How Tangiblee helped The Sak handle its handbag sizing problem
Summary
For over 30 years, The Sak has consciously crafted high-quality leather and hand-crocheted bags inspired by the California lifestyle. The brand is beloved for slouchy silhouettes in myriad colors, patterns, shapes and sizes, including dozens of variants for the iconic 120 Hobo bag alone. That means hundreds of signature SKUs for the customer to consider — and potentially return.
The Sak needed an easy way for customers to choose the right size bag in an online shopping experience that feels relaxed and thoughtful, like the brand itself.
Under 10%
Return Rate
For the first time in almost a year, return rates fell to single digit
Challenge
Returns are an expensive problem in e-commerce. Around 30% of online purchases are returned, mostly for size reasons. Brands like The Sak provide dimensions for all their bags, backpacks and accessories, but customers may not understand what those measurements will look like on themselves. Seeing the bag on a model is helpful, but not an authentic experience for customers who aren’t 5-foot-10. If a customer misjudges the strap drop length, or if they feel the bag overwhelms their frame or is too small, they’ll send it back.
In an effort to reduce returns, The Sak tried adding 3D and augmented reality buttons to the product images, with disappointing results.
“We found that not a lot of customers were engaging with the tool,” says Jordan Katz, Director of E-commerce at The Sak. “And the analytics we had after that were not so great. We didn’t know if it really increased conversion or not.”
On the retailer side, in order to even offer a 3D experience, the process required extensive product modeling; and on the customer side, there were significant technical limitations for a user with the body mapping technology needed for bags & backpacks. In the end, the company found that 3D and AR weren’t worth it.
But The Sak still needed a way for shoppers to picture themselves with their products.
Enter Tangiblee
The Sak noticed the Tangiblee sizing solution in use on other retailer sites and liked what they saw. Of particular interest were Tangiblee’s adjustable silhouettes, a customizable and interactive feature that lets shoppers quickly choose a model and change the height and body size to match their own — no body scans or CAD files necessary.
With the Tangiblee tool, shoppers can move the bag around to see how it looks on the shoulder or carried in hand. They also can compare the size of the bag with everyday items that might go inside, like an iPhone, MacBook, sunglasses or water bottle. In addition, shoppers can see The Sak bag alongside another one they may have in their collection or shopping cart.
Tangiblee’s features give shoppers the confidence to make the right choice for their frame and lifestyle.
“Customers who feel better about their purchases reduce customer service contact and returns. It also creates better word of mouth,” Katz says.
The Sak also had an improved experience. Implementation was “much easier” than Katz expected.
“Customer experience is key and Tangiblee's solution helps that drastically,” continued Katz.
Tangiblee uses a retailer's existing images and product information, and matches the retailer's brand fonts and colors for a seamless, on-brand look. The solution works with any tag manager or e-commerce platform, and Tangiblee provides comprehensive testing metrics, including KPIs around visitors who used Tangiblee versus those who didn’t.
+60%~80%
Increased Customer Revenue
Results
The partnership between Tangiblee and The Sak began with a trial period during the most challenging time: Q4 2020 — holiday season amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Sak was focused on reducing returns and the Tangiblee solution delivered.
Right away, The Sak saw a return rate of 9%, much lower than average and especially during the holidays, when returns are even higher. In addition to the reduction in product returns, Katz was blown away by the increase in revenue and onsite conversions.
"Customer revenue and conversion were both up 60% to 80%...we did not expect the better conversion rate AND the increase in revenue per customer...," says Katz.
The brand was pleasantly surprised by the extra value it experienced with Tangiblee and its solution.
Good Vibes
After such a successful trial, The Sak was confident in the Tangiblee solution and ready for a full rollout. Katz was particularly thrilled with the results and the level of service The Sak team received from the Tangiblee team.
“Tangiblee has been great to work with as implementation was quick and painless. More importantly, we saw benefits immediately through our primary KPIs that – in the past with other solutions – we did not see an impact as quickly.”
The relationship continues to develop with Tangiblee releasing more features specific to Handbags & Accessories retail category.