The Big WP

It’s an iconic tale of lost and found: A Wharton student loses his glasses while on a backpacking trip, and winds up as co-founder of one of the most trailblazing online eyewear sellers in history.

Since its launch in 2010, Warby Parker has made waves across the industry.

Take a few #EBNews headlines over the years, for example: Warby Parker Expands Into Contact Lenses…Warby Parker Ventures Into Kids Eyewear…Warby Parker Confidentially Files to Go Public.

The list goes on.

So, what has the company, which started exclusively online and is now operating more than 150 brick-and-mortar locations, gotten right with e-commerce?

Here, we present a download of the WP website and the company’s omnichannel strategy.

SPECS ON SPECS

➤ Pricing: WP puts pricing front and center on its product pages: “Prescription eyeglasses, starting at $95, with free shipping and free returns.” Progressives start at $295. Lens add-ons include blue-light-filtering (+$50) and light-responsive (+$100). Site-goers also select between polycarbonate and 1.67 high-index options.

➤ Product: The frames (including suns) have traditional names (Hughes, Lawrence, Cyrus, to name a few), matching the classic silhouettes and neutral/earthy color palette.

➤ Contact Lenses, Too: In 2019, the company launched a brand of contact lenses, Scout by Warby Parker. The WP website offers a variety of other CLs—Acuvue, Air Optix, Biotrue, and more. “Why buy contacts at Warby Parker?” one might ask—and the WP website does too, with an entire rundown of answers to that question (15% off the first CL order, free shipping, etc.), complete with illustrations in the brand’s classic blue hues.

MARKETING MENTALITY

Warby Parker is constantly lauded for its omnichannel strategy.

“It’s this wider push of digitally native, product-oriented companies into the retail space,” explained Ethan Chernofsky, VP of marketing at Placer.ai, in a recent retail trends webinar with The Robin Report. “The fact that [Warby Parker] is coming offline is significant for a lot of reasons…It’s this tremendous validation of the power of brick-and-mortal retail.”

Warby Parker lists all store locations on its website, with an asterisk designating which locations have an independent optometrist performing exams.

DISTINCTIVE DESTINATIONS

 • A virtual try-on page links to the WP app, which allows consumers with certain smartphone models to virtually try on frames “with lifelike accuracy (it’s wild! And so cool.),” according to the app info.

• Another app, the Virtual Vision Test by Warby Parker, allows eligible users to renew their Rx from home “in just 10 minutes,” according to the application.

• WP’s “5 for free” model encourages site surfers to pick five frames to test-run at home for five days.

• By answering a quick quiz, WP will suggest “some great-looking glasses to fill your Home Try-On.” Eight quick questions focus on frame preference (color, material, silhouette), face shape, and general wear.

• An entire education section on the WP website serves up info on eyeglass lenses and sunglass lenses, and an “easy-breezy super-smarty guide” of eyewear/eyecare terms from A to Z, like acetate, lacrimal caruncle, and visual acuity.

So, what does WP get right online? Its site is clean and user-friendly and—perhaps most importantly—promotes an omnichannel experience.