I’ve written about Threadless on here before and I think they’re a perfect example of how to do business online and a brand worth evangelising. They never seem to be resting and are constantly improving the service they offer. The latest wave of Threadless updates sees a website redesign, improved shirt quality and new customised packaging.
The site has always allowed you to view clothing by size, type and line, but now you can do all three in one screen. Using a few well designed drop-down menus, you can mix and match criteria to view all the medium hoodies, for instance. Rolling over items also shows their design immediately too, further improving usability.
Threadless has also started to print its designs on its own brand shirts instead of just getting American Apparel or Fruit of the Loom to do it for them. I recently got a shirt through the post from them and the increase in quality is definitely noticeable. The material seems much thicker, feels nicer to touch and the actual print appears to be more vivid. The shirt quality was never bad, but now it’s even better.
They’ve also started using their own custom designed packaging, which made me smile the first time I saw it. As you can see below, it uses the same style and wit that the site embodies, adding a unique value to the product.
These updates are in completely different parts of their operation, but all three show Threadless’ commitment to improving their service.
Published in Design, Websites, tagged Threadless on 22nd March 2008. No comments.
I discovered online clothing retailer Threadless in late 2006 and since then, it’s the only place that I’ve bought my T-shirts from. Since placing my first order on December 29, 2006, I’ve spent a total of $341.80 there. What can we learn from its success and why do I keep going back there? Here are ten reasons:
Threadless is all about community. Artists submit designs, which are then rated by other site members over a week. The best entries are picked by Threadless staff and are turned into actual clothing. Not only does getting your shirt printed give you money, but kudos in the community. Here’s the key factor though; because customers choose the best shirts before they’re on sale, the designs that get through are almost certain to sell out. It’s a fantastically self-referential concept and one that keeps the quality extremely high. Getting your customers to do your quality assurance for you is pure genius.
High incentives attract talented artists. If your design gets selected for print, you get $2,000 in cash, $500 Threadless Gift Certificate (can be redeemed for $200 cash), $500 in cash each time your design is reprinted, up to $10,000 more if you win a “Bestee” in the Threadless Awards and Alumni Club membership.
RSS feeds are used very effectively to update community members and customers. The weekly feed (right) is kept extremely simple, allowing you to browse through without actually visiting the site.
Easily anticipated updates keep people coming back every week. New designs come out every Monday and because of this strict schedule, Threadless members begin to associate that day with the site. Even if people aren’t on there often they’re probably going to return on a Monday.
Affordability is a huge draw for me. Even though my shirts are flown all the way across the Atlantic, they’re still the same price or cheaper than going into a shop here and buying one. If you wanted to get an equivalent product from a normal shop in the UK, you’d expect to pay at least double what Threadless offer them for.
Designs are of a very high quality and there are plenty of them. If you can’t find something you like on Threadless, then you’re really not trying hard enough. When I wear a Threadless shirt, a lot of the time people will compliment me on it and ask where I got it. ‘High Street’ retailers don’t stock anything nearly as humourous or artistically unique as the Threadless shirts.
Limiting production adds a huge amount of value to shirts. I don’t want to look like everyone else or buy the same clothes that Average Joe has. When you get a Threadless shirt, you know that you’re one of a few thousand owners around the world and that you’re highly unlikely to ever see it on anyone else.
Excellent web design makes Threadless extremely easy to use. Not only does the site look fantastic, but it includes features which make buying shirts a breeze. For instance, you can view the catalogue by size, so you only see items that are available and that will fit you.
Street Team points encourage loyalty and community. If you submit a picture of yourself wearing a shirt, you get $1.50 credit and if you refer a friend who then buys a shirt then you get $3.00. The more shirts you buy, the more points you accumulate. I think I’ve even bought a shirt which only cost me the shipping because I had so many points.
Shipping internationally greatly increases Threadless’ potential customer base. The cost of postage is a little expensive, but I’ve never had a shirt go missing and they’ve always turned up in good condition.
So there you go, Threadless dissected for your pleasure. It’s one of the few retailers I’ve seen take full advantage of the power of community and their success is something we can all learn from.
Published in Websites, tagged Threadless on 3rd March 2008. One comment.
In a world with countless choices, presenting people with relevant information should be one of the most important aspirations for any designer. This can be achieved on the web and in software in a number of ways, but let’s begin with a more mundane example. Many shoe shops organise their displays by type - hiking shoes here, trainers there, heels that way - but this is a fundamental mistake.
When I walk into a shoe shop, I may or may not know what type of footwear that I’m after, but one thing I know for sure is my size. Organising shoes by type might be more aesthetically pleasing, but in practice all people need to be presented with are shoes that actually fit them. Grouping shoes by design is natural because our minds like to associate things that look the same, but in fact the most logical way is to organise shoes based on the single criteria that the customer will almost definitely know.
This idea translates directly on to the web. T-shirt site Threadless has a stock chart page whose title is “Tell us your size, we’ll tell you what’s in stock! Fo REAL!” Once you know your size, you can quickly view a selection of shirts which are only relevant to you. Rival site Busted Tees doesn’t have this option and suffers for it, only alerting you to a lack of stock once you get to a product page.
Another good example of using the correct criteria to organise products is IKEA. They first present you items for each room, then later give you the option of seeing similar products. When you walk into a store, you go through model bedrooms, kitchens and so on, then only later are shown all of the beds, lights and tables together. The idea behind this is that the one thing that the customer knows is what rooms they have. They may arrive looking for a table, but you can be certain that they know where they’re going to put it.
So the next time you visit somewhere that presents you with choices or design something that does the same, think for a second what your most basic criteria is. The best methods of organisation are not necessarily the most obvious ones.
Published in Design, Usability, tagged IKEA, organisation, relevance, Threadless on 21st February 2008. No comments.