Marketing ROI Lessons from Next for UK Solopreneurs

Next doesn’t mince its words: a 60% increase in “profitable marketing expenditure” helped drive a 38.3% rise in international online sales over the festive period. That’s not a fluffy brand-awareness story. That’s a retailer tying spend to measurable growth.

Here’s the part most small businesses should pay attention to: Next is also preparing to reduce international marketing spend in 2026. Not because marketing “doesn’t work”, but because their budget isn’t a fixed pot. They increase it only while returns clear a threshold.

If you’re a UK solopreneur trying to grow through online marketing—especially if you’re selling beyond your local area—this is the mindset shift that matters most. You don’t need Next’s budget. You need Next’s discipline.

What Next’s results really say about “profitable marketing”

Next’s numbers tell a simple story: marketing spend is only “good” when it’s measured against incremental profit. The company credits marketing with driving a 38.3% increase in global sales and highlights that it ramped spend more than planned because it was working.

Next also shared a very clear internal standard: it looks to generate at least £1.50 of incremental profit for every £1 spent on marketing. That’s not a vague ROI promise. It’s a hurdle rate. If performance stays above it, they scale.

For a one-person business, you can apply the same principle without fancy econometrics:

• Decide what “profitable marketing” means for you (e.g., £3 back for every £1 spent if margins are tight)
• Track it weekly
• Increase budgets only on channels that keep hitting the target

The hidden takeaway: budget follows evidence, not optimism

Most companies get this wrong. They set an annual marketing budget, then spend it because it exists. Next treats marketing as a dial: up when it works, down when it doesn’t.

Solopreneurs can do this even faster because you’re not waiting on committee meetings. If a campaign is producing sales at a sustainable cost, you scale it. If it isn’t, you stop.

Why scaling spend (and then cutting it) is a smart move

It sounds contradictory: Next increased international marketing aggressively, then signalled it may halve the spend in 2026. But it’s consistent with a performance-led approach.

Next’s commentary implies a few realities that apply to small businesses too:

1. Seasonality is real. Q4/Christmas demand can make paid media look “amazing”. January and February often humble you.
2. Diminishing returns show up. The first pounds spent often go to the easiest wins (warm audiences, best keywords). After that, costs rise.
3. External pressures change the maths. Next flagged “continuing pressures” (including UK employment factors) that can affect future revenue. For small businesses: postage costs, platform CPM swings, consumer confidence.

A solopreneur version of Next’s approach

If you’re running paid social, Google Ads, marketplaces, or even paid influencer posts, try this 3-step routine:

1. Run a 14-day test with a fixed cap (e.g., £10–£30/day depending on your margins)
2. Calculate contribution, not vanity metrics
   • Revenue is nice, but gross profit after ad spend is what pays your bills
3. Scale in 20–30% steps rather than doubling budgets overnight

If performance dips below your threshold for 7–10 days (not just one bad day), you cut, tweak, or pause.

Measuring marketing ROI like a pro (without a finance team)

The fastest way to waste money in digital marketing is to track the wrong thing. Next talks about “profitable digital marketing” and incremental profit per £1 spent. You can get close with a simple measurement stack.

The three numbers to track every week

1) Blended CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)
Total marketing spend ÷ number of new customers.

2) Contribution margin per order
Order value − cost of goods − delivery/packaging − payment fees (and include returns if you get them).

3) Payback period
How long it takes for profit to cover acquisition cost.

For many solopreneurs, cashflow beats perfect attribution. If you can’t pay yourself for 90 days while you “wait for LTV”, your model is fragile.

A practical definition: Profitable marketing is spend you can repeat next week without borrowing confidence from next month.

A quick ROI template (copy/paste into your spreadsheet)

• Weekly ad spend: £300
• New customers: 20
• Blended CAC: £15
• Average contribution per first order: £22
• First-order profit after ads: £22 − £15 = £7/customer
• Total first-order profit: 20 × £7 = £140

Then ask a business-owner question: is £140/week worth the operational work (fulfilment, customer service), and can you scale without breaking delivery times? Profit is only “profit” if you can fulfil it.

