Company Overview
Industry: E-commerce – Premium Skincare & Beauty
Annual Revenue: $18.3M (up from $11.2M)
Marketing Channels: Meta (Instagram/Facebook), Google Ads, TikTok, Pinterest, Email (Klaviyo), SMS (Postscript), Influencer Partnerships
Product Mix: 100% DTC E-commerce (Shopify Plus)
Average Order Value: $127
Customer Base: 185,000 active customers
About Luminara Skin:
Luminara Skin is a direct-to-consumer premium skincare brand focused on clean, science-backed formulations for sensitive skin. With a product line spanning serums, moisturizers, cleansers, and treatment masks, Luminara has built a loyal community through education-first content and personalized skincare routines.
The Challenge
Despite strong product-market fit and impressive year-over-year growth, Luminara Skin hit a plateau in Q3 2023 due to critical marketing data challenges:
Marketing Attribution Crisis
- 47% of $3.2M marketing budget was wasted on underperforming channels and campaigns
- Relying entirely on platform-reported metrics (Meta, Google, TikTok) showing massive discrepancies
- Meta Ads Manager claimed 8.1x ROAS while Google Ads showed 4.3x—both claiming credit for same purchases
- Unable to determine true incremental value of any channel
- No visibility into view-through attribution or cross-channel influence
- Branded search was cannibalizing organic demand but appeared highly profitable
Fragmented Tech Stack Nightmare
- $247,000 annual spend on analytics and data tools:
- Google Analytics 360: $150,000/year
- Funnel.io for data connectors: $36,000/year
- Tableau for dashboards: $42,000/year
- Northbeam for attribution (trial): $19,000 for 3 months (projected $76K/year)
- Data scattered across 15+ platforms with no single source of truth
- Marketing team spending 25-30 hours weekly on manual reporting and data reconciliation
- 5-7 day lag between campaign launch and accurate performance assessment
- Executive team had zero confidence in marketing ROI reports
Visitor Identification & Personalization Gap
- Only 6.8% of website visitors were identified (industry average for basic pixel tracking)
- 93.2% of traffic was anonymous, limiting retargeting and personalization opportunities
- Missing massive revenue potential from unidentified high-intent visitors
- Cart abandonment recovery limited to the small percentage who entered emails
- No ability to score visitors by purchase propensity or engagement level
- Personalization efforts restricted to basic “returning visitor” logic
Conversion Optimization Blindspots
- Couldn’t identify which specific products, landing pages, or customer journeys led to highest LTV customers
- No understanding of true funnel drop-off points beyond basic GA metrics
- Influencer partnerships couldn’t be accurately measured beyond basic UTM tracking
- Subscription program (30% of revenue) had no predictive churn modeling
- Cross-sell and upsell opportunities were being missed due to lack of product affinity insights
Resource Drain & Scaling Constraints
- Two full-time data analysts spending 70% of time on reporting vs. strategic analysis
- Marketing director making budget decisions based on incomplete/conflicting data
- Customer acquisition costs rising 23% year-over-year despite static performance
- Unable to scale profitably beyond $1M/month in revenue due to attribution uncertainty
The Solution
Luminara Skin implemented the complete LayerFive platform in February 2024:
LayerFive Axis – Unified Marketing Data Platform
- Connected all 15 marketing data sources in under 2 hours
- Integrated Shopify Plus with full product catalog and customer data
- Uploaded 18-month historical marketing budgets and calendars
- Created role-specific dashboards: Executive Summary, Channel Performance, Product Analytics, Creative Performance
- Automated daily reports delivered to Slack and email
LayerFive Signal – Attribution & ID Resolution
- Deployed L5 Pixel across entire customer journey (homepage → product pages → checkout → post-purchase)
- Implemented Meta CAPI, Google Enhanced Conversions, Pinterest API, TikTok Events API
- Configured comprehensive URL parameter tracking for email, SMS, influencers, and paid social
- Integrated Klaviyo and Postscript for email/SMS identity resolution
- Set up custom event tracking for: product views, add-to-cart, quiz completions, subscription signups, and referrals
LayerFive Edge – Predictive Audiences & AI Segmentation
- Activated purchase propensity scoring for all website visitors
- Built product affinity models for 12 core products and 4 product categories
- Created engagement scoring to identify high-value prospects
- Developed churn prediction for subscription customers
- Built 30+ rule-based and AI-powered audience segments
- Synced audiences to Meta, Google, Klaviyo, Postscript, and TikTok
LayerFive Navigator – Agentic AI Marketing Intelligence
- Deployed AI agents for performance monitoring and anomaly detection
- Set up automated weekly insight reports highlighting optimization opportunities
- Created custom alerts for: creative fatigue, channel performance shifts, inventory-product interest mismatches
- Integrated with Slack for real-time team notifications
Implementation Timeline
Week 1: Foundation & Data Integration
- Day 1-2: Connected all 15 data sources (Shopify, Meta, Google, TikTok, Klaviyo, Postscript, Pinterest, Google Analytics, etc.)
