Latest / The Retention Marketing Podcast with Fexingo: Email, SMS, and Loyalty for Repeat Customers / How Warby Parker Uses Home Try-On to Drive Repeat Purchases
Transcript
- Lucas: Let me ask you something. Have you ever ordered five pairs of glasses to your house, tried them on in your living room, and then mailed four of them back? Luna: Absolutely. I'm actually wearing a pair right now that came through the home try-on program. Warby Parker, to be specific. Lucas: So you're the perfect person for today's episode. Because Warby Parker's home try-on isn't just a clever acquisition trick. It's quietly one of the smartest retention engines in direct to consumer retail. And there's one number from their early investor materials that still sticks with me. Luna: What's the number? Lucas: Fifty percent. That's the share of customers who used the home try-on program and then made multiple purchases over time. Not just one pair — they came back for second, third, sometimes fourth pairs. So the question is: why does shipping five pairs of glasses to a stranger create that kind of loyalty? Luna: Before we go deep on that, I want to mention something. If these marketing conversations have sparked something you've actually used at work, and you want to help keep the show ad-free, there's a simple way. Buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Honestly, if today was worth a cup to you, that's the link. Lucas: Yeah, no pressure at all. It just helps us keep doing what we're doing. So, back to Warby Parker. The home try-on program — you get five frames shipped free, you try them on for five days, you pick one, and you return the rest in a prepaid envelope. On the surface, it's a friction reducer for buying glasses online. But underneath, it's doing something else. Luna: It's building an emotional investment. You've already worn them in your home, you've shown them to your partner, maybe you took a selfie. Returning all five feels like a loss. Lucas: Exactly. Behavioral economists call that the endowment effect. Once you've handled the product, you value it more than you did before. Warby Parker deliberately designs that feeling. Then they layer on a really specific post-try-on email sequence to make sure you don't drift away. Luna: What does that sequence look like? I've been through it, but I didn't study it as a marketer. Lucas: So the day your try-on kit arrives, you get a welcome email — not a sales pitch, just a 'have fun trying them on.' Then on day three, you get a reminder that your five days are almost up. On day five, a 'don't forget to return by tomorrow' message. But the key is what happens if you haven't purchased by day seven. Luna: That's the abandonment sequence. Lucas: Right. They send an email with the specific frames you tried on, plus one or two recommendations based on what you chose. They also offer a phone consult if you're stuck. That personal touch — naming the exact pair you had on your face — is surprisingly powerful. It makes the email feel less like a blast and more like a follow-up from a real optician. Luna: And they follow that up with SMS too, right? I remember getting a text a few days after I returned my kit, with a photo of the frames I had liked most. Lucas: Yeah, they do an SMS sequence that's basically a shorter, more urgent version of the email. The text on day eight might say something like 'those Brynns looked great on you — they're still in stock. Want to see them in another color?' It's low commitment, but it keeps the product top of mind. Luna: And once you do buy, what happens? Because the fifty percent repeat rate suggests they don't stop at the first purchase. Lucas: Post-purchase is where the retention engine really kicks in. After you buy your first pair, they send a survey asking about fit, style, and whether you'd consider buying another pair for a different occasion. They use that data to segment you. So if you bought a classic black frame for work, they might email you six months later with a sunwear recommendation — 'your Brynns, now in polarized.' Luna: That's smart segmentation. They're not just saying 'buy more glasses.' They're saying 'buy the specific glasses that fit your established style.' Lucas: And they also use scarcity. Warby Parker produces limited runs of certain frames. So if you bought a pair from a limited collection, they'll send you a note when the next collection drops — 'only 500 pairs of this colorway, first access for previous customers.' That taps into the fear of missing out, but it also rewards loyalty. Luna: So the home try-on program essentially does double duty. It lowers the barrier for first purchase, but it also collects data that fuels repeat purchases. That's a pretty elegant loop. Lucas: That's exactly it. And the numbers back it up. Warby Parker has never publicly broken out repeat rate in recent years, but early in their history they