International growth on a small business budget (what’s actually replicable)

Next’s international online sales growth is the headline, but the mechanics matter more. The retailer has been building an “online runway” and working closely with major digital platforms.

You don’t need platform partnerships. You do need a clear path from UK-local to international-ready.

Start with “digital expansion” before true international expansion

For many UK solopreneurs, the first big win isn’t opening new countries—it’s selling nationally outside your town with more consistent online demand.

The same playbook still applies:

• Improve your product pages so conversion rate rises before you buy more traffic
• Capture email/SMS so you’re not paying to “re-acquire” the same person repeatedly
• Build two or three reliable acquisition channels instead of chasing every new one

When you do go international, fix these first

1) Shipping and returns policy
A vague shipping page kills conversion. Put clear timeframes and costs upfront.

2) Currency and pricing clarity
If you sell outside the UK, reduce friction. Even if you only show GBP, make checkout expectations clear.

3) Customer support expectations
If you’re solo, don’t promise 24/7. Promise what you can actually deliver.

4) Paid targeting that’s intentionally narrow
Start with:

• English-speaking markets
• One hero product
• One landing page
• One paid channel

Your goal is repeatable profitability, not “global reach”.

The 2026 reality check: ad costs, attention, and a better way to compete

January 2026 is a competitive time for digital marketing. CPMs and CPCs have been volatile across major platforms in recent years, and many businesses still treat paid media as the default growth lever.

The reality? Your cheapest growth often comes from fixing conversion and retention first. If you improve your website conversion rate from 1.5% to 2.0%, that’s a 33% lift without spending an extra penny on ads.

Three improvements that make your marketing “more profitable” overnight

1) Landing page simplification
One page, one offer, one call to action. Cut distractions.

2) Post-purchase follow-up
A simple email flow can generate repeat orders:

• Day 0: confirmation + expectations
• Day 7: usage tips
• Day 21: review request
• Day 30–45: related product offer

3) Creative testing rhythm
Most solopreneurs under-test. Rotate:

• 3 hooks (pain point, outcome, proof)
• 2 formats (video, static)
• 2 audiences (warm, lookalike/interest)

Keep what works. Kill what doesn’t. That’s the “profitable marketing” loop.

A simple “Next-style” marketing plan for a one-person business

If you want a practical structure you can run in a couple of hours a week, use this.

Step 1: Set your hurdle rate

Pick one:

• £1.20 profit for every £1 spent (low margin, high volume)
• £1.50+ profit for every £1 spent (balanced)
• £2.00+ profit for every £1 spent (premium / limited capacity)

Write it down. This is your scaling rule.

Step 2: Create a “repeatable” offer

Next sells products people already understand. For you, clarity wins:

• One hero product/service
• One sentence value proposition
• One strong proof point (reviews, before/after, client result)

Step 3: Run one channel properly before adding another

Choose based on your business type:

• Google Search: best when people already search for what you sell
• Meta (Facebook/Instagram): best for impulse-friendly products and strong visuals
• TikTok: best when you can create high-volume, authentic content quickly
• SEO/content: best when you want compounding growth and lower long-term CAC

If you’re in the UK Solopreneur Business Growth mindset, I’m opinionated on this: get one paid channel stable, then build content/SEO so you’re not renting all your traffic forever.

Where this leaves your small business

Next’s story isn’t “spend more on marketing.” It’s “spend more only when it’s profitable—and be ready to spend less when it isn’t.” That’s a grown-up way to run marketing, and it’s exactly how small businesses protect cashflow while still growing.

If you’re aiming for digital expansion in 2026—more online sales, more leads, more customers outside your local patch—build your own version of a hurdle rate, track contribution, and scale what clears the bar.

What would change in your business this quarter if you treated marketing like an investment you can prove, rather than a cost you hope pays off?