PCKT Brand Success Story

The Day a Premium Vape Brand Uncovered Gen Z’s Shopping Revolution

Premium vape technology | 17% conversion boost | $48,000 annual savings | 78% Gen Z prefer conversation over clicking

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Derick was drowning in customer emails that April morning—same questions, different customers, every single day. “Will SPRK cartridges work with my device?” “What’s the difference between power modes?” He’d drafted job postings for two customer support reps the night before, ready to spend $4,000 monthly on salaries.

“We’d built this beautiful, premium brand,” Derick recalls. “Sleek designs, innovative tech, the smoothest hit in the industry. But online? Customers were paralyzed by choice.”

Little did he know that by the end of that Thursday, April 25th, he’d not only solve his support problem—he’d discover something that would fundamentally change how PCKT thinks about the future of shopping.

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When Premium Design Meets Technical Complexity

PCKT Brand carved out their niche through obsessive attention to design and technology. Their devices weren’t just functional—they were fashion statements, the kind you’d see in tech blogs alongside the latest iPhone accessories.

But premium positioning came with challenges:

The frustrating metrics:

• Support tickets: 60+ daily, mostly pre-purchase questions
• Average response time: 4-6 hours during business hours
• Cart abandonment: 73%
• Mobile conversion: Barely 1.2%
• Rising customer service costs monthly

“Rick kept asking if there was another way,” Derick remembers. “He’d built PCKT on innovation—surely we didn’t need to throw bodies at the problem like it’s 2010.”

The irony wasn’t lost: a company selling cutting-edge technology about to solve their customer experience problem the old-fashioned way.

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Five Minutes That Changed Everything

After disappointing chatbot demos, DashAssist stood out with one simple question: “Are you new to vaping or upgrading your current setup?”

“That’s exactly what I ask customers,” Derick recalls. “It understood that different users need different guidance.”

But the timeline sealed the deal: five minutes to go live.

Thursday, April 25th, 2025:

• 3:30 PM: Derick clicked “Install”
• 3:35 PM: They were live

“I had to screen-record myself talking to the AI to prove to Rick we were actually done,” Derick laughs.

The AI had instantly absorbed their entire 47-SKU catalog, understood cartridge compatibility, explained power modes in plain English, and knew which products were best for discretion versus home use.

The first real customer came 43 minutes later—someone from Denver asking about battery life for high-altitude use. The AI not only answered but suggested the VRTCL for superior battery performance with the magnetic adapter for convenience.

Sale closed. No human intervention needed.

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Three Months, Transformative Numbers, Unexpected Discovery

By late July, the quarterly review exceeded everyone’s expectations:

The hard metrics:

• Conversion rate jumped 17% (from 2.3% to 2.7%)
• Average order value up 24% (accessories and bundles)
• Cart abandonment dropped 38%
• Support inquiries automated: 72%
• Mobile conversion nearly doubled (1.2% to 2.3%)
• Customer satisfaction: 4.8/5 stars

But the real revelation came from demographic data.

“We noticed something weird in June,” Derick says. “Younger customers were spending way more time in chat but less time on product pages.”

The Gen Z Discovery:

• 78% of Gen Z customers preferred chatting to browsing
• They used natural language: “Show me something sleek for festivals”
• 34% higher conversion rate when shopping via conversation
• Completed purchases without ever clicking a product page

“These kids aren’t shopping,” Derick explains. “They’re having conversations. It’s completely changed how we think about our site.”

And those support positions? Deleted that same week. “$48,000 a year we’re putting into product development instead.”

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Real Users, Real Conversations

Alex from Austin (22 years old) never looked at product pages:

• “Need something discrete for concerts”
• “Under $100”
• “Matte black if you have it”
• “Cool add the case too”

Transaction complete in 4 minutes.

Maria from Miami (24, Gen Z) treated it like texting a friend:

• “show me your coolest looking vape under 80”
• “omg the gradient one is sick”
• “does it come with everything I need”
• “perfect ordering now”

She screenshot the conversation and shared it on Instagram.

James from Portland (35, Millennial) browsed traditionally for 15 minutes, then discovered chat: “Once I realized I could just ask about battery specs instead of reading tables, everything changed.”

The generational divide was clear: Millennials used chat for support, Gen Z used it for everything.

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Building a Smarter Brand, Discovering the Future

The impact rippled through PCKT’s entire operation. Product development gained invaluable insights—customers consistently asked about USB-C charging (leading to their next product line) and wanted more discrete carry cases (now in development).

“We have thousands of conversations telling us exactly what they’re looking for,” Rick Zhu reflects. “The AI doesn’t just sell products—it’s our best market research tool.”

The $48,000 annual savings is funding their next product line and a collaboration with a prominent designer.

But the Gen Z insight was most strategic.

“We’re redesigning our entire digital strategy,” Rick explains. “The next generation doesn’t want to browse—they want to converse. We’re not competing on better filters or product pages anymore. We’re competing on better conversations.”

The implications are staggering:

• Traditional e-commerce optimization becomes less relevant
• Product discovery happens through natural language
• Purchase decisions made through dialogue, not comparison
• The entire shopping journey can happen in a chat window

“We watched a 20-year-old complete a $127 purchase without clicking a single product,” Derick notes. “Just pure conversation from ‘hey’ to checkout. That’s not the future—that’s happening right now.”

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Setting New Standards

PCKT Brand hasn’t just improved their metrics—they’ve redefined what premium e-commerce can be. They’re the first in their category to offer true conversational commerce. While competitors optimize product pages, PCKT optimizes conversations. While others hire support armies, PCKT invests in innovation.

“Every premium brand faces our challenge,” Rick observes. “Complex products, educated customers, high price points that need justification. But the solution isn’t more humans repeating information—it’s better technology that learns and scales.”

The numbers validate the approach:

• 17% conversion increase
• $48,000 annual savings
• 72% support automation
• 4.8/5 customer satisfaction

But it’s the Gen Z insight that might be most valuable.

“We accidentally discovered we weren’t just solving today’s problem,” Derick reflects. “We were building for tomorrow’s shoppers. These young customers don’t see chat as support—they see it as the primary way to shop. We got there first.”

For other premium brands wrestling with complexity, PCKT’s journey offers a clear lesson: embrace technology that makes complexity invisible.

And yes, it really does take just five minutes.

Ready to discover what your customers really want?

Book Your Demo →

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Results from PCKT Brand’s DashAssist implementation, April-July 2025. The Gen Z insight? That one surprised everyone—including us.