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Jet.com celebrates one-year anniversary with an 11-day sale
Jet.com projects Jet.com projects $1 billion in sales by next month billion in sales by next month
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Jet.com's one-year anniversary was yesterday, and the company is celebrating by offering 11 days of deals and discounts to all shoppers, ending on August 1, reports Internet Retailer.
This likely draws some comparisons to Amazon's Prime Day that ran on July 12, but a spokesman for Jet.com says that the deals won't be "massive Black Friday-type deals" like the ones Amazon offers.
Here are some figures on the state of Jet.com's business after its first year:
Jet.com had sold $1 billion worth of goods via its e-commerce marketplace as of May.
The marketplace now has over 4 million customers.
The number of products for sale has increased 20% to reach 12 million, up from 10 million products during its initial launch.
These numbers make it look like Jet.com is set for a successful second year, but the company did experience some significant early hiccups.
Most notably, the company dropped its $50 yearly membership fee, which was expected to make up a bulk of the company's revenue. And because it folded the subscription model within the three-month free-trial period for members, it drove no revenue from membership fees.
Over 100 brands have removed their product listings from the marketplace since it launched. Many of the brands, including Walmart, Gap, and L’Oreal, complained of being improperly linked as affiliates on Jet.com’s website when no such agreement was made.
The site also came under scrutiny about how it displays prices on its site. Instead of listing the total discounted price, Jet.com shows the regular retail price (which is the same as on Amazon) plus the discount as a separate dollar amount, so customers need to do their own math to figure out the final price.
Moving forward, Jet.com's focus should be on converting first-time customers into repeat ones. Overall, Jet.com's US sales grew 28% per month, on average, from September 2015 to February 2016, according to Slice Intelligence.
However, as of February this year, 70% of all sales were from first-time buyers. Just one-third of purchases were from loyal shoppers. If Jet.com wants to continue growing — while also competing with Amazon — the company will have to focus on getting shoppers to return.
The company should consider implementing loyalty programs that provide customers with exclusive sales and promotions that will entice them to return for another order. Jet.com might even consider relaunching an optional subscription model that serves shoppers some of the best deals the site can offer, similar to Amazon Prime.
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