Warby Parker: Building Brand Loyalty Through Values

Competitive Pricing

One of the founding principles of the Warby Parker brand was to offer affordable eyewear. Affordability is a huge value for consumers, but it can be difficult to offer affordability without portraying your products as “cheap.” Founders wondered why glasses were so expensive in the first place and sought to reduce their cost to consumers. A large part of the price one pays for in-store glasses from traditional stores like LensCrafters is the service and expertise from an optometrist, but Warby Parker offers different benefits that make up for the lack of in-person attention. The brand’s trust has been built through online reviews and user generated content, and consumers feel connected to the brand through its core brand values. This allows Warby Parker to reduce suspicion that lower prices signal poor quality.

Core Brand Values

One of the biggest distinguishing factors between Warby Parker and other eyewear brands is the element of giving back. For every pair of glasses Warby Parker sells, it donates one pair to a non-profit organization. This further connects the brand to its young target audience, as those are the consumers most likely to buy glasses online. The brand has identified the trend that younger generations are increasingly socially conscious, so adding this element of heart to the brand gives them a lot of empathy in the eyes of its customers. Additionally, the design of the brand is very customer-centric as the business model allows potential customers to try glasses before purchasing them. This enhances the personalized relationship consumers develop with the brand as they understand that Warby Parker values their individuality and time.

Direct-to-Consumer Marketing Strategy

While most DTC brands spend the majority of their advertising budget on paid digital marketing, Warby Parker has identified television as a lucrative advertising space for its brand. In the first quarter of 2020, Warby Parker spent $10 million on television advertising, according to Media Post. This strategy speaks to Warby Parker’s goal of obtaining new customers from major competitors in the traditional eyewear space, most of whom use television as their primary marketing channel.

This is not to say that Warby Parker has not engaged in the digital advertising space, though. The brand has developed educational and engaging content to promote its brand through paid social media advertising and spends a portion of its budget on paid search engine marketing to ensure Warby Parker appears prominently in searches for eyewear. Tech-savvy customers are intrigued by Warby Parker’s user-friendly online business model that further reduces the necessity for in-store shopping, particularly during the pandemic.

Next Steps for Warby Parker

Lauched in 2019, the Warby Parker app is a game-changer for the future of the company. Not only does it provide customers with user-friendly access to the brand’s platform, but the app also implements a feature enabling customers to try on glasses virtually using augmented reality. This feature further saves consumers’ time and resources by gaining a good idea of what the glasses will look like on their face before even placing an order with Warby Parker.

Moving forward, Warby Parker has an opportunity to transform the traditional brick-and-mortar glasses process. To do this, the brand needs to maintain their competitive technological edge while introducing a strong medical side to their brand. Hiring optometrists to partner with Warby Parker in their marketing efforts will help prove to tech-wary consumers that Warby Parker is a trustworthy source to obtain high-quality glasses. Involving more physicians in its marketing efforts could remove the need for Warby Parker’s consumers to ever walk into an eyewear store again. Further innovating the brand to become a one-stop shop for eye health will allow Warby Parker to become a true powerhouse in this space.