Episode 12: Pivoting from Full Subscription to an E-Commerce Hybrid with Lissa Regets, Head of Growth at EBY

In this episode of the Subscriptions: Scaled podcast, Nick Fredrick, President of Rebar Technology Solutions, is joined by Lissa Regets, Head of Growth at EBY. Nick and Lissa dive into the decision to pivot EBY from being 100% subscription-based to being a hybrid of subscription and e-commerce. They also discuss the impacts that COVID-19 has had on the company, and how to best leverage data and testing.

What is EBY?

EBY is a subscription business that sells premium underwear for women. It is a female-led, cause-based brand that donates 10% of proceeds to fund micro-financed loans to women all around the world. So far, they have supported 15,000 women and children.

Pivoting from Subscription to Hybrid

Lissa explains that at EBY, their primary focus is to build everything around a customer-centric experience. Because of this, she credits the customers with ultimately pushing the transition from full subscription to hybrid. 

EBY started out as a 100% subscription-based company, and customers were only able to purchase their underwear on a quarterly or semi-annual subscription. They eventually launched a VIP shopping option that allowed existing subscribers to purchase additional underwear between cycles, and it became such a popular option among subscribers that it soon began to outperform the subscription model.

Due to the clear popularity of the e-commerce model, EBY decided to remove the login wall behind their e-commerce store and allow anyone to purchase their underwear. They found that not only did the e-commerce option give potential subscribers the opportunity to try EBY underwear before committing to a full subscription, but it also helped to reduce churn. Those opting out of the full subscription model were still able to continue purchasing EBY underwear as e-commerce customers.

COVID-19’s Impact on EBY

Because COVID-19 shuttered in-person stores, e-commerce became the only way for people to shop. Lissa estimates that the pandemic pushed the e-commerce industry forward by about five years, and she shares that it also increased the average EBY shopper age by about 10 years. It brought to light the importance of marketing to both a younger and an older demographic, as well as a need to focus on paid search and SEO as more people began going online to find everyday items.

COVID-19 also played a role in EBY’s pivot to their current hybrid model. At the start of the pandemic, EBY was 100% subscription-based. As COVID-19 led to unstable income situations for a lot of people, EBY’s subscription model took a noticeable hit. EBY spent this time focusing on the efficiencies of the business, how to make the offering better for customers, and building out their new Shopify e-commerce product. 

Effectively Analyzing Data

One of the main points Lissa brings up in regards to data is to take the time to do cohort analysis. This includes digging into questions such as, “How are people being acquired into the quarterly vs. semi annual box?” and “Is there anything about the first order composition that might increase their lifetime value?” She also suggests looking at the specific marketing channel where each customer was acquired, and analyzing whether that has any impact on their lifetime value. 

Creating a Testing Agenda

After analyzing data and identifying which metrics to work on, businesses need to create tests to help optimize these metrics. 

Lissa provides insight into how she approaches testing, sharing that she always creates a ‘testing agenda.’ This testing agenda is a document that clearly outlines key information including the hypothesis of the test, target metric, duration of the test, test subjects, and more. Creating this document helps to clearly define and narrow the focus of the test by ensuring that there is only one variable being tested and that the scope of the test doesn’t become too broad.

To hear more from Lissa, tune into this episode of the Subscriptions: Scaled podcast.

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