What Monkeys in Hats does

Monkeys in Hats is a US-based digital marketing and Shopify development agency that operates exclusively in the luxury resale vertical. Founded in 2012 by Colleen Lloyd-Roberts, the firm is headquartered in Huntersville, NC, with a lean core team supplemented by virtual employees sourced through HireSmart. The company builds and manages Shopify storefronts, email and SMS automation, abandoned-cart recovery, VIP segmentation, and paid traffic for authenticated pre-owned luxury, designer consignment, and high-end home decor resellers, including named clients such as Divine Consign, Too Good To Be Threw, Better Than Before Consignment, Article Consignment, and Sarah Cyrus Home Decor.

The flagship offering is the Luxury Resale Revenue System, a fixed-scope monthly retainer that bundles a premium Shopify rebuild (homepage, collection structure, product pages with authentication and condition presentation), email and recovery systems (welcome sequences, abandoned-cart recovery, new-arrival and VIP lists, back-in-stock alerts), and weekly new-arrival campaigns executed across email, SMS, and social. Quarterly strategy and performance reviews are part of the retainer. Adjacent products include a free 50-point Revenue Trust Audit used as a funnel entry point, the Website Profit Assistant (a phased Shopify automation service priced at $349 every 4 weeks with an optional $997 setup fee), Print Services delivered via brandgarden.biz, and Marketing Technique, the agency's full-service brand strategy and paid media arm.

The business is 100% referral-driven with no external investors, uses direct booked meetings and the audit process to convert $1M+ luxury resale stores into retainers, and supplements client education with cross-listing platform expertise (OneShop, List Perfectly, Vendoo, ResellKit, SellerInsight, PrimeLister, Cross List It, Hammoq, ListingJoy) and a YEXT directory-management reseller offering. Content channels include the Resale Marketing YouTube channel, the Consignment Marketing Facebook Group, a blog and resource library, and the Morning Marketing Live video series. Per the founder, every long-tenured client now sits above $1M in revenue, and the firm has built over 500 stores across its 13-year operating history.

Name

Monkeys in Hats

Legal name

Monkeys In Hats

Website

https://monkeysinhats.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Huntersville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Luxury Resale Revenue System Retainer: Fixed-scope monthly retainer covering strategy, premium Shopify rebuild, email systems, weekly campaigns, and quarterly reviews. The premium Shopify rebuild is included with the retainer commitment. Targets stores already doing $1M+ with ad budgets.
2. Website Profit Assistant: 12-month package at $349 every 4 weeks (~$349/month) covering phased setup and ongoing monthly optimization of Shopify automations. Optional $997 setup fee (waived for founding clients before July 31, 2026). Individual kits available starting at $997-$1,497.
3. Premium Shopify Builds: One-time premium Shopify rebuilds for stores below $1M revenue threshold. Priced at $5K-$10K. Provides a path to grow into the full system.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Monkeys in Hats is a specialized digital marketing agency that builds, automates, and markets Shopify storefronts exclusively for luxury resale, consignment, and pre-owned designer stores. The firm delivers a fixed-scope retainer (the Luxury Resale Revenue System) bundling a premium Shopify rebuild, email/SMS recovery flows, and weekly new-arrival campaigns, plus lower-tier subscription (Website Profit Assistant) and standalone Shopify build services.