- Day 3-4: L5 Pixel implementation across site, CAPI setup for all platforms
- Day 5-7: Historical data import (24 months), dashboard configuration, custom metric creation
Week 2-3: Attribution Model Calibration
- Validated attribution against historical purchase data
- Fine-tuned identity resolution algorithms
- Established performance baselines for all channels
- Configured custom conversion events and value tracking
Week 4-6: Audience Development & Testing
- Built initial predictive audience segments
- Created lookalike audiences based on high-LTV customers
- Launched A/B tests comparing LayerFive audiences vs. platform audiences
- Fine-tuned product affinity and engagement scoring models
Month 2: Full Platform Adoption
- Marketing team trained on unified dashboards and attribution insights
- Budget allocation decisions transitioned to LayerFive data
- Began phasing out Google Analytics 360 and Tableau
Month 3: Legacy Stack Decommission
- Fully retired Funnel.io, Google Analytics 360, Tableau
- Cancelled Northbeam trial
- 100% of marketing operations running on LayerFive
Results: 12 Months After Implementation
Revenue Growth & Profitability
Overall Business Impact
- +63% revenue increase year-over-year (from $11.2M to $18.3M)
- +31% increase in marketing spend (from $3.2M to $4.2M)
- +24% improvement in overall profit margin due to better channel allocation
- Customer acquisition cost decreased 28% (from $89 to $64)
- Lifetime value increased 41% (from $347 to $489) through better segmentation and retention
ROAS Transformation
- Blended ROAS improved from 3.5x to 11.2x (+220% / 3.2x improvement)
- True attribution revealed 47% of previous spend was on low-ROI activities
- Reallocated $1.47M from wasteful spend to high-performing channels
- Eliminated $580K in completely wasted ad spend
Channel-Specific Performance Breakthroughs
Meta (Instagram & Facebook)
Attribution Insights:
- Last-click attribution: 4.2x ROAS
- LayerFive true attribution: 12.8x ROAS (Meta was massively undervalued)
- View-through attribution revealed Meta drove 4.1x more conversions than click-through alone showed
- Meta campaigns influenced 73% of all purchases, even when not the last click
Optimization Results:
- Increased Meta investment by 62% based on true incremental value
- Revenue from Meta grew 127% (from $4.1M to $9.3M)
- Improved Meta efficiency by 40% through LayerFive audience targeting
- Creative fatigue detection reduced wasted spend by $47K/month
- Dynamic product ads with affinity-based recommendations increased conversion rate by 56%
Google Ads
Attribution Revelations:
- Branded search was capturing 82% organic demand (massively overvalued)
- Shopping campaigns were true performers (6.8x ROAS vs. 3.1x for branded search when properly attributed)
- YouTube discovery campaigns had 8.2x influence on conversions (previously unmeasured)
Strategic Changes:
- Reduced branded search spend by 67% with minimal revenue impact
- Reallocated $28K/month to Shopping and YouTube
- Shopping campaign revenue increased 94% with optimized product segmentation
- YouTube campaigns scaled from $12K/month to $45K/month with 7.9x ROAS
- Google overall revenue up 71% with only 15% increase in spend
TikTok
The Hidden Winner:
- Platform reported: 2.1x ROAS (appeared to underperform)
- LayerFive attribution: 9.4x ROAS (TikTok was the most undervalued channel)
- 89% of TikTok conversions happened 3-7 days after initial exposure
- TikTok drove highest engagement scores and brand awareness
Scaling Impact:
- Increased TikTok budget from $18K/month to $78K/month
- TikTok revenue grew from $38K/month to $732K/month (19.3x growth)
- TikTok became second-largest revenue channel behind Meta
- Creative insights identified optimal video length (17-23 seconds) and hooks (product demonstrations vs. testimonials)
Email Marketing (Klaviyo)
Identity Resolution Impact:
