Locker

There's been a ton of conversation on my LinkedIn feed about AI-powered search, Google ads search rankings, and general trend forecasting based on what consumers are searching for as inspo on social media... It occurred to me that Locker is sitting on a landmine of consumer search intent, and while we should probably be selling these insights, for now we'd like to share it with you all here! Spoiler alert: It's not even the 4th of July yet and there's already wayyy more interest in Back To School shopping than you'd likely guess. Month over month, we can see the following search spikes for these keywords, by shoppers coming to Locker to see curated & relevant product recs from real people, not suggestions from generative algorithms or paid search: Rush (as in sorority recruitment outfits) is up 221% Dorm is up 124%+ Game day (go Gators!) is up 222% Sure, shoppers are still searching on Pinterest for room layout inspo, TikTok for the inside scoop on what sorority recruitment is like, and Googling their school's home football game schedule, but they're also discovering, consolidating and deciding on what purchases they actually want to make for the upcoming fall semester in their Lockers NOW. So if you're a brand who is already behind on this current discovery ➡ consideration window, then you might miss out on their transition to campus later this Fall. Utilizing this search data, we pushed all of our Back To School content up by a month and we have room for a few more brands to be considered for inclusion in our curated campaign collections & social content. Send me an email (partnerships@wantlocker.com) if you want to get in front of 130K+ young, female shoppers who are eagerly looking for their dorm decor and fashion needs (and are already well underway with planning their Locker shopping lists for these categories ⬇)! #backtoschool #consumertrends #consumersearch #searchtrends

Last week, Locker was tagged in discourse on LinkedIn about the role that consumer platforms play in enabling unsustainable practices (i.e over-consumption). It's a conversation we don't shy away from, as mindful consumption is at the core of our mission - so let's talk about it. In the post, Locker had been named a sustainable platform, promoting mindful consumption and someone commented that it appears Locker just makes it easier for consumers to...consume. I can see how at a glance, Locker seems like a platform that just makes it easier to shop. But we think about shopping as an activity that encompasses far more than clicking "buy". Shopping is discovery, comparison, reviewing with friends, styling, to eventually deciding to buy (or not). We share a similar belief to fellow female-founder Danielle L. Vermeer, who said, "Saying 'buy less, buy better,' or 'don't buy fast fashion' doesn't offer a real solution." We also understand that consumers want to be more in control of their purchase behavior than ever before, and they don't take well to peer pressure from higher-ups to "shop less" or "invest in more expensive basics" just for the sake of satisfying the mission of sustainable business practices. Truly understanding consumer behavior means accepting we can't change them overnight, so instead we need to get real about how to help serve their needs. For Locker, it means giving shoppers a moment of pause between when they first discover a product and deciding whether or not to buy. Take it from the hundreds of TikToks and comments we get tagged in every month of people sharing why they're more proud to slow down their shopping than they are to show off an impulsive haul. "If I want something, I'll save it to my Locker and leave it in the collection, then I'll go back and look at everything I want and I'll realize a lot of the stuff that I wanted to buy impulsively, I don't actually really want, I just wanted it because it looked cool in the moment," -Locker shopper @mwronkowski. The everyday consumer craves control over the purchases they discover and aspire to own - whether it's testing out a trend they saw online or heard about from a best friend - but with thousands of touch points of peer pressure to buy in a given day - they need the time and space to come to a decision. So if you find yourself buying products from pressure to keep up with the Jones', Locker is here to help make that process easier. And sure, we also get tagged in our fair share of TikToks and comments about using Locker to shop all the time, but that's the reality of modern consumer behavior, and we're here to help them make the most confident decisions and save them from buyers remorse and waste, one save at a time. #consumerbehavior #sustainability #onlineshopping

Last week, Mary Grace Scully and I made ourselves hard to miss with our new Locker logo tanks and bright clothes at the #RakutenOptimism conference in Carlsbad, CA. When you’re known as the “shopping app girls” you have to dress the part 😎 It’s amazing what a year of relationship building in the affiliate space can do. Last year was my first Rakuten conference where I was flying solo and attempting to set up meetings with anyone who was willing to listen to me talk about Locker’s vision. Flash forward to this year, it was surreal to have multiple stacked meeting days to strengthen relationships, old and new - allies in the publisher space, the locker community’s favorite brands or even people who pulled us aside after seeing our merch saying they had heard about the hype and wanted to learn more. There is truly no better feeling than seeing someone’s face light up when they understand how Locker is changing the e-commerce space and it left us feeling ~optimistic for the year ahead for Locker. If we didn’t get to meet at Optimism. please feel free to reach out here and we can set up a meeting 🙂 Can’t wait to see you all (and many more) at the next conference! Lindsey Grillot Kelly Johnson (Rodeck) Emily Chen, Emily Petrowski Julia Schwartz, Kim Zorn, Crystal Simile Garrett Mason Fang Ho Ashley Fejtek Nikki Yorgiadis Chris Perkins Chris Schell Edward Murillo Rachel Irwin Hanna Kron Bailey Ucker Grace Hahn Jennifer Goodwin Dexter Dethmers Anna Grazioli

