Meet Scarpetta Shoes, a fast-growing retailer for women’s designer shoes, that’s based in Columbus, OH. Since its early beginnings 10 years ago, Scarpetta Shoes has rapidly ascended to popularity because of its ability to make high-end styles more accessible to shoppers.
We recently caught up with Rachel Baileys, Marketing Manager at Scarpetta Shoes and asked her to share Scarpetta’s secrets to success.
Check out what she has to say!
Tell us a bit about how Scarpetta Shoes got started. What’s the story behind the business?
Scarpetta Shoes was founded in 2009 with only $2000 in Columbus, Ohio. By acquiring excess inventory through partnerships with designers, we are able to offer unmatched deals on high-end styles. From the initial conception, we have upheld our mission to make designer brands accessible and add value to every woman’s closet, no matter her budget.
In an effort to graduate college without debt, Adam Dwidari, the owner and founder of Scarpetta Shoes, started selling various items online by acquiring inventory through liquidation sales.
He sold everything from video games to rugs. Finally, he landed on women’s shoes because they were both high in demand and could be easily scaled. So far, everything he sold was either seasonal, difficult to ship and store, or had little demand. After landing on women’s shoes, he decided to establish Scarpetta Shoes, officially.
What are the unique things about your store that customers love? How do you keep people coming back?
Our store is unique because we offer women great value on designer shoes.
The shoe market is so competitive so it speaks volumes that we have carved out a niche for ourselves and accomplished so much this coveted pairing of sustainability and affordability that our customers really appreciate and keeps them coming back.
What are your top marketing channels? How do people discover Scarpetta Shoes?
We have a strong digital marketing strategy that we use to get people into our pop-up stores. We have found most of our success through Facebook advertising and have leaned into that to generate traffic. Once customers come into our store, we provide an optimized in-store experience and incentivize everyone to refer their friends and family.
How did you find Vend? Would you recommend Vend to retailers like yourself?
As an online-only store, we decided to step into the world of brick-and-mortar retail. Originally, we were going to use another popular POS because our team members had used it before and were familiar with the system.
However, after some trial runs and a bit of training, we realized the limitations of that system, specifically in the limited ways it allowed us to merchandise and set up promotions. We needed a platform that aligned with our goals; to encourage our customers to spend more at each visit.
After our failed attempt with the first POS, we researched Vend, Clover, and Lightspeed. Vend was the only platform that allowed advanced flexibility with discounts and promotions, which would help us increase our order value.
We would recommend Vend to anyone like us who wants to increase the order value and not just give away free merchandise or money with their promotions.
What are some of the most useful Vend features that you’ve found? How have they helped your business?
The most useful Vend feature for us is the flexibility with the promotions. The “Buy X Get Y” feature has increased our average order volume like no other platform would. It is also incredibly easy to use and navigate. Vend offers startup help that we didn’t need to utilize because it was already so simple and intuitive to use.
About Francesca Nicasio
Francesca Nicasio is Vend's Retail Expert and Content Strategist. She writes about trends, tips, and other cool things that enable retailers to increase sales, serve customers better, and be more awesome overall. She's also the author of Retail Survival of the Fittest, a free eBook to help retailers future-proof their stores. Connect with her on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Google+.