You've probably heard this story before: A cult-favorite brand has a waitlist for a highly anticipated new product, boasting the names of thousands upon thousands of eager customers. "This Bucket Bag Hasn't Even Shipped, But It Has a 2,500-Person Waitlist;" "Frank Body's New Glitter 'Unicorn' Scrub Has a 50,000-Person Waitlist;" or "There Are 40,000 People on the Waitlist for Everlane's New Denim Collection.
RELATED ARTICLESWHAT MAKES US WANT TO SHOP A DROP?ARE ULTRAFAST LABELS LIKE FASHION NOVA WITTINGLY RIPPING CUSTOMERS OFF?CAN MASS INFLUENCER MARKETING BACKFIRE FOR BRANDS? Though Summersalt's primary focus is servicing customers' needs and wants, a secondary benefit from waitlists is its breadth of data and getting a read on what colors, styles and trends are performing best. "There are some clear winners as far as the waitlist goes," says Coulter. "It can inform both merchandising decisions going forward, as well as our current buys."
The waitlist also helps refine Arjé's brand identity. "If a collection is overstock, you lose sight of what is a bestseller. You just have a lot of product," says Corral. "Even if we keep using shearling, we can do it because it becomes a part of our identity. But we don't repeat the style usually. It comes with a little trick, like a slow, beautiful evolution. It's one more treat for that desire. I miss this one but this new one is cool or even better.
That tactic has been applied to Linjer's newest launch, the Doctor's Bag. Select visitors to the website could access a waitlist for only 100 units of the bag's first limited-production run ahead of its official debut at the end of September. The list acquired more than 3,000 customers signing up and the bag is expected to sell out by the end of the week.
"That was something where we saw this insane conversion rate," recalls Johnson. "If everything we ever launched had this direct customer loyalty to it, we would have this secret potion.