Introduction
JAND, Inc., doing business as Warby Parker, is a New York-based American online
retailer of prescription glasses and sunglasses. Warby Parker primarily sells its products
online, but it also has retail locations throughout the United States and Canada.
The majority of the company's eyewear is sold online and at its various locations
throughout the United States and Canada. Warby Parker's "Home-Try-On program" is a
company strategy in which customers choose five frames from the website, which they
receive and try on at home for free within a 5-day period. Customers can upload a photo
and try on frames through the company's programs.
Warby Parker began operating solely online in 2010 and opened its first physical store in
2013. Formal reframe As Warby Parker's revenue increased, the company began to open
physical showrooms across the country. Following the opening of its retail stores, the
company announced its intention to develop its own point of sale (POS) system, which
would be used in its stores by 2015.
It also expanded in 2015 with the brand's first national retail partnership with Nordstrom,
allowing the company to open six curated pop-up shops across the country. According to
Slice Intelligence, as of 2017, Warby Parker had 71 locations in 28 U.S. states and
Washington, D.C., as well as two stores in Toronto and one in Vancouver.
Background of the topic
The eyewear industry is dominated by a single company that has been able to keep
prices artificially high while reaping enormous profits from consumers with no other
options.
The Warby Parker started to create an alternative. The company is circumventing
traditional channels, designing glasses in-house, and engaging with customers directly,
they are able to provide higher-quality, better-looking prescription eyewear at a fraction of
the going price. They believe that buying glasses should be easy and fun. It should leave you
happy and good-looking, with money in your pocket.
Almost one billion people worldwide lack access to glasses, which means that 15% of the
world’s population cannot effectively learn or work. To help address this problem, Warby
Parker partners with non-profits like Vision Spring to ensure that for every pair of glasses
sold, a pair is distributed to someone in need.
BODY OF THE REPORT
Warby Parker has raised $215 million and is worth $1.2 billion. Only a few
ecommerce companies have achieved “unicorn” status ($1 billion or more in valuation).
Warby Parker is particularly interesting because they practically invented the vertically
integrated ecommerce category — ecommerce companies that own their supply chain.
Warby did things to create viral buzz when they launched:
1. They built a social mission into Warby Parker:
Doing good is not only the right thing to do, it’s good business. Whenever WP sells a
pair of glasses they give a pair to someone who needs them. It’s smart to build a
social mission into your company’s DNA – it’s even smarter if you package it up in a
neat bundle by making it a buy one give one. Buy one pair of glasses, WP gives one.
2. Their glasses cost around $95:
If you’re creating a premium brand, you better not charge $99. $99 sounds like a
bargain store price. $95 is a price.
3. They launched with press:
Warby lined up a story in GQ that was timed with their launch. Launching with press
lent credibility from day one. Also, launching with an “all at once” strategy (i.e. no
beta launch) makes traffic compound. Friends tell friends and your early evangelists
help carry your message. After all, everyone likes to be in the know when a great
new brand emerges.
4. They simplified their value proposition:
Warby Parker launched in the GQ story as the “Netflix of glasses.” They highlighted
one of their features – the home try-on program – and cleverly distilled it to a bite
size nugget. Bite size nuggets are much easier to share with friends, which helps
spread your brand organically.
5. That blue colour :
If you spend enough time on WP’s website or social media you’ll notice how much
they use the below powder blue-ish color in a lot of instances. Color creates brand
consistency. For ecommerce a company, “brand” is most neatly packaged up in
imagery and color (shopping is a visual experience). Warby capitalized on this and
made sure to inject moments of that blue color in fun places.
WARBY PARKER E – COMMERCE STRATEGY ONLINE AND OFF
GREAT WEBSITE
The website is an exercise in minimalism. Content that is focused layout that
is clear, pitch-perfect photography, clever writing, and just the right amount of
technology. By technology, I mean a cool tool that lets you use your webcam to take
a picture of your face and then map several designs onto it. I was very sceptical of
this, yet it worked seamlessly and was actually quite helpful.
The website did a really great job of establishing that the company had a clear
aesthetic from their products to their demographic. I knew right away upon my
arrival that I wanted to stay here. We tell our clients all the time that your website is
your virtual storefront to the world, and it’s great to see a company truly grasping
the concept, creating an experience about you, not them.
INNOVATIVE CONCEPT
Warby Parker has two main methods of connecting you to the perfect frame.