- Known email list grew from 87,000 to 238,000 (+174%) through better visitor identification
- Email revenue increased 156% (from $960K to $2.46M)
- Average email subscriber LTV: $127 vs. $89 for non-subscribers
Segmentation Success:
- AI-powered product affinity recommendations increased email AOV by 43%
- Purchase propensity-based send times improved open rates by 31%
- Behavioral trigger emails (based on Edge scoring) generated $420K additional revenue
- Cart abandonment recovery rate improved from 9% to 34%
SMS Marketing (Postscript)
Explosive Growth Through Targeting:
- SMS list grew 67% with better on-site identity capture
- SMS revenue increased 203% with AI-audience segmentation
- High-intent visitor SMS campaigns: 48% open rate, 21% conversion rate
- Product restock alerts (based on affinity modeling): 56% conversion rate
Surprising Attribution Insights:
- Platform-reported ROAS: 1.8x (seemed like cut candidate)
- True ROAS: 5.2x with proper view-through and influence attribution
- Pinterest drove highest AOV customers ($167 average vs. $127 overall)
- Maintained Pinterest spend and optimized creative strategy
Influencer Partnerships
Finally Measurable:
- Previously relied on UTM codes and “gut feel”
- LayerFive attribution tracked full influencer impact including view-through and delayed conversions
- Identified top 12 influencers driving 78% of influencer revenue
- Reallocated 100% of influencer budget to proven performers
- Influencer-driven revenue increased 147% with same budget
Operational Efficiency & Cost Savings
Time Reclaimed
- 94% reduction in manual reporting (from 28 hours/week to 1.7 hours/week)
- Data analysts now spend 85% of time on strategic analysis vs. 30% previously
- Marketing team makes real-time budget decisions vs. weekly allocation meetings
- Executive dashboards update automatically vs. manual weekly reports
Direct Cost Savings
- Eliminated Google Analytics 360: -$150,000/year
- Eliminated Funnel.io: -$36,000/year
- Eliminated Tableau: -$42,000/year
- Avoided Northbeam subscription: -$76,000/year
- Reduced data analyst hours on reporting: -$65,000/year in labor value
- Total annual savings: $369,000
LayerFive Investment
- Axis Tier 5: $3,000/year
- Signal Tier 6: $15,588/year
- Edge Tier 6: $15,588/year
- Navigator (Advanced): $1,188/year
- Total LayerFive cost: $35,364/year
- Net annual savings: $333,636
Avoided Waste
- Eliminated $580,000 in completely wasted ad spend through accurate attribution
- Prevented $1.47M in misallocated budget by identifying true channel performance
- Total waste elimination: $2.05M in first year
Visitor Intelligence & Customer Insights
Identity Resolution Breakthrough
- Visitor identification rate: 31.2% (up from 6.8% = 4.6x improvement)
- Monthly identified visitors: 186,000 (vs. 41,000 previously)
- Cross-device ID resolution connected 41% of multi-session journeys
- Extended addressable audience by 358% for retargeting
Customer Journey Discoveries
- Average touchpoints to first purchase: 6.3 (was 2.1 with last-click)
- 84% of customers interacted with 3+ channels before purchasing
- TikTok and Instagram dominated discovery (72% of first touchpoints)
- YouTube and Pinterest drove mid-funnel education (53% of second/third touches)
- Google Search and Email/SMS strongest for final conversion
- Subscription customers had 8.7 average touchpoints (vs. 4.2 for one-time buyers)
Product Affinity Insights
- Created affinity models for 12 products and 4 categories (Cleansers, Serums, Moisturizers, Treatments)
- Customers with high affinity for serums had 2.3x higher LTV
- Cross-category buyers (3+ categories) had 4.1x higher LTV
- Product recommendation accuracy: 73% (customers purchased recommended products)
Advanced Segmentation Results
High-Intent Visitors (No Purchase Yet)
- 17,400 monthly visitors identified with 70%+ purchase propensity
- 31% conversion rate when retargeted (vs. 2.8% cold traffic)