reported that customers who used home try-on had a lifetime value roughly 1.5 times higher than customers who didn't. That's a huge difference for a business that sells a product you might only buy every two years. Luna: Right, because glasses aren't like coffee or skincare. The purchase cycle is naturally long. So you have to work harder to shorten it or expand the product line. Lucas: And they've done both. They expanded into prescription sunglasses, blue-light blocking, and even contacts. Each new product line is marketed first to existing customers — 'you loved your main pair, now get a pair for the beach.' That's classic retention marketing: sell more to the people who already trust you. Luna: I also think the home try-on program creates a kind of social sharing that helps retention. When I got my kit, I took photos and sent them to friends. That's basically free word of mouth, but it also reinforces my own commitment to the brand. Lucas: Absolutely. They even encourage it — the packaging includes a little card that says 'share your try-on selfie with #warbyhometryon.' That user-generated content becomes social proof for new customers, but for the person who posted it, it's a public endorsement. And research shows that when you publicly endorse a brand, you're more likely to stay loyal. Luna: So what's the one takeaway for a marketer listening who doesn't sell eyewear? Can a shoe brand or a furniture company adapt this? Lucas: I think the core principle is: let the customer experience the product at low risk, then use that experience data to personalize follow-up. A furniture company could send fabric swatches and then follow up with specific sofa recommendations based on which swatches the customer kept. A skincare brand could send a sample kit and then target repeat purchases based on which products the customer used first. Luna: The key is capturing behavior — not just what they bought, but what they tried and didn't buy. That negative data is just as valuable for retention. Lucas: Exactly. Warby Parker knows which frames you almost bought. That gives them a license to email you about those frames again later. And because you already handled them, the second touchpoint feels familiar, not spammy. Luna: It also gives them a reason to stay in touch without being annoying. If I buy a pair of glasses and never hear from the brand again, I might forget them. But because they have that try-on data, they can send me a note six months later that feels helpful, not pushy. Lucas: Right. And they also use what they call 'the next pair' logic. If you bought a pair of acetate frames, they might recommend a metal frame for your next purchase — offering variety, but within the same price and style range you already chose. That's the kind of personalization that drives repeat. Luna: I think the lesson here is that retention starts before the first purchase. The home try-on program is essentially a retention tool disguised as a conversion tool. Lucas: That's a perfect way to put it. Warby Parker invests heavily in the try-on experience — free shipping, free returns, five frames — knowing that the upfront cost pays off in lifetime value. It's a deliberate trade-off that most brands are too scared to make. Luna: One more thing: they also use the home try-on data to reduce churn. If a customer tried on but didn't buy, they don't just abandon them. They'll send a 'we miss you' email six months later, reminding them that their try-on kit is still available. Lucas: Yeah, that win-back sequence is very specific. They know exactly what frames you tried, so they can say 'remember the Yates? They're back in stock in a new color.' That's way more effective than a generic 'come back and save 20 percent.' Luna: So if I'm a marketer looking to build a similar program, what's the first step? Should I start with a low-cost sample or a full try-on kit? Lucas: I'd start with the smallest possible version of the experience. If you sell a product that can be sampled, sample it. The goal is to get the customer to touch, feel, or use the product before they commit. Then capture every data point: what they tried, how long they kept it, what they almost chose. That data is the fuel for the retention engine. Luna: And make sure the follow-up is personalized — not just 'buy now' but 'we remember what you liked.' That's the Warby Parker advantage. Lucas: Exactly. So the next time you hear about a brand that ships free samples or offers a trial, don't just think of it as a customer acquisition cost. Think of it as the beginning of a relationship that could generate two, three, or four purchases over time. Luna: And if you want to borrow from Warby Parker's playbook, start by asking: what can I let my customer experience before they buy, and how can I use that experience to keep them coming back? Lucas: That's a wrap for today. We'll be back with another episode soon.