Answer

Home Try-On: How we can Reduce Major perceived Risk in the Warby Business Model

Background: Current Situation

JAND, Inc., mainly known by its trade name, Warby Parker, refers to an American online seller or retailer of prescription glasses and sunglasses. We are mainly based in New York City, and we sell our products through the company website in the city and other retail locations across the United States and Canada. Our company’s mission is to offer designer and quality eyewear at affordable prices while leading a socially conscious business (Sam, 2015). The eyewear business is mostly viewed as a dangerous business as many individuals do not visit an optician until they experience severe eye problems. Also, some individuals perceive that eyewear is usually expensive. Thus, at Warby Parker, we aim to address the perception that glasses are too expensive. Throughout its digital marketing strategy, the business focuses on setting itself apart from other less humane companies that offer eyewear at very high prices, which many people cannot afford. The company is proof that innovation is a critical factor in the success of every digital brand strategy. Warby Parker also utilizes vertical integration, storefronts, technology, and brand management to ensure successful operation in the production, marketing, sales, and distribution of its products (Sam, 2015). Advanced technology has provided significant grounds for the business to support and grow in a world driven by online influence and advertisements. Nonetheless, due to the increased competition within the eyewear market and industry and customer’s perception about online shopping, as the communication specialist, I strongly suggest that the company implement a new and better strategy to attract and retain both new and old customers.

Home Try-Own Strategy

Online shopping has become trendy in the 21st century due to the advancement in technology in terms of software and hardware. Online shopping involves purchasing goods or services from vendors or companies selling their products through the internet using a web browser, accessible by different individuals within a specific region or throughout the world. It may be easy, quick, convenient, and efficient to buy different items online (Chaffey, 2019). Nonetheless, many customers are still reluctant to buy items, especially those they need for personal use, over the internet, either from companies or individual sellers. Customers’ reluctance to buy items online is mostly caused by their concern for delivery times, lack of awareness of the benefits of purchasing products online, fraud and security fears, and the inability to test the items before purchasing items online (Marais, 2015). These issues have highly influenced individuals not to purchase items over the internet, including eyewear. This poses a significant challenge for Warby Parker, as we focus on selling glasses and other eyewear online. Current and potential customers for Wardy Parker would be reluctant to buy the product online because they cannot test the efficiency, effectiveness, performance, and even how the eyewear would look on them. The executives, especially co-CEO of Warby Parker, David Gilboa, find it imperative to develop and implement a new strategy to reduce individuals’ reluctance to shop online and purchase eyewear from the company’s website.

The strategy we have in mind is the try-on approach that can reduce Warby’s business model’s major perceived risks, which involves selling their products online. The try-on approach involves trying on new products to see if they fit or how they look. More specifically, the company would implement a home try-on approach to enable users to try different products before buying any of them. After the company was developed in 2010, it successfully met its first year’s sales goals within the first three weeks after launching. Since then, the company has distributed over a million glasses, with its sales reaching over $100 million annually (Sam, 2015). Regardless of this growth and development, the company still has a lot of potential and needs to develop exponentially to attract more customers, increase its market, and increase the profits. 

Specific Objectives 

The main objectives for implementing the new home try-on strategy is to revolutionalize our company and the entire optical industry. Here, we also aim to increase customer satisfaction and change their perception about online shopping. Many individuals want to purchase quality and affordable items that are mostly sold online. Still, they cannot see them or evaluate their quality before buying, which increases their doubt on the products’ quality and performance. Thus, they are reluctant to buy the items. 

Deliverables Overview

The company will provide several frames selected by customers to try them at home for several days to see how they fit or look on them. More specifically, the current and potential customers will pick several optical frames based on their condition. The company will send the selected items to the customers to try them for free. Suppose an individual is struggling to narrow their choices down. In that case, they can try different items virtually. Therefore, the company will develop a software application that would enable individuals to try on virtual frames through augmented reality. This software will help to produce computer-generated images, specific frames, into real-world images, a customer’s face. The software will recommend frames based on the customer’s facial structure, and from those recommendations, they can choose the glasses that they can try at home for some time.

Timeline 

The Home Try-On strategy will be implemented and tested for two months from December 1, 2020 to January 30, 2021. Before and within the two-months months, we will advertise our new approach to get both current and new customers to visit the company’s website. The duration to which the chosen frames will be delivered will differ depending on a customer’s location and the availability of the glasses. After the trial period, we will utilize the strategy as a permanent approach towards growth.

Pricing and Payment Plan

The following table summarizes the budget for the implementation of the new strategy within the trial period to determine how much money the company will use to provide samples for different types of frames, advertise and deliver.

Activity	Rate	Total
Samples production  Advertisements (on television) Deliveries	$15 per frame (500 samples) $10,000 $1,000	$7,500 $10,000 $1,000
		$18,500

 

Recommendations and Conclusions

At Warby Parker, we provide a winning value proposition by selling high-quality, fashionable glasses at an affordable price. More so, the company commits to doing good and making the world a better place by enabling customers to see the world more efficiently. The fact that we produce our frames in-house in our own optical laboratory instead of paying external manufacturers will significantly support implementing the new Home-try approach. As we implement this approach, I strongly recommend that we allow customers to choose five optical frames based on their needs. Then, we will send them for free to their specific homes or office or schools. The delivery location will be the customer’s choice, increasing efficiency since individuals are in different places throughout the day. After the frames are delivered, I recommend giving five days for customers to try them. This will help individuals to determine and identify what works best for them. After testing the products, customers can then order the product online, giving precise details about their prescription and the specifications of the product they have chosen. We will then deliver the ordered items as we take back the samples. This strategy will greatly change individuals’ views and perceptions of online shopping. 

A Home Try-On approach will help individuals see that the company cares about its customers’ views and can deliver as ordered by the clients. It will promote and enhance customers’ satisfaction towards Warby Parker’s products and our overall services. Fundamentally, I recommend this strategy to the co-CEO’s, investors, business partners, and employees at Warby Parker as it would help to reduce customers’ perceived risks on online shopping and their reluctance to purchase through the company’s website, improving customers’ satisfaction, enhancing company operations, increasing profits, and promoting overall company development.

 

References

Chaffey, D. (2019, October 25). The reasons why consumers shop online instead of in stores. Smart Insights. https://www.smartinsights.com/ecommerce/ecommerce-strategy/the-reasons-why-consumers-shop-online-instead-of-in-stores/

Marais, D. (2015, 12). Four reasons customers are still reluctant to shop online. https://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/394/138527.html

Sam, R. (2015, December 8). Warby Parker: No blind spots for the company that’s revolutionizing Eyewear. Technology and Operations Management. https://digital.hbs.edu/platform-rctom/submission/warby-parker-no-blind-spots-for-the-company-thats-revolutionizing-eyewear/