How X-bionic built an audience growth engine that captured 3,000 subscribers during peak season

Building list growth infrastructure during peak season

Isidora Cagalj joined X-bionic in September as a dedicated CRM and Retention Manager. The previous setup was minimal: a basic welcome series, abandoned checkout flow, and one popup offering 10% off. Newsletters went to the full list three times a week with little segmentation.

"I was kind of lucky to join when CRM had so much room to grow" Isidora explains. "It was this open playground."

But the timing was tight. X-bionic had aggressive database growth targets for the fiscal year, and winter—their busiest season—was weeks away. The popup was steady at around 150 subscribers per week, but that wouldn't be enough.

The bigger challenge was compliance. As a Swiss brand selling across Europe, X-bionic needed explicit consent in DACH markets while optimizing for softer requirements elsewhere.

"We are based in Switzerland and this DACH region is very specific in Europe because you do need to get very explicit consent," Isidora notes. "That was our main concern—how to stay compliant here and grow our list quicker."

Shopify's default checkbox wasn't dynamic and wasn't built for their global complexity. They needed infrastructure that could scale without adding legal overhead.

Automated consent that adapts by market and grows audiences

Isidora had used Dataships at a previous agency and knew it solved exactly this problem. She pitched it during her hiring process and got the green light to test.

"The team was very helpful during the whole process—Dataships helped me with how to present it, what to focus on. And I think the biggest turning point for everyone was just seeing how quickly we gained these subscribers."

The A/B test results came fast. Within two weeks, Dataships had captured 800-900 contacts—nearly six times their weekly popup rate. More importantly, these were paying customers who'd just completed a purchase, making them far more valuable than colder popup leads.

"During AB testing we already collected around 800 to 900 contacts, which is a lot for us. Typically with popup, we collect maybe about 150 subscribers per week. So it was immediately a very big difference."

X-bionic launched Dataships fully before Black Friday to capture the holiday surge.

Dataships replaced the static Shopify checkbox with a dynamic widget that automatically adjusts based on location. UK and Europe customers see soft opt-in. US customers see implied consent. All handled automatically, with no manual setup per region.

Behind the scenes, Dataships manages suppression lists, audit logs, and cross-channel consent coordination. If someone previously unsubscribed, they won't be re-added without explicit re-consent.

"It was incredibly easy. It just fit into our flow," Isidora says.

Because Dataships syncs directly with Klaviyo, new subscribers immediately entered X-bionic's retention campaigns without additional configuration.

4,389 subscribers and compliance on autopilot

Since launching Dataships, X-bionic has transformed checkout into their primary list growth channel:

• 70% email consent rate (60% lift)
• 4389 total subscribers captured
• +700 average monthly subscriber growth
• $96K incremental LTV unlocked

In November alone, X-bionic captured over 3,000 new subscribers through Dataships—more than an entire quarter of popup growth.

"I checked the list yesterday and we were already at more than 3,000 people from Dataships, which is huge for us."

But the volume wasn't the only win. Isidora's team tracks engagement closely, and the Dataships audience consistently ranks as one of their most engaged segments.

"We're always checking how engaged they are and it's probably one of the most engaged segments or lists that we have."

The other outcome: compliance confidence. X-bionic now operates across European markets without manually managing regional consent rules. Dataships adapts automatically, and audit logs provide defensibility.

"When it comes to compliance confidence, that really changed a lot. Now we are really confident that for that region, we have their consent."

With list growth handled, Isidora's team can now focus on retention strategy: lifecycle campaigns, loyalty programs, and win-back flows that drive repeat purchases.

"Our main topic from December onward is retention. I think Dataships will help us a lot—first to analyze data, but also to improve our cohort analysis and maybe shorten the time between purchases."