About Clare
Clare is not your grandpa’s paint brand. Within an outdated, frankly unsexy industry, this D2C brand aspires to be “a modern paint company for people passionate about their homes,” according to COO Paige Zachs.
Founded by CEO Nicole Gibbons in July 2018, Clare has emerged as a refreshing alternative to traditional industry stalwarts. As an interior designer, Gibbons