How A Cottage in the City Reignited Growth Through Full Funnel Paid Media and Brand Strategy

Overview

A Cottage in the City is a boutique home décor retailer specializing in curated, nostalgic, and emotionally-driven pieces that transform houses into warm, personal sanctuaries. With its roots as a small shop on Long Island, A Cottage in the City has evolved into an online destination known for hand-selected collections that resonate with customers seeking meaning and story in their spaces.

In early 2025, amid a shifting economic landscape and intensifying competition in home furnishings, ACITC partnered with AdVenture Media to build a comprehensive strategic roadmap. The goal: reignite growth by sharpening the brand’s unique positioning, expanding channel strategies, and elevating both traffic and conversion outcomes.

Challenges

Declining Traffic & Rising Acquisition Costs: After peaking in Q4 2024, site traffic began to decline, driven largely by increasing CPCs (Google Ads up ~10% YoY). This meant ACITC was paying more for fewer visits, compressing their acquisition funnel.

‍Market Saturation & Low Barriers to Entry: The home décor e-commerce space remains fragmented, with rising saturation and new boutique players increasing pressure on customer acquisition and brand differentiation.

Consumer Discretionary Income Tightening: Despite long-term growth projections for the industry, elevated interest rates, tariffs, and inflation were making shoppers more selective, especially with large or discretionary home purchases.

‍Under-Leveraged Channels: ACITC’s traffic mix was over-reliant on Google (about 40% direct, 25% Google, limited Meta), unlike competitors who used stronger Meta and brand retargeting strategies to build efficient conversion paths.

‍Missed Cart Opportunities: While add-to-cart rates had been improving, cart-to-checkout conversions dropped, signaling room to optimize bottom-funnel flows and lift total transactions.

Platforms Leveraged

Google Ads: Including Shopping, Performance Max, and Branded Search to capture high-intent buyers.
Meta Ads: Advantage+ Catalog, Lookalike Prospecting, Static Brand Ads, and Retargeting to expand reach and recover abandoners.
Website & Email: Reinforcing brand storytelling, launching bundles, and preparing loyalty/design programs to build repeat business.

Strategies

1. Reinvest in PPC to Drive Traffic

• Smartly increased spend across Google and Meta with distinct roles: Google captured high-intent traffic, while Meta expanded awareness and recaptured site visitors.
  
• Expected to drive a 20-30% increase in sessions by Q4 2025.
  

2. Launch Meta Prospecting + Retargeting

• Built Advantage+ Catalog campaigns (7.48 ROAS) and Lookalike audiences (3.74 ROAS) to efficiently reach new audiences and bring them back to purchase.
  

3. Create Curated Product Bundles to Lift AOV

• Introduced themed bundles (like “Cottage Kitchen” and seasonal sets) to increase perceived value and transaction sizes by 4-8%, while moving slower SKUs alongside best sellers.
  

4. Elevate Brand Voice & Visuals

• Overhauled messaging from generic luxury language to warm, personal, founder-led storytelling. This was rolled out across product pages, ads, and email, positioning ACITC unmistakably as a source of meaningful décor.

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5. Prepare Repeat & Designer Programs

• Updated designer partnership incentives and set groundwork for a loyalty program, both expected to deepen customer lifetime value.
  

Results

• Strong ROAS Across Channels: 
• Meta Advantage+ Catalog campaigns delivered a standout 7.48 ROAS.
• Google Shopping campaigns drove the highest overall revenue, maintaining a healthy 5.29 ROAS, while combined Google channels achieved a 5.52 ROAS.
• Total Impact: Over just a few weeks, combined efforts generated ~$52.5K in revenue from ~$10K spend, with a blended ROAS of 5.23 across all platforms.
  
• Positive Strategic Indicators:
  
  • Brand-first static Meta ads had lower volume but delivered a higher AOV of $301 (vs. $233 in product-led campaigns), validating the strategy to cultivate higher-value, emotionally connected buyers.
    
  • Repeat purchase rates and AOV trends remained steady or slightly improving, setting a foundation for the upcoming loyalty and bundling initiatives.
    
• Future Momentum: Based on this trajectory, forecasts show an expected ~35% YoY session growth by Q4 2025, with holiday bundles and loyalty efforts anticipated to further boost conversion volume and efficiency.
• Higher-Value Buyers: Brand-first campaigns on Meta, though producing fewer purchases, generated significantly higher average order values, affirming the long-term value of building emotional brand connections.