“With any third-party solution, you want to know that their customer service is responsive and you want to make sure you’re getting the best out of the platform. Our account manager at Searchspring is literally fantastic, he truly took the time to understand us and make really relevant suggestions. It’s not just a one-size-fits-all approach, it really feels like a tailored solution.”

Cameron Parker
Head of Brand, Hat Club

The Brand

Headwear is more than just a product to Hat Club’s customers. It’s a form of self-expression, a statement of pride, and a coveted collector’s item.

“Hats really tell a story,” says Head of Brand, Cameron Parker. “It’s much deeper than the functional requirement of protection from the sun or covering up your hair. It’s a fashion piece that also embodies who you are or where you’re from.”

As a lifestyle brand, Hat Club has tapped into headwear culture through storytelling and community engagement. They have perfected the product drop and the suspense that comes with it. Releases of hotly-anticipated new lines see their ecommerce site withstand massive spikes in traffic while lines for their brick-and-mortar stores snake around the block.

“Brand identity and storytelling is something that we put a lot of focus and energy into. We want our brand to have a unique DNA, to resonate, and to stand for something,” says Cameron.

The Challenges

Hat Club has a well-established following, but the company has plans to further amplify their community from the grassroots up.

“It’s not something that you can force with marketing,” says Cameron. There’s an organic growth that comes from being authentic, and the brand embraces a gritty, urban feel.

“Other brands can be quite polished and cold in their imagery. When we do photoshoots, it’s more like user-generated content. It’s photos of real people (our customers, in fact) on the street. We tell the story behind each hat and each design, that’s something that really cuts through the competition.”

Translating that story to their ecommerce store requires an intuitive shopping experience that caters to niche customer preferences. Hat Club only sells one type of product but the variety is immense. From leagues and sports to entertainment and design collectives, there is a vast array of categories for shoppers to contend with. That’s before you even account for color and sizing options.

“Our native search just wasn’t powerful enough. We needed a solution that would deliver the best results for our customers and make it as quick and easy as possible for them to find what they’re looking for. Searchspring is a great partner for that,” says Cameron.

The Solutions

Hat Club implemented Searchspring’s Search & Autocomplete and Category Merchandising solutions to support shoppers in their search for highly specific styles.

“Visual merchandising is really useful on our general collection pages. We know, for example, that black and dark shades traditionally sell better than other colors. We also know the Yankees and Dodgers are two of our most searched-for teams. Setting up rules that allow us to boost and prioritize what the customer wants is definitely something we take advantage of,” says Cameron.

Searchspring’s analytics also allows the Hat Club team to gauge demand for future product development and design. “We have drops that sell out within minutes, sometimes seconds. Following a launch, we can see how many searches there are for that particular product, whether it’s 24 hours after it sells out or even a week or month later. I like having that really clear data that we can give back to the design team.”

The Results

In the first six months of using Searchspring, Hat Club:

• Increased their search conversion rate by 13%
• Increased revenue per visit with search by 7%
• Achieved a conversion rate with search that is 52% higher than without search