New Platform Helps Shopify Brands Bring In-Person Shopping Experience to Ecommerce
TryNow, a software platform that enables consumers to easily try items at home before buying, raised a $12 million Series A funding round from Shine Capital, Craft Ventures, SciFi VC, Third Kind, and Plaid co-founders Zachary Perret and William Hockey. TryNow also hired two key executives from Stitch Fix and Affirm as the company’s VP of Growth Strategy and VP of Platform, respectively. TryNow’s software platform brings the dressing room to the living room, allowing consumers to check out for free, try items in the comfort of their own home, return unwanted items easily, and only pay for what they keep. TryNow brands see a 63% increase in average order value, a 22% increase in conversion rates, and a 76% increase in return on ad spend.
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“TryNow has quickly become a key driver of growth and profitability for our business, and we are thrilled to have them as a strategic partner”
Fast growing Shopify Plus brands like Universal Standard, Roolee, Western Rise, and Solid & Striped already leverage TryNow for their Try Now Buy Later programs. TryNow simplifies this otherwise complex process by integrating seamlessly with Shopify, return management systems, and various accounting systems. Additionally, TryNow’s consultative approach ensures brands have the support they need to launch and grow their Try Now Buy Later programs. Simply put, TryNow catalyzes growth for Shopify merchants.
“TryNow has quickly become a key driver of growth and profitability for our business, and we are thrilled to have them as a strategic partner,” said Polina Veksler, CEO at Universal Standard.
“TryNow was founded on the simple premise that the biggest roadblock to profitable ecommerce growth is the inability to try before you buy. Only ~3% of online shoppers convert to purchase. Can you blame them? Could you imagine an in-person shopper having to swipe their credit card before taking items into a fitting room? It is completely unnatural, yet this is exactly what we are asking of online shoppers,” said Benjamin Davis, TryNow’s Founder and CEO. “Removing uncertainty before purchasing allows brands to unlock the power of in-store retail for consumers—all from the comfort of their own homes.”
Platforms like Shopify enable the easy launch of an online store and have profoundly changed the business models for digitally native brands. In the process, however, the magic of touching, feeling, trying, and discussing was lost. Browser windows will never be a perfect substitute for the sensory experience of shopping in person.
Amazon Prime Wardrobe, Stitch Fix, and Warby Parker have addressed this challenge by building in-house Try Now Buy Later programs. TryNow’s platform provides Amazon-level infrastructure to Shopify Plus brands through direct integration with Shopify’s APIs, returns management solutions, and email providers like Klaviyo. Additionally, TryNow’s proprietary fraud management suite ensures that brands are able to successfully capture funds at the end of the trial period.
“At Shine, we are attracted to businesses with simple yet powerful insights that can ultimately lead to massively scalable new platforms,” said Mo Koyfman, Founder and Managing Partner of Shine Capital. “TryNow’s understanding that a lack of tactility restricts ecommerce growth has opened the opportunity to create and scale the Try Now Buy Later category. It is rare to find such a strong team attacking such a simple but big idea. We are delighted to partner with Benjamin and the entire TryNow team as they scale their elegant platform and help ecommerce brands close the conversion gap with brick and mortar retail.”
Concurrent with the new funding, TryNow bolstered its leadership team with two senior executive hires. Former Stitch Fix strategy leader Jessica Baier joined the company as VP of Growth Strategy, and Jonathan Kayne, who led product partnerships at Affirm, is TryNow’s new VP of Platform.
“Benjamin and the TryNow team are taking what they’ve learned from Affirm, Stitch Fix, and operating a DTC brand and launching the ultimate checkout option: try now, buy later. This translates into more order volume and more profit. We all want to try before we buy: it’s only a matter of time before TryNow’s checkout solution becomes the standard,” said Brian Murray, managing director at Craft Ventures.