Why Dude Wipes Drives Its Own Website Traffic to Walmart and Amazon | Chord

Why Dude Wipes Drives Its Own Website Traffic to Walmart and Amazon

Joey Thomas · VP, Dude Wipes

Why Dude Wipes drives its own website traffic to Walmart and Amazon

Dude Wipes doesn't want you to buy on its own website — it'll happily send you to Walmart, Target, or Amazon instead. VP Joey Thomas explains why a 64% repeat purchase rate on Amazon alone is enough confidence to run other channels at breakeven, why the brand said no to becoming a men's grooming empire, and how a lean team built the market-share leader in flushable wipes.

Behind the Expert

Joey Thomas built his career largely by accident, landing in e-commerce around 2010 while working for 3M's McGuire's. He went on to build and scale e-commerce for BIC's lighters, pens, and razors, then joined Wild Planet as its e-commerce lead, growing it from under $90 million before its acquisition by Bolton Group. That deal led him to the founders of Dude Wipes, and he joined as VP at the end of 2021.

The Quick Hits

Every brand needs a digital storefront but not necessarily to process every transaction directly. Dude Wipes routes its website traffic to retail partners.
Category discipline beats category expansion. Dude Wipes chose to stay "category king" of flushable wipes.
TikTok Shop success required different strategies than Amazon; creator and affiliate networks drive traffic instead of direct paid ads.
A high repeat purchase rate (64% on Amazon) justifies spending on unprofitable first purchase channels.
The team is proactive in seeding accurate product information in AI models.

A Career Built by Accident

Thomas describes most of his career as "right place, right time," starting with 3M selling a luxury car-wax brand into Latin America and supporting early Amazon work.

The Founder Story

Dude Wipes began in 2011 when three friends in Chicago noticed men were using baby wipes. After years of struggle, a Shark Tank appearance brought investment from Mark Cuban in 2015.

A Website That Doesn't Need to Sell Anything

Dude Wipes captures first-party data while routing visitors through its website to retail partners using various integrations. They aim to be top-of-mind in consumers' minds when they think of flushable wipes.

Relearning TikTok Shop

Launched on TikTok Shop in January 2024, the team initially treated it like Amazon, discovering that creator-driven engagement was key. The strategy pivoted to create "creator farms" to drive interest.

Scared Money Doesn't Make Money

Dude Wipes scaled past $200 million without a dedicated data team by trusting instincts over precise attribution. They prioritize directional sales measures.

Getting Ahead of Agentic Commerce

The team is preparing for emerging shopping formats, knowing that getting ahead can provide a significant advantage as competitors catch up.

Sound Bites

"There's power in becoming category king of a specific vertical."
"The consumer is not as in love with you as you think they are."
"Scared money don't make money."
"Seventy percent of ChatGPT's information is coming from Reddit."

The Chord Take

Dude Wipes demonstrates how focusing on category disciplines and capturing the customer relationship can enhance brand presence in both emerging and established markets.

Put It to Work

Audit whether your site needs to process every transaction or if it can just capture data and route purchasing.
Resist expanding into adjacent categories just because you've earned trust.
Learn how customers behave on new platforms before launching there.
Seed accurate information about your brand in community forums and review platforms.