The first is the “Virtual Try-On” described above, and the other is a “Try It before
You your own home Buy It” program where you can test out up to five pairs at
home. Again, they made the process easy to understand and execute. One method
pushes the envelope of technology; the other is an offline method giving you the
comfort of trying things on in.
MAKING IT EASY
The “Try It before You Buy It” method comes with a well-packaged box of
frames and a witty card describing the simple steps to take. They also include a
return address label to make it even easier to send everything back.
PASSION
For every pair of glasses sold, they donate a pair to someone in need via a
program called VisionSpring. MSLK encourages all our clients to find causes they
support or partner with, and this is a perfect example.
The 2011 Annual Report:
Warby.marby insight photo.
Getting to the finish line with vertically integrated e-commerce
Following their sloppy early days, the Warby Parker team sought to capitalize on
their surprising first success with a very new company model: vertically integrated ecommerce.
By developing their own frames, sourcing their own raw materials, and dealing directly
with manufacturers, the firm was able to take out the middlemen. This resulted in highquality eyewear at substantially cheaper pricing, with a pair of glasses costing only $95
with prescription lenses.
The combination of a free try-on service, free delivery, and a liberal return policy gave a
consumer experience that nearly no other competition could match.
Blumenthal and his team had created a game-changing business model based on the three
pillars of e-commerce: cheap overhead, efficient operations, and excellent customer
service. The results were impressive: by early 2015, the business had amassed a valuation
of $1.2 billion and had distributed over a million pairs of spectacles.
Isn't it true that sloppy preparation equals fast e-commerce success?
Blumenthal and his crew were bombarded with orders from clients who wanted to
try on glasses at home just two days after GQ hit the stands. They'd forgotten to include a
sold-out feature because the site was created so rapidly, and they were left with a 20,000person waitlist.
It was a panicked time, but it was also a fantastic chance for us to deliver excellent
customer service and send individual emails to apologize and explain, according to
Blumenthal. That definitely set the tone for how we'd handle customer support in the
future.
Blumenthal welcomed consumers to try on glasses at his apartment since he didn't have an
office, store, or warehouse and didn't have enough stock to fulfil demand. Despite the
unexpected debut, the firm exceeded its first-year sales goal in just three weeks.
Ordering from Warby Parker
Warby Parker offers lots of features to make choosing the right frame online
easier. Their home try-on program allows you to pick five frames and gives you 5
days to decide if you like them before returning all 5 pairs and placing your order.
Shipping is free both ways. This was a favorite feature of Health line editor Chelsea
Logan. “I liked that you can get five glasses at a time to try, and it was easy to select
and return them. Not all colors of every style are available for home try-on,
unfortunately, which was kind of a bummer,” she said. Note that their virtual try-on
tool requires you to download the Warby Parker app and only works on iPhone X
and above.
What you’ll need before ordering
To order your glasses, you’ll need a prescription, your pupillary distance (PD), and a
general idea of what type of frame you’d like to wear.
To measure your PD, you’ll need a ruler and either a mirror or a friend. Line the 0
edge of the ruler up to the center of your right pupil, then measure the distance from
your right to your left pupil.
This is usually easiest to do by placing the ruler across your brow line, above your
eyes. Your eye doctor can include this measurement in your prescription.
Getting your shipment
Prescription orders for eyeglasses and sunglasses take 9 to 12 business days, while
contact lenses take 5 to 7 business days.
Advantage:
Warby Parker has successfully adjusted its business and working models, wedding
individuals and items with reason. Making reasonable yet snazzy eyewear Warby Parker
centre on execution and charity while beating the contest in both expense and comfort. For
each pair of glasses bought, the organization accomplices with not-for-profit Vision Spring
to give glasses to an individual deprived in the creating scene.
Disadvantage:
Though Warby Parker does offer a virtual try-on tool, it requires you to download
the Warby Parker app and only works on iPhone X and above. Those with strong
prescriptions may find that the quality of Warby Parker’s high index lenses isn’t high
enough for their needs.
SUGGESTION:
Warby Parker is a business where it gives a brighter vision to people. if I give the
opportunity to provide more knowledge to make this business better, as a seller I will give
customers a free trial before they buy the product, they can take it home or use it in just
one day so they know if it's worth is it the product they will buy. It is a process to make the
business you are building more successful. It is possible to help your business as an asset to
increase the value and make the product you sell attractive.
REFERENCE
MSLK 2021
E-Commerce Strategy Online and Off. Mlsk.com
Griff, 2021 Know about Warby Parker healthline.com
Spera, Mark May, 2018 Growmarketingpro.com