Product overview

Monkeys In Hats is the only agency built exclusively for luxury resale, offering a unified service model anchored by the Luxury Resale Revenue System — a fixed-scope retainer that bundles a premium Shopify rebuild, email and recovery automation, and weekly new-arrival campaigns into a single recurring revenue channel for clients. The Revenue Trust Audit serves as the free entry-point diagnostic, and the Website Profit Assistant ($349/4 weeks) provides a phased, automation-focused alternative for stores below the $1M threshold. Print Services (via brandgarden.biz) and the Marketing Technique agency services (brand strategy, paid campaigns, product storytelling) extend the core system as add-ons and sub-brands. All core offerings are built exclusively on Shopify for the luxury resale vertical.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Luxury Resale Revenue System A fixed-scope monthly retainer combining a premium Shopify rebuild, email and recovery automation, and weekly new-arrival campaign execution, built exclusively for authenticated luxury resale stores doing $1M+ in revenue.
• Revenue Trust Audit A free, hand-reviewed 50-point diagnostic that scores a luxury resale website on trust and conversion gaps, tailored to stores doing $1M+ annual revenue with an active ad budget.
• Website Profit Assistant A done-for-you Shopify automation and optimization subscription ($349 every 4 weeks) for resale, consignment, luxury, and retail stores below $1M, delivered in phased kits covering abandoned-cart recovery, email capture, VIP segmentation, new-arrival campaigns, product discovery, and monthly optimization.
• Print Services Print and in-store graphics services offered as an add-on to the core retainer, accessible via an external store (store.brandgarden.biz).
• Marketing Technique (Agency Services) Full-service marketing agency arm offering brand strategy, website and ecommerce builds, social media marketing, paid campaign management, email marketing, product storytelling, launch campaigns, and messaging frameworks, all specialized for luxury resale brands.
• Premium Shopify Builds One-time premium Shopify rebuilds (homepage, collection structure, product pages) priced at $5,000-$10,000 for stores below the $1M revenue threshold, offered as a standalone entry point with a path to grow into the full retainer system.

Quantifiable outcome

• Every long-tenured client they serve now sits above $1M in revenue.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• HireSmart Virtual EmployeesminorOthersHireSmart provides virtual employees from the Philippines at $9/hour with health and dental benefits included. Monkeys in Hats uses HireSmart for staffing needs. Two staff members (Brenda and Abby) handle various responsibilities for the company. HireSmart provides 40 hours of basic skills training for every employee selected.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Razorfish: Razorfish is a large digital agency within Publicis serving retail and luxury clients with commerce, media, and customer experience work. It is a broad incumbent because it competes for marketing budgets from luxury and retail brands but operates as a full-service network rather than a niche resale specialist.
• VML: VML is a large global brand, customer experience, and commerce agency within WPP. It is a broad incumbent because it offers overlapping commerce, brand, and digital marketing services to retail clients at a much larger scale, but does not focus exclusively on luxury resale.
• WebFX: WebFX is a large, established digital marketing agency offering SEO, PPC, web design, and e-commerce marketing. It is a broad incumbent because it sells overlapping Shopify/retail marketing services but at much larger scale and across many verticals, rather than specializing in luxury resale.

Direct peers

• Ladder: Ladder is a digital marketing agency focused on growth strategy, creative, and performance marketing for e-commerce and DTC brands. It is comparable to Monkeys in Hats because it sells ongoing growth retainers with a similar cadence of strategy reviews and creative/campaign execution for online retailers.
• SmartSites: SmartSites is a digital marketing agency offering website design, SEO, PPC, and email marketing to SMB and mid-market e-commerce clients. It is a direct peer because it competes for the same Shopify/retail marketing retainer budgets and offers a similar subscription-style service packaging.
• LYFE Marketing: LYFE Marketing is a social media and digital marketing agency serving SMB and mid-market e-commerce clients. It is comparable to Monkeys in Hats because both sell recurring digital marketing services packaged as monthly retainers to small online retailers, with a focus on social, email, and paid channels.
• Schaefer Marketing Solutions: Schaefer Marketing Solutions is a digital marketing agency offering strategy, content, and e-commerce services. It is a direct peer because it sells ongoing digital marketing and content services packaged as monthly engagements to retail and e-commerce clients in a similar size tier.
• Coalition Technologies: Coalition Technologies is a top-rated Shopify Plus and e-commerce digital marketing agency offering SEO, PPC, web design, and email marketing. It is a direct peer to Monkeys in Hats because both are Shopify-specialized agencies selling performance-oriented digital marketing retainers to e-commerce merchants, though Coalition is far broader in vertical focus.
• Disruptive Advertising: Disruptive Advertising is a digital marketing agency specializing in paid media, SEO, and conversion rate optimization for e-commerce clients. It is a direct peer because it competes for the same mid-market e-commerce retainer spend and offers a similar mix of paid traffic management and site conversion work.
• OuterBox: OuterBox is an e-commerce-focused digital marketing agency specializing in Shopify and BigCommerce design, development, and SEO/PPC. It is comparable to Monkeys in Hats because both monetize full-service e-commerce marketing retainers for online retailers, with similar Shopify build + ongoing optimization delivery models.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@resalemarketing
• Facebookfacebook.com/monkeysinhats

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Monkeys in Hats