What Marketers Can Learn from Erika Rosendale of Pashion Footwear

At ShopTalk Fall in Chicago, Erika Rosendale, Head of Ecommerce at Pashion Footwear, offered a candid look into how a challenger brand can grow without the deep pockets of legacy players. For Rosendale, the lesson is clear: when the product is distinctive, the story sharp, and the channels chosen wisely, even a small brand can compete on a big stage.

Pashion Footwear has a radical proposition: convertible heels that transform into flats with a simple click. The idea was born when founder Haley Pavone, then a college student, found herself barefoot on a dance floor after ditching painful heels. Today, Pashion holds patents on its interchangeable heel system and is building a loyal following of women who no longer have to choose between beauty and comfort.

Rosendale, who leads ecommerce and digital strategy, has helped turn a clever invention into a brand with cult status. In conversation, she revealed lessons every marketer, from DTC founders to enterprise retail leaders, can take away.

1. Virality starts with product distinctiveness

For Pashion, growth didn’t begin with a media budget. Until September 2025, the company spent virtually nothing on paid advertising. Instead, it relied on the shock factor of the product itself amplified through TikTok and Instagram.

One video demonstrating the heel-swapping system hit 72 million views within days. Other clips consistently generated millions. The virality wasn’t accidental, Rosendale argued, but tied to the product’s uniqueness:

The takeaway for marketers: virality is not just about platform hacks or influencer seeding. It starts with whether the product itself demands attention. When the story is inherent in the design, every video becomes a moment of discovery.

2. Retention can be engineered into the business model

While most consumer brands obsess over acquisition, Pashion faces the opposite challenge. Its returning customer rate is an extraordinary 70%.

The reason is structural. Customers don’t just buy a pair of shoes; they buy into a system. A base shoe costs around $200, but additional heel kits start at $35. A single shoe can transform into multiple looks - stiletto for evening, block heel for the office, wedge for summer weekends.

This model flips the usual CAC/LTV equation. Acquiring a customer through TikTok or TikTok Shop becomes dramatically more profitable when that customer goes on to buy three or four heel kits over the next year.

For marketers, it’s a reminder that retention doesn’t have to come from loyalty programs or discount ladders. Sometimes the product itself creates repeat behavior if designed with modularity and longevity in mind.

3. TikTok isn’t just a demand driver - it’s an education channel

Most footwear brands use TikTok for aspirational styling. Pashion has to use it for something else: teaching consumers how to use a product they’ve never seen before.

From ASMR heel swaps to scenario-led content (commuting, nightlife, weddings), TikTok doubles as a tutorial hub. The brand leans heavily into user-generated content, with influencers and customers demonstrating real-life use cases.

TikTok Shop has become an important acquisition tool, making it seamless for first-time buyers to purchase directly from discovery content. The DTC site then takes over the retention job, nurturing customers with loyalty offers and heel kit upsells.

This sequencing - TikTok for acquisition, website for retention - is a model many consumer brands can learn from.

4. CAC efficiency comes from clarity

In an era where CAC is climbing across Meta and Google, Pashion has hacked efficiency by using education as acquisition. Viral TikTok content not only drives awareness but also addresses skepticism. Consumers see demonstrations that the heel really does come off and lock back on securely.

This matters because skepticism is the brand’s biggest barrier. “Does it really work?” remains the most common question. By addressing it in content, not just ads, Pashion lowers acquisition costs and builds trust before a purchase.

For other marketers, the lesson is that creative and CAC are not separate conversations. Content that explains, teaches, and reassures can make every dollar spent work harder.

5. Virality still needs physical proof

As powerful as digital has been, Rosendale is clear that in-person experiences are the next frontier. Pop-ups and physical retail activations will allow skeptics to test the shoes themselves.

This strategy also allows Pashion to expand into new customer segments. While TikTok has been critical for Gen Z discovery, older shoppers may prefer physical validation before investing in a new kind of footwear.

6. Practical fashion as brand ethos

The name “Pashion” itself comes from “practical fashion,” and Rosendale stressed that the ethos is more than a tagline. The brand is on a mission to end the era where women accept pain as the price of style.

The psychology is powerful: for decades, women carried backup flats in their bags. Pashion reframes that compromise - no more choosing between heels for the boardroom and sneakers for the commute. One product meets both needs.

7. The future: building a category, not just a company

Looking ahead, Rosendale said the opportunity is not only scaling Pashion but also establishing convertible footwear as a category. With patents secured, the company is exploring collaborations, wholesale partnerships, and broader product lines that could extend the modular philosophy into other styles.

In parallel, the team is investing in data to better understand cohorts:

• Gen Z, who drive discovery through TikTok and embrace the novelty.

• Millennial professionals, who value practicality and retention (buying heel kits).

• Older customers, who need physical validation and education before adoption.

By mapping strategies to these segments, Rosendale aims to expand reach without diluting brand clarity.

The takeaway for marketers

Pashion’s story offers a rare blueprint for challenger brands in saturated markets. The lessons are clear:

• Distinctive products drive their own discovery. If the product itself sparks “what is that?” moments, virality is far more likely.

• Retention can be designed into the model. A system of modular add-ons creates repeat purchases without gimmicks.

• Education is marketing. Platforms like TikTok can lower CAC by teaching as well as inspiring.

• Skepticism must be confronted. Content and physical proof both play a role in overcoming consumer doubt.

• A clear ethos resonates. “Practical fashion” and “beauty does not equal pain” are more than slogans; they’re cultural positions.

For Rosendale, the journey has been about clarity, focus, and conviction. “One shoe is two shoes in one,” she said. In that sentence lies the brand’s genius: not just a product, but a new way of thinking about fashion.

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