Field Testing with Locker
Mary Grace Scully has a secret Locker collection of vintage designer shoes
Hello hello! One of my original goals of tracking my wardrobe was to buy less stuff…and it wasn’t an easy transition. Fashion marketing is incredibly effective and the psychological powers at play make it difficult to fend off the dopamine hit you get from tapping add to cart while commerce technology seamlessly pushes you buy now with so little friction you barely have the time to consider what you’re spending.
But what if the tech was there to help you shop smarter without sacrificing the joy of finding something great? Meet Locker! I’ve been a fan and avid user for a couple of years and have added hundreds of items to my Locker collections across sites new and pre-owned in collections. I still get the dopamine hit from tapping add to collection but without the buyer’s remorse. And when I’m looking for something new, I can review my collections and decide what’s worth buying, but now with intention.
I’m always saving items to my ‘Christmas’, ‘Baby Gifts,’ and ‘Dog’ collections when I come across something great so I have options at the ready when it’s gift buying time.
I chatted with Head of Marketing Mary Grace Scully to better understand how Locker helps users get rewarded for what they’re saving to buy later.
There are so many online shopping tools available – what does Locker help me do?
Locker is a tool and social shopping platform that enables shoppers to discover new brands, save their favorite products to curated collections, and get rewarded for sharing what they love with other shoppers. Our founder Kristine Locker (yes that's her real last name!) started building this vision for a one-stop-shopping solution in 2020, and since then, to your point, so many other shopping tools have popped up, each tackling very fragmented problems.
Where Locker has always stood apart was by having the clarity to connect those fragmented steps of the modern consumer journey seamlessly into one experience, in a way that benefits the consumer and also the brand. For example, you might come across a product you love through an Instagram ad, then a few weeks later hear a friend talking about that brand. Then two weeks later see an influencer post about it. But ultimately, you may not buy it for a few more weeks after you wait for it to go on sale, get a work bonus, etc.
Consumers are at a loss. They're constantly losing track of products in their screenshots or tabs, getting inundated by peer pressure to buy things and making impulsive purchases, and they aren't feeling rewarded by their favorite brands who they spend their hard-earned money on. Locker steps in to enable shoppers to turn their personal style into something that is organized, curated, sharable and even valuable.
As an online shopper, how do I start using Locker?
To get the full experience, we recommend downloading both the Google Chrome extension (for desktop shoppers), and the app on the App Store (for mobile shoppers). This way, if a friend texts you a link saying "Hey, I think this would be perfect for your bach trip..." you can quickly save it to a collection. Then later when you're evaluating products on your computer, that product is saved right there across devices.
Shoppers can make collections for any occasion such as "Summer Wardrobe", "Home Decor" or even "Wedding Outfits". From there, we tend to see two types of common shopper behavior: the sourcer and the discoverer. The "sourcer" actively saves products INTO Locker (i.e from any brand website, from reading news articles about summer fashion, etc). Then the "discoverer" tends to browse the platform looking to get inspired by other shoppers. Nearly half of all of the 11 million products on the platform were actually saved from within Locker, which is amazing incremental reach for brands and also amazing opportunity for these power shoppers to earn commission by inspiring other shoppers.
I love that on some days I can be a sourcer if I'm feeling inspired and I'm deep into the depths of a brand's website, and on others I can come to Locker and get inspired by what other shoppers have found! As you start building out collections (think of them like Pinterest boards that can be made private, public, collaborative or even giftable like a registry), you can then also make collages, follow friends, follow collections, etc. We're going to be adding even more ways to get social within the platform, that I don't want to give away quite yet.
Lastly, if you want to start earning cash back from the products you buy out of your Locker, or earn commission from the products you inspire others to buy, definitely sign up for our Payback program. Unlike influencer platforms, there is no aesthetic or follower count required to join. We love that we're removing the hierarchy associated with the creator economy, by democratizing access to monetization and rewarding both the buyer and the inspirer. 48K+ brands are participating, so chances are you've been shopping and leaving money on the table by not saving products to Locker before buying or recommending them to others
I try to always start my shopping journey with resale items. Can I use Locker for resale?
Absolutely! I'm a TheRealReal addict and First Look member! There are a few ways that I personally use Locker to source and keep track of vintage products I'm eyeing and buying. The first is by keeping track of the products I'm eyeing across dozens of resale websites that I may personally want to buy, by organizing them in a private collection where I can see them all in one place, under one "budget" mindset. Let's say I'm in the market for a brown, luxury loafer. I will go across resale retailers like Depop, TheRealReal, ThredUp, Vestiaire Collective, eBay and more. As I'm browsing, I'll save anywhere from 10 to even 40 pairs of shoes all into one private collection (because I don't want anyone else to snag the one-of-one products!). Then after a few weeks or even months of deliberation, maybe I'll get a Price Drop from Locker, or a credit on TheRealReal, I'll buy the winning pair out of my Locker, feeling confident I truly cross-compared options for the best deal and could visually see every option in one place. (Editors note - this is so smart and I WILL be doing this!)
What’s next for Locker?
We have a LOT of fun things on our product roadmap. By the time this Substack publishes, our Price Drop feature will be live. From there, we will be revamping our onboarding experience to make our product personalization even more accurate, and will also be enhancing search functionality to make our database of 11 million products even more accessible. We're also rolling out a V2 of our Locker Shopping Club (internal referral program) to keep empowering our power users to share and earn. If shoppers want to stay tuned with what's coming out next, I recommend keeping up with us on our socials (@wantlocker) or by sending us an email at info@wantlocker.com to share feedback anytime!
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