Lessons D2C Brands Can Learn From Warby Parker
This is a re-post of an original blog post on Velocity blog.
Defying all odds, Warby Parker, famously known as the “Netflix of Eyewear,” has disrupted the traditional eyewear industry in its 11 years of existence. From creating an iconic lifestyle brand by selling prescription glasses to achieving a net revenue of $393.7 million in 2021, and now filing for an IPO, their success story is an inspiration for DTC brands worldwide.
Like all of you, we were curious to know how they did it? What worked for them? Can we find some useful insights for DTC brands in the Warby Parker story? So we stretched our research arm, dug deeper, and curated learnings from their journey for you. But before that, here is a quick look at how the idea of Warby Parker came into being.
What can D2C Brands learn from Warby Parker?
As with all success stories, innovative approach, meticulous planning, and flawless execution have been key to Warby Parker’s success. While there is so much that we can learn from them, here are the key eight lessons we think are the most important for D2C businesses. Read on!
Lesson 1: Have a Unique Value Proposition
In 2010, the eyewear market was monopolized by an Italian company — Luxottica, owning 80% of the market and selling eyeglasses at an average price of $400–500.
To differentiate, Warby Parker came up with two clear value propositions — affordable prescription glasses and ease of purchase. They started selling eyeglasses at $95 per pair on their website. Also, to let people try out glasses before purchasing, they started their “Home Tryon Service,” where customers could order five pairs of glasses to try at their home before making any purchase.
Lesson 2: Focus on PR Early On
According to Dave Gilboa, co-founder of Warby Parker, they spent money on only three things — purchasing their inventory, paying outside developers to build their website, and hiring a PR firm during their initial days.
Warby Parker is one of the few brands to leverage PR beautifully. Early on, they focused on PR as a marketing channel. They synchronized their website launch date with their article in GQ that debuted them as the “Netflix of eyewear”. This made them a hit. Within 48 hours of their launch, they were sold out and had another 20,000 customers on their waitlist. This is just one example. There are many instances where they leveraged PR for business growth.
Lesson 3: Offer a Personalized Buying Experience
About 75% of Warby Parker’s retail customers visited the stores only after browsing their website. Warby Parker knew how important it is to understand customer choices, likes, and dislikes, to be able to offer them a personalized buying experience. So, they connected their online and offline customer data to get insights into their preferences.
As Dave, their Co-Founder said in an interview “When the same customer visits the stores, the sales representative already knows their preferences which help them close the deal faster,”.
Continue reading to learn more lessons to grow your D2C brand.
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