Let's be honest: eCommerce still has much to learn from brick-and-mortar retail. 

Our shoppers regularly hand over their money to experience a product. If they don't like it, they're forced to wait days (even weeks) for a refund. 

Now, imagine if a brick-and-mortar clothing store asked a shopper to pay for something before entering the dressing room. If it doesn't fit, they can wait to receive a refund at the counter. 

No brand would enforce such a policy in a brick-and-mortar setting, so why do it online? 

Well, thanks to TryNow, you won’t have to. 

What a “try before you buy” experience looks like with TryNow

With TryNow, your brand can deliver a "try before you buy" (TBYB) experience that expands your product reach into new homes while nurturing trust with your shoppers. 

The TBYB process entails three simple steps: 

1. The shopper orders items to try and gets a 7-day trial period. It’s as easy as placing a regular order. And don’t worry: You can limit how many items they try on at once. 

2. The shopper receives your products and tries them from the comfort of home. From there, they can easily pay to keep what they love and send back what they don’t. 

3. The shopper now has enhanced confidence in your brand and your product quality, which nurtures long-term loyalty and incremental revenue. 

A TBYB experience is a step above traditional returns or exchanges — so how do you roll one out risk-free? At TryNow, we emphasize brand control during every step of the integration process. 

Explore TryNow Phased Rollouts below. 

Phase 1: Set up strategic entry points to start delighting shoppers

The first step of our Phased Rollouts starts with a plan that fits your unique brand. We encourage you to start small with strategic entry points to TryNow — which we call TryLinks.

Shoppers who enter through a TryLink will see the TryNow button on the product page. We recommend initially placing a TryLink in your navigation bar and website footer before adding additional entry points on your product page or hero image of your homepage. 

TryLinks are key in Phase 1, as they help you control order volume and collect data on how shoppers respond to a TBYB experience before you deploy it more broadly across your entire website. They collect data points attributed to each engagement and order, answering burning questions: “How are shoppers utilizing this program?”, “What items are TBYB shoppers choosing?” and “How are my shoppers resonating with TryNow?” 

At a glance, the goals of Phase 1 include: 

1. Feedback from satisfied shoppers
2. Establishing a foundation to drive incremental revenue
3. Dialing in program configurations (i.e., trial length, SKU eligibility, cart limits)

The traffic directed to TryNow during this 30–45-day phase remains intentionally low, allowing you to gather shopper feedback and dial in your program risk-free without taking on too many orders. In fact, we recommend targeting TryNow opt-in of about 5% of all online store orders. 

As a result, Phase 1 sets a foundation for successful and gradual adoption via continual optimization instead of making TryNow visible to 100% of product page traffic at launch. This controlled introduction simultaneously: 

• Maximizes customer insights
• Delivers a delightful shopping experience
• Ensures minimal and gradual impact on your business

Phase 2: Add entry points to drive incremental revenue

With a stable foundation in place, your brand can progress to the next step of our Phased Rollouts, which grows adoption among shoppers. The goal of Phase 2 is driving TBYB order volume and leveraging your brand's TryLinks through: 

• SMS campaigns
• Welcome flow emails
• Abandoned cart messaging
• Your CX team sending TryLinks to address pre-sale questions

The average TryNow customer thrives in Phase 2 by expanding how shoppers discover and engage with the TBYB experience. As you scale your program, the traffic toward TryNow grows accordingly but remains manageable. Target opt-in rates typically increase to around 10% of overall sales, reflecting greater interest and education among shoppers, and begins your journey of driving more incremental sales with TryNow.

The formal launch process can take an additional 45 days to gather shopper data and gradually expand based on your operational bandwidth. Over time, more TryLink entry points lead to: 

• More incremental revenue
• More delighted shoppers
• More feedback to refine your TBYB program

Phase 3: Drive increased awareness and cement your TBYB strategy

After three months, the average TryNow customer has a dialed-in TBYB program and can leverage it as a key pillar of their brand's marketing strategy. 

As the final step of our Phased Rollouts, shoppers' access to TryNow expands with targeted marketing efforts, such as influencer campaigns and paid advertising (i.e., online, print, and direct mail). Your brand can deploy a shopper-centric omnichannel strategy, which acts as: 

1. An acquisition tool for marketing via high-performing ad campaigns
2. A retention tool for CX via TryLinks sent during shopper interactions
3. An upsell tool to drive existing shoppers to try more of your collection

During this final stage of our Phased Rollouts, brands have the flexibility to tailor TryNow opt-in rates to their business needs. Typically, brands target about 15% of total orders. 

The end result is a TBYB program that operates smoothly, enhances the shopper journey, and drives conversions.

Ready to deliver a TBYB program that puts your brand in control? 

With a phased rollout in place, you have full control over how your shoppers find and interact with your TBYB program. This empowers your brand to curate a robust TBYB strategy at its own pace, ultimately enhancing the shopper journey and driving incremental revenue. 

Don't let 97% of your web visitors go without a purchase. Start your risk-free phased rollout today with TryNow!