Adore Me's VP of Growth, Camille Kress, reveals how the intimate apparel brand adapted during the pandemic by doubling down on its 'try-at-home' model, which became the primary driver for new customer acquisition. She explains the critical 'keep rate' metric for this model and how Adore Me leverages direct customer relationships and learnings to strategically launch 'satellite brands' like Joyja (period-proof underwear). This allows them to accompany women through various life stages by expanding beyond intimates into categories like swimwear and sleepwear, continuously identifying and capitalizing on untapped market needs.
Key takeaways
Implement a 'try-at-home' or similar deferred payment model to boost customer acquisition and experience, especially valuable during retail disruptions.
Identify and obsess over the key metric for your unique business model (e.g., 'keep rate' for try-at-home) to ensure profitability and customer satisfaction.
Leverage direct-to-consumer relationships to understand evolving customer needs and cross-sell complementary products or introduce new 'satellite brands' that cater to specific life stages or adjacent categories.
Proactively seek out 'untapped markets' within your customer demographic to expand your brand ecosystem, offering specialized solutions beyond your core product line.
Build a brand strategy that 'accompanies' your customer through different life stages, ensuring long-term relevance and loyalty by addressing their evolving needs.
With a pandemic driving its six brick-and-mortar stores to little use, lingerie company Adore Me has relied on a try-at-home model.
"We basically send you a bunch of items, you decide what you keep, and you only pay for what you keep," Adore Me vp of growth Camille Kress said on the Modern Retail Podcast.
At the height of the pandemic, half of the brand's new customers were shopping this way. "The key metric for this model is the 'keep rate.' You definitely want people to keep as much as possible, otherwise you're basically paying for shipping back and forth, which is really not the best use of your time or your money," Kress said.
The company also seizes the mail-in relationship as a chance to send prospective customers products from other categories like swimwear and sleepwear ("anything that you could basically find right now in our assortment, which is not only intimates," Kress said).
This direct connection the company has long fostered with customers has helped Adore Me launch brands beyond lingerie, like Joyja, a line of period-proof underwear. "We want to accompany women through all the different stages of their life," Kress said. "So we know that we're going to need something for their first period, then for their pregnancy, for menopause, and anything that comes in between."
Looking at all of these stages, the company tries to find the next untapped market on which it can capitalize. "We're thinking that there's an appetite somewhere," Kress said.
Implement a 'try-at-home' or similar deferred payment model to boost customer acquisition and experience, especially valuable during retail disruptions.
What does this episode say about product & merchandising?
Identify and obsess over the key metric for your unique business model (e.g., 'keep rate' for try-at-home) to ensure profitability and customer satisfaction.
What does this episode say about customer retention?
Leverage direct-to-consumer relationships to understand evolving customer needs and cross-sell complementary products or introduce new 'satellite brands' that cater to specific life stages or adjacent categories.
What does this episode say about brand & content?
Proactively seek out 'untapped markets' within your customer demographic to expand your brand ecosystem, offering specialized solutions beyond your core product line.
What does this episode say about dtc strategy?
Build a brand strategy that 'accompanies' your customer through different life stages, ensuring long-term relevance and loyalty by addressing their evolving needs.