- $167 average order value (vs. $127 average)
- Generated $1.86M incremental revenue in 12 months
Subscription Churn Prevention
- Identified 4,200 subscribers showing churn signals in first 6 months
- Proactive retention campaigns saved 62% from churning
- Prevented $487,000 in lost subscription revenue
- Churn rate decreased from 34% to 18%
Product-Specific Audiences
- Serum enthusiasts: 41% repeat purchase rate on new serum launches
- Treatment mask aficionados: Highest AOV ($198) and engagement
- Sensitive skin segment: 3.2x higher email engagement
- Each segment had tailored creative, messaging, and product recommendations
Lapsed Customer Reactivation
- Identified 8,700 customers with 90+ days since purchase
- Win-back campaigns reactivated 27% of lapsed customers
- Recovered $1.14M in revenue from previously lost customers
Key Success Factors
1. Unified Data Foundation Consolidating 15 data sources into one platform eliminated conflicting reports and gave Luminara a single source of truth for all marketing decisions.
2. Accurate Multi-Touch Attribution Moving from last-click to LayerFive’s data-driven attribution revealed the true value of each channel, enabling reallocation of $1.47M to high-performing activities.
3. 4.6x Visitor Identification Improvement Increasing known visitor rate from 6.8% to 31.2% unlocked massive retargeting, personalization, and customer journey insights previously impossible.
4. AI-Powered Predictive Audiences Purchase propensity, engagement scoring, and product affinity models enabled hyper-targeted campaigns with 5-10x better performance than generic audiences.
5. Eliminated Data Silos & Waste Removing fragmented tools and manual processes freed the team to focus on strategy, creative, and testing—directly contributing to 63% revenue growth.
6. Creative & Channel Optimization Intelligence Real-time performance insights, creative fatigue detection, and channel-specific recommendations enabled continuous optimization and waste elimination.
Customer Testimonial
“LayerFive didn’t just improve our marketing—it completely transformed our business. We went from spending nearly a quarter-million dollars on analytics tools that gave us conflicting data to having crystal-clear visibility into what actually drives our growth. The revelation that 47% of our budget was being wasted was shocking, but LayerFive gave us the roadmap to fix it. We reallocated over $1.4M to channels that were dramatically undervalued—especially TikTok, which went from seeming like an underperformer to becoming our second-largest revenue source. The 3.2x ROAS improvement and 63% revenue growth speak for themselves, but what really matters is that we now make confident, data-driven decisions in real-time instead of guessing based on platform-reported metrics. Our team has gone from drowning in spreadsheets to actually doing strategic marketing work. And saving $333K annually on analytics costs while getting infinitely better insights? That’s just the cherry on top.”
— Jennifer Zhao, CMO, Luminara Skin
Looking Forward
With LayerFive as their marketing intelligence platform, Luminara Skin is positioned for continued aggressive growth:
Next 12 Months:
- Expand to wholesale partnerships with attribution tracking from online marketing to in-store purchases at Sephora and Ulta
- Launch international markets (UK, Canada, Australia) with unified multi-currency attribution
- Implement lifetime value prediction models to optimize acquisition spend based on predicted CLV
- Build automated budget optimization using Navigator’s agentic AI to continuously reallocate spend
- Create hyper-personalized on-site experiences based on Edge visitor scoring and product affinity
- Scale influencer program to 100+ creators with full attribution and performance tracking
- Achieve $30M ARR by end of 2025 while maintaining profitable CAC:LTV ratios
