Stitch Fix Case Study Personal Use Ebook

Sample Content Preview

Subscription models are a fantastic way to generate income from the subscribers for several months and even years. It does require keeping the subscribers happy, though. That can be a challenge as other online retailers, and eCommerce sites will try to steal customers. However, with subscriptions, people tend to hang onto them longer than they anticipated and sometimes don’t get around to canceling until the next period (or even the one after that.) The company has introduced the service to men. This could help boost sales as men are becoming more focused on their styles and want some attention given to help them.

Customers are asked to fill out surveys about their likes and preferences when they sign up for the service. If they specify their social media profiles, the company will use that to view the customers’ posts. If they are related to style, the company tries to incorporate that into the monthly product sends.

Like many fashion companies, Stitch Fix offers an influencer program. This is similar to an affiliate program in that the company will pay influencers cash for customers who sign up through the influencers’ websites. However, influencer programs tend to be more intimate and give the influencers access to exclusive features such as a private Facebook group, etc.

Stitch Fix offers gift cards that customers can redeem and buy directly on the company’s website. These perform better during the holiday season.

Features:

A blogger wrote about her experience back in 2014 on her website. She stated that she tried the service. She doesn’t love to shop, so she loved the idea that she could get full outfits to try on at home. She didn’t like anything the company sent her except for a pair of earrings, which she still uses. She then stated that she was invited to a Stitch Fix influencer event and decided to attend. She spoke to several people, and they suggested giving the service another try. She agreed to a second try and reported that it still didn’t measure up to her expectations and she sent everything back.

The service is designed to get better the more you use it. However, this blogger felt the stylists should have been able to get some of the items correct. They didn’t get any correct. Several commenters agreed with the article and felt the service does not do a good enough job of matching what you truly want.

Here is a YouTube video of a fan of Stitch Fix. She felt that the services get better when you work with the same stylist over time, and the stylist learns what you like and don’t like. It’s important to note that the links contained in the description are referral links for StitchFix.com. Often, affiliates, or in this case, influencers will talk up products for the sake of getting the commissions or other benefits. [Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMniBFDk2u0]

On TrustPilot.com, the company received 4-stars out of 5. The majority of the reviewers rated it at 5-stars or Excellent. However, recent reviews carry more weight than overall ratings. At the time of this writing, several reviewers stated the service was not worth the high prices the company charges. Many of these reviewers felt that they could find the same or better outfits in local stores near them. One reviewer complained that she didn’t like the service and tried to cancel, but the company charged her credit card and sent a delivery. A Stitch Fix representative did respond with an apology and told the reviewer that she would get a follow-up email to rectify the situation. There are a few 5-star ratings on the main page at the time of this writing.

Lessons Learned By The Business

– Lake stated that the IPO prices were disappointing, largely because banks and other investors did not know how to value companies. She said that the expectations were set too high by these entities. This is something that is common for the IPO market. [Source: https://www.recode.net/2018/5/30/17385382/katrina-lakestitch- fix-code-conference-interview-ipo]

– Lake felt that the company was fortunate that customers/subscribers bought into the concept and became fans. They could use the proceeds to build up their brand as they had to use most of the start-up capital for inventory. [Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvD6WdYbB58]

How Other Businesses Can Learn From This Hire the best people, especially when you are new to the business. When you find the proper talent, let them do the jobs you hired them for. Don’t micromanage. You can’t know everything, and that is the main reason why you need to obtain the right people who all have complementary strengths. The business owner is ultimately responsible, however.