Hey Bestie!

Your girl has been out here heads down, focused and honed in on helping some of your favorite brands grow with the girl gang at OLC, and traveling to the likes of….SHOPTALK. So it’s been another minute since we have yapped, but let me catch you up!

Midcoast hosted one of wildest (and funnest) dinner parties for 40 DTC execs. Check out the replay here.

But the most surprising moment happened back on the Shoptalk show floor for me.

I’m walking the expo hall for what feels like the 100th time. I’ve seen 14 demos, talked to 8 vendors, and my brain is swimming in buzzwords: AI. Personalization. Omnichannel. Retention.

Then I land at the Postscript booth.

They’re showing me something called Shopper. I’m expecting... what? A better decision tree? A chatbot with more gifs? Something smarter, maybe, but still robotic. Still linear. Still kinda cold.

What I wasn’t expecting was to feel like I was texting a real person who actually knew what I wanted—before I even knew how to ask.

But before I get into what I saw in that demo, I want to rewind a bit.

Because this wasn’t the first time I thought about SMS as something more than just a place for discounts and shipping notifications.

When we launched Feastables, we didn’t want SMS to feel transactional. We wanted it to feel like a conversation. So we did something a little unhinged (but very intentional).

We launched with the vanity code 69420 and the CTA: "Text us. We text back."

It wasn’t a gimmick. It was a strategy.

We believed SMS could be a playground for brand interaction—a space where people didn’t just receive promos, but actively shaped the brand story.

And so we built a system to support that vision: a chatbot that delivered real-time interactions in our brand voice. We created pathways that let customers:

• Get support

• Ask about products

• Or just play around with randomness: jokes, fun facts, even a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors

Thousands of people engaged every day. It was weird. It was delightful. And it worked.

We were creating moments—not just marketing.

The challenge? The tech wasn’t really there yet. So we hacked it together. APIs, scrappy workflows, custom builds, manual updates. It took a ton of work, but it gave us something personalized in marketing: a channel built for connection.

So when I saw Shopper in action, it didn’t just impress me because it was smart.

It impressed me because it was familiar. This was what we were chasing at Feastables—only now, it was real. And scalable.

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Marketing has been personalized. But it hasn't been personal.

We’ve had years of "personalized" experiences, product recs based on browsing, email flows tied to behavior, popups that say our first name.

But that’s not the same as feeling understood.

And that’s what Shopper is aiming for: an AI-powered SMS assistant that turns your most valuable, high-intent customers into conversations. Real ones. In your brand voice. At scale.

The result? A conversion experience that doesn’t feel like a flow.

Because here’s the thing: your SMS subscribers are 8x more valuable than email subscribers.

And yet, the most common SMS response from brands today is:

"We don’t monitor this number. Please email us."

That’s not a CX strategy. That’s a missed opportunity.

Because when someone takes the time to respond, they’re raising their hand with intent. They’re asking a question. Expressing curiosity. Looking for connection. And that’s exactly where most brands… go quiet.

We don’t need more flows. We need better conversations.

Think about your website. You’ve probably got quizzes, live chat, and a product finder. But on SMS?

Most brands send a campaign… and then disappear.

That’s where conversational SMS shines. It doesn’t just talk at people—it listens. Responds. Learns. It brings the energy of your PDP quiz or homepage concierge into your customer’s pocket.

This isn’t about clever flows or gimmicky replies. It’s about answering the question behind the question. It’s about showing up when it matters.

And yes—when done right, it drives conversion. But more importantly, it builds affinity.

This is CX doing what CX was always meant to do.

At its core, customer experience isn’t a support function. It’s not ticket deflection. It’s relationship design.

It’s knowing that the moment someone reaches out, they’re inviting your brand into their world. Not just their inbox—but their literal home screen.

And how you show up in that moment? It defines everything that comes after.

We’ve talked for years about CX as a revenue driver. Shopper puts that theory into motion.

Most support teams aren’t equipped to handle SMS replies. It’s overwhelming. They’re triaging tickets while managing their help desk tool and trying to sound human through macros. It's not built to scale.

But Shopper? It’s built for it.

It responds in under 1 minute. It’s reducing SMS support tickets by 85%. And the brands using it? They’re seeing 174% more conversations, and those customers are 1.5x more valuable over the next 30 days.

This is what happens when CX stops being reactive and starts being predictive.

So what happens when you actually show up well?

You reduce friction. You reduce ticket volume. You increase conversion and retention.

You turn your most engaged customers into advocates—not just repeat purchasers, but people who genuinely enjoy interacting with you.

We’ve seen brands doing this through tools like Shopper—turning static SMS threads into full-blown, high-converting conversations.

But let’s be clear: this isn’t about one product. It’s about a mindset shift.

From automation → to engagement

From broadcast → to dialogue

From transactions → to moments

Because SMS isn’t a channel. It’s an invitation.

And when you treat it like one—when you respond with real conversation, brand voice, helpful context, and thoughtful timing—you build more than revenue.

You build belonging.

And that? That’s the most valuable ROI there is.

This shift we’re seeing? It’s not just about AI. It’s about attention.

It’s about how we listen. How we respond. And how we show up for the people who actually want to talk to us.

It’s easy to automate. It’s harder to connect.

But connection is what drives behavior. Loyalty. Word of mouth. Growth that lasts longer than a discount code.

We learned that at Feastables. And we’re seeing it again now — but with tools that finally match the vision.

So no, I’m not here to say “this is the future of SMS.”

I’m saying this is what SMS should’ve been all along.

You don’t have to wait until April 16th.

I’ll have more to say once it’s fully out in the wild, but if you’re curious now — and honestly, you should be — here’s where to check it out:

👉 Get the early look at Shopper

I don’t plug things just to plug them. But this?

This solves something I’ve been hacking together for years.

Give it a peek. Let me know what you think.

💥 Jess
Founder of Open Late Collective

Interested in working together on CX, retention or brand strategy? Reply to this email or hit us up at [email protected]

Have a Marketing and/or CX-related question for me?

Click the link below!

UPCOMING EVENTS

1. SheInnovates is OFFICIALLY BACK and bigger than ever. If you are a brand operator or founder in ecommerce, you DO NOT want to miss this. May 7th, Ludlow House NYC.
   
   We have limited tickets available already, so do not wait and grab your ticket ASAP here.
   

2. Recharge’s annual conference is back on April 14-15 in LA, bringing together 500+ experts in retention, subscriptions, and scaling smarter. Expect game-changing sessions, deep dives, and top-tier networking. And I will be filming a couple of LIVE podcast recordings there for ATF Pod, so come see me!

   Use my code Jess Cervellon for $100 off your ticket!

   🔗 Grab yours now: https://bit.ly/4iLIU5r

   More IRL events coming in 2025!
   Interested in working together? Hit me up.

   LET’S CHAT

BONUS CONTENT

Here’s a couple of MUST listen to episodes of Above The Fold:

This week, I dropped a fun AF episode with Olivia Laskowski of Cometeer

For my audio peeps, LISTEN HERE or view below!

A WORD ON THIS WEEK’S SPONSOR

Postscript has been in the SMS game long before it became a must-have on every brand’s marketing checklist. They’ve built a platform that puts the power back in the hands of the brand — whether you’re launching a product, driving retention, or just trying to have more meaningful conversations with your customers.

What I’ve always appreciated about Postscript is that they don’t treat SMS like a megaphone — they treat it like a relationship channel. They understand that trust, tone, and timing matter. That a good text can convert, sure — but a great one builds brand equity, too.

If you’re using SMS (or thinking about it), they’re worth getting to know.