Code Required

If you already had Apple Pay turned on in Shopify Payments, you don’t have to do anything. It’s rolling out automatically. 🙌

Real-World Use Case:

Let’s say you offer free shipping on orders $100+.

Before: A shopper using Apple Pay from Express Checkout might never see that offer.

Now: That offer can be dynamically displayed in checkout, influencing their AOV before they hit Pay.

Ideas to Try:

💡 Add custom checkout messaging that nudges Apple Pay users to:

• Upgrade to faster shipping

• Add one more item for free shipping

• Use that promo code they forgot they had

💡 Test personalized upsell blocks using Shopify’s new Checkout UI Extensions now that you know more people will see them (and still use Apple Pay).

💡 Pair this with UTM tracking to analyze how different traffic sources are converting through Apple Pay now that it’s embedded deeper.

🔗 Resources:

• Shopify’s Official Guide to Apple Pay

• Developer Docs on Checkout UI Extensions

📆 Dates You Shouldn’t Miss This Season
(Yes, You Still Have Time)

You’ve probably already shipped out your Memorial Day promos and packed up your long weekend orders (high five 🫱💥🫲), but if you’re planning to post on Memorial Day itself—pause for a second:

⚠️ Please, don’t mix it up with Veterans Day.

They are both important U.S. military holidays, but they’re not the same:

• Memorial Day (🇺🇸 last Monday in May) honors military personnel who died in service to the country. It’s a somber, reflective day to remember those who gave everything.
  

• Veterans Day (🇺🇸 November 11) celebrates all who served, living or deceased.

A Memorial Day post filled with smiling flag emojis and fireworks might come across as tone-deaf if it doesn’t carry the right weight.

🧠 If You’re Posting on Memorial Day…

Here’s copy you can share with your social team or agency for a respectful, on-brand post:

Feel free to personalize it with your brand’s voice, tone, and imagery. Keep it short, sincere, and reflective.

📸 Where to Find the Right Photo

You don’t need stock images of hot dogs and sparklers. Use something simple and symbolic:

• An American flag at half-staff

• A folded flag and helmet

• A national cemetery scene

• A quiet sunrise with a flag silhouette

Great (free + royalty-free) places to find imagery:

• Unsplash

• Pexels

• Pixabay

🔜 Coming Up Next…

Now that Memorial Day’s mostly buttoned up, don’t sleep on these key dates:

📅 National Sunscreen Day – May 27

Perfect for skincare, outdoor, or vacation brands. Reminder: UV rays don’t care if you’re busy. Promote SPF, hats, shade, and your best beachwear.

📅 National Skincare Day – June 1

For beauty brands: this is your runway moment. Tutorials, UGC, bundles, mini spa giveaways—go wild.

📅 Flag Day – June 14

Often overlooked but super shareable. A great time to show your USA-made products or flag-inspired packaging.

👨‍👧‍👦 Father’s Day – June 15

Tie-buyers, gadget brands, grill masters, and CPGs, your time has come. Don’t wait until June 13th to start thinking about your campaign.

🖤 Juneteenth – June 19

Before we continue ahead into summer sales and campaign launches, let’s pause and talk about Juneteenth—a powerful, sobering moment in U.S. history that deserves intentional reflection.

What is Juneteenth?

Juneteenth, celebrated on June 19th, marks the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, finally learned they were free—over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. It’s often called the second Independence Day and was officially made a U.S. federal holiday in 2021.

But more than a historical milestone, Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom, resilience, and Black culture—while also honoring the pain and struggle that preceded it.

👀 What This Means for Your Brand

This is not a day to:

• Launch a sale

• Run a promo

• Drop a product

• Send a “freedom-themed” discount email

Instead, it’s a day to:

• Acknowledge history

• Celebrate Black voices and creators

• Give your team time to reflect and rest

• Support Black-owned businesses and organizations

✔️ If You’re Posting on Social

If you want to participate as a brand, do it with sincerity and humility. Consider something like:

☀️ Summer Solstice – June 20

The longest day of the year is your excuse to do something fun. Host a flash sale, promote your brightest products, or launch a “sun’s out, buns out” bundle.