While some have started setting their OOO emails for MDW - others of us are gearing up for another huge weekend of sales... which means Locker launched our annual MDW Sales Guide 💰 Before I built Locker, I used to create a Google spreadsheet for myself to keep track of products I wanted to buy and all of the best sales. Once I launched Locker, the tradition stuck and now our sales guides have grown to help thousands of consumers. Check out this year's MDW sales doc for some of our team's fav deals from our brand partners. https://lnkd.in/gDWcGhDa You're welcome 🔥 Learn more on our TikTok and don't hesitate to reach out to partnerships@wantlocker.com if your brand wants to partner with Locker and add their deals to our upcoming holiday sales guides: https://lnkd.in/gfFfD3dt #memorialday #sale #memorialdaysales #onlineshopping

Revolve recently updated their return policy, which had my TikTok FYP buzzing with consumer conversation. Let's break down why shoppers care and how this will drastically change consumer behavior (for the better!!): Why now: First reported by pop culture reporter Samantha Cohen (see TT stitch below), Revolve recently changed their return policy from 60 to 30 days, to break a bad habit of customers repeatedly buying and returning large volumes of products. For context: A big part of Revolve's e-commerce dominance has been due in part to their fast 2-day shipping and lenient return policy, coupled with large Revolve hauls being shared on social media, and then a large portion of said hauls getting returned, for a variety of reasons. While these flexible shipping & return policies were great tactics for raising positive brand affinity, it became time for the brand to crack down 🔽 In a recent earnings call, their CFO reported their return rate was a shocking 60% - twice as high as the industry e-commerce return average ‼ Here's where things turn positive - at Locker, we pride ourselves on helping shoppers make smarter purchases. Across categories and retailers, we see significantly lower return rates than the industry average. In fact, we even wrote about it on Earth Day in 2023, lol: https://lnkd.in/gqKEeYBC So we decided to test out if this still reigns true, even for Revolve (Locker's most shopped brand partner, 400K+ products saved and counting!). We calculated the return rate monthly over the past 2 years. Sure enough, Locker shoppers' Revolve return rate was on average, just 25%.... How?! It's simple enough but, shoppers who "save" products before clicking "buy" are able to have a moment to reflect on their decision and think within context of all of their online purchases, and therefore with confidence. It's contradictory to modern consumer behavior, but we actually encourage adding a step to the consumer journey between discovering and purchasing... ...Instead of building product features (like one-click-checkout) that remove steps from the consumer journey and pressure purchases, we provide a pause. And the result of giving consumers a platform to discover, save, think, and ultimately convert on their own has been astounding for our brand partners. Check out more on our TikTok here: https://lnkd.in/gxuybGnj

Let's talk investment pieces & angel investing! 😇 Our most recent episode of #LockerRoomTalk was a special one, because it featured not only one of our good friends and favorite shoppers, but now officially a Locker angel investor, Tariro Makoni! Before her episode went live, we had a catch up call this week to share some upcoming exciting Locker discovery algorithm updates and gather her (often hilarious) wisdom. As a self-proclaimed "master of the algorithms", Tariro is a pro at online shopping because she knows how to tailor her preferences to filter for tastemakers and textures and prioritize timeless > trends. She practices self restraint when it comes to gathering themes from her FYP to decide if she wants to invest in a trend (like her viral analysis on the 'puffification' of fashion), but she also knows when to go with her gut and pounce on a trend, well before it has reached mainstream (yes, she was the OG of the leopard Wales Bonner Adidas sambas). Regardless of if she decides to buy or pass, she's saving everything she's eyeing to her Locker 👀 Check out our full LRT interview on Locker's TikTok here to hear more about her shopping philosophies & tips: https://lnkd.in/gbPjkCmY For even more of Tariro's hot takes & thoughtful trend analysis, be sure to read and listen to her recent Vogue Business interview with Madeleine Schulz on The Future of Shopping podcast: https://lnkd.in/gHCnVgrk And of course check out her Locker profile to see what she's eyeing for the spring & summer: https://lnkd.in/gpnkAUUr

It's finals season, which means all of our college Locker users are looking for a study break. We agree that online shopping is the perfect study break, so when Locker's college student ambassadors pitched us on hosting campus events to help take their minds off of exams, we were beyond excited to help them re-fuel and re-charge. At three different campuses this past weekend, Locker ambassadors partnered with local coffee and smoothie shops to host tabs for Locker shoppers on campus. It was incredible seeing our ambassadors take initiative even with so much already on their plates with finals. Our ambassadors designed promotional content and banners to build awareness and excitement around Locker, and inspired hundreds of new students to join Locker during their events. If you're a college student who loves Locker, let us know in the comments if you want Locker to expand to your campus in the fall!! We love you Locker ambassadors!! Tara Fishman lauren leath Isabella Fischer Haydin Davis Gillian Loflin Cayli Clack Katie Bradshaw Ellison Sisney #collegeambassadors #campusambassadorprogram #femalefounder #onlineshopping #community