A regular dose of D2C-centric resources & tools for Growing Brands, Startups & Entrepreneurs.

Running a D2C brand in India means you’re always learning — sometimes from wins, often from things that didn’t go exactly as planned.

Over the past year, we shared a lot of notes, observations, and lessons from across the ecosystem — conversations with founders, ops teams, growth marketers, and folks deep inside warehouses and dashboards.

Here are the most read + forwarded Newsletters — our Top 5, from 2025!

1. 360° Customer Profiling to Maximise D2C Sales in India

Most brands still think customer profiling = age, gender, city.

Reality?
Your real signals live in checkout behaviour, COD drop-offs, NDR patterns, repeat RTOs, WhatsApp replies, and “I’ll order later” lies.

This one broke down how Indian D2C brands can actually see customers — not guess them.

Founder takeaway: If your CRM, checkout etcetera don’t talk, your growth is basically astrology.

2. Smart Discounting for Indian D2C E-commerce

Because “Flat 40% Off” is not a strategy — it’s panic with a coupon code.

This newsletter unpacked why blanket discounts quietly destroy LTV, how smart brands use behaviour-led offers, and why your best customers should never see the same discount as serial returners.

Real-life moment: That brand doing ₹999 flash sales every weekend? Yeah… they’re also funding reverse logistics.

3. The Holiday Balancing Act: Pre/Post-Holiday Planning for D2C India

Festive season in India is not a campaign.
It’s a stress test.

This one covered what actually breaks during Diwali, Valentine’s, year-end sales etc — from checkout crashes and false COD confirmations to warehouse meltdowns and courier SLA breaches.

Hard truth: If your festive prep starts in September, you’re already late by a LOT.

4. Getting 17–29 Hours Back Every Week: An Indian D2C Playbook

As teams scale, time becomes the most expensive resource.

This newsletter mapped where ops and support teams quietly lose hours each week — manual order updates, NDR follow-ups, tracking issues, failed payments, manual.and scattered reporting.

The fix? fewer tools doing more - Fewer dashboards. More automation.

For Founders who “Didn’t realise half their ops team was basically doing Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V all day.”

5. Ama₹ing India — The ₹isk Factor for D2C Brands

This read focused on the challenges of COD: cancellations, failed deliveries, return patterns, and the operational strain they create. It also highlighted strategies Indian D2C brands use to manage these risks effectively, from smarter verification to targeted incentives.

It resonated with founders who know that handling COD well can make or break growth in India.

This newsletter explained why global playbooks fail here and why India-first systems always win.

For D2Cs who think COD Losses are unavoidable.

The Final Sip ☕

If you’re building or scaling a D2C brand in India, these five reads pretty much summarise 2025:

• Customers are signals, not segments

• Discounts need brains, not budgets

• Festive chaos is optional

• Ops inefficiency is the silent margin killer

• India plays by its own rules — always

If you missed any of these, now’s your chance to catch up — before 2026 throws its own curveballs.

Until next time,
Team Pragma

Still caffeinated. Slightly wiser.

☕ See you on the next coffee date!

How did you like our Newsletter? What topic would you like us to cover next?

Reply and let us know! 😊