🧘 International Yoga Day – June 21

Wellness brands: this is your namaste moment. Share your community’s morning routine or host a virtual class.

🇨🇦 Canada Day – July 1

Sell to Canada? Don’t ghost their holiday. Use red + white branding and lean into the maple leaf.

🎄 Christmas in July – All Month Long

Yes, it’s a thing—and yes, you should do it. Sales are usually sluggish in July, so why not bring a little holiday magic to your mid-year slump?

When I worked on the brand side, July was our slowest month—until we went full Santa mode. Poolside Santa shoots, holiday bundles, and gift guides in July made it our summer BFCM. Try:

• 12 Days of Christmas-style promos

• Holiday product drops

• Exclusive site designs for the season

Throw Santa on a flamingo floatie and run a clearance campaign you actually have fun with.

🔥 Trending Now: Couponing Is a Lifeline It…

Let’s talk coupons.

Not the kind grandma cuts out of the newspaper and tucks into her purse. (Okay, yes—those too.) But in 2025, couponing isn’t just a quirky hobby. It’s a survival skill.

According to a massive survey from The Krazy Coupon Lady (yes, that’s a real company and we love them for it), 71% of Americans now say they coupon out of necessity, not just to chase the thrill of the deal.

Even more jaw-dropping? 40% use coupons to afford essentials they couldn’t otherwise buy. That stat alone should make every brand pause and re-evaluate how they’re showing up.

💸 What This Means for Your Brand:

Couponing is no longer about stacking 3 codes and praying one works. It’s about accessibility. Affordability. Empathy.

If you’re not speaking to the price-conscious shopper, you’re likely speaking to… no one.

What does that mean for DTC brands?

• Customers are shopping more intentionally

• They expect deals (and will hunt for them)

• They want to feel like they’re winning every time they shop

🛠️ What to do now:

• Create a permanent “Deals” tab on your site

• Highlight sitewide promos early

• Offer exclusive codes via email or SMS (and tease them onsite)

• Use cart messages to showcase stackable or automatic discounts

Here’s how to meet this moment without devaluing your brand:

✅ Lean into urgency & intention.

Run short-term promotions tied to seasonal moments (like Father’s Day, Summer Solstice, or National Lipstick Day… yes, that’s real). Set clear expiration dates and make sure your copy taps into how it helps them afford what they already love.

✅ Make discounting feel like a win, not a compromise.

Instead of “Take 15% Off,” try “You Just Unlocked VIP Pricing.” Or “Your Summer Treat is Here.” Shift the story from desperation to delight.

✅ Use behavior-based discounts.

Surprise repeat buyers with exclusive perks. Offer “you left something behind” codes post-abandonment. Or test tiered discounts to reward bigger carts (ex: $10 off $50, $25 off $100).


✅ Add value beyond price.

Think: free gifts, early access, or bundling deals. Bonus points if they don’t even need to enter a code. This keeps your brand equity strong while still helping shoppers feel seen.

✅ Use your tools (and data!) wisely.

Apps like Fairing can help you understand what nearly stopped customers from buying. Ask “Was our pricing a factor?” and listen. Segment based on responses and test different pricing tactics or bundles.


If the cart-to-checkout cliff is real, couponing is your rope.

Be the brand that offers real value—and real empathy—when it counts most

 💬 Closing Thought

Whether you’ve been riding with The Ecom Edge since Episode 1 or just hopped aboard this week, thank you. I don’t take it lightly that you’d spend a few minutes of your week reading this.

This week we talked about big updates, new behavior trends, and meaningful holidays. But the real throughline? Adaptability.

The world of ecom is shifting fast—again. Between Apple Pay updates, increasingly value-driven shoppers, and a summer packed with moments to connect with your audience, the brands that win will be the ones who stay curious, proactive, and human.

You’ve got this. See you next week. ✌️

—Marc