PLAE | Yotpo Case Studies

Company

PLAE is a customizable footwear brand founded by the former lead designer at Puma, Ryan Ringholz, and tech entrepreneur, Jonathan Spier. Driven by the shared belief that kids’ shoes should be designed specifically to adapt to a child’s developing feet, they created PLAE to promote the most important goal of all: play.

After quickly seeing success — selling over one million pairs of shoes in only four years — PLAE began focusing their efforts on driving lifetime value in an industry where customers typically make infrequent purchases. As kids outgrow each pair of shoes, PLAE looked to re-engage shoppers to buy bigger sizes and resell their used footwear, driving their mission of empowering kids to play their way at every age.

People usually purchase kids’ shoes twice a year: back to school and again when they grow out of a pair. We needed a loyalty and referrals program that would incentivize shoppers to return to PLAE to make those next purchases.

Blake Norman

Director of eCommerce

Challenge

PLAE’s old loyalty & referrals solution was limited to an on-site pop-up window, interrupting the buyer journey and resulting in low engagement. “We didn’t have a lot of flexibility or guidance,” says Blake Norman, PLAE’s Director of eCommerce. “We needed a partner that would strategize alongside us to construct a program tailored to both our brand’s aesthetic and business goals.”

In addition to customization, PLAE needed the ability to incorporate loyalty across more touchpoints, including their reseller platform and referral program, to encourage customers to redeem rewards. Without this functionality, PLAE was reaching fewer customers, limiting potential for repeat purchases — and lifetime value.

Solution

To create a more tailored loyalty & referrals program, PLAE moved from a pop-up program to Yotpo’s customized solution. The new program weaves loyalty throughout the site with pages that display point balance and incentives while shoppers browse. “Before, members had thousands of points, but they didn’t understand how they translated into value,” says Norman. “Our integrated loyalty pages have made a big difference in redeeming points.”

PLAE also sends personalized loyalty status emails showcasing how a customer’s points can apply to products they haven’t yet tried. And, members now receive bonus points for reselling used shoes. Their program’s other features, including discount redemption at checkout and credit for referrals, drive 50% more repeat purchases annually. “People are now very engaged with using their points,” says Norman.

Results

PLAE’s new loyalty & referrals program has transformed engagement. Members are 2.7x more likely to make multiple purchases than the average shopper, and they have 26% higher annual LTV. This effect has spread to PLAE’s reseller community, which has grown 10x since PLAE started rewarding points for reselling. And, their engaged customers are sharing the brand — 3% of monthly purchases now come from newly referred shoppers.

“We’re doing so much more,” says Norman. “We’re seamlessly rewarding points and providing a track back to buy again.” PLAE’s program now drives 6x ROI across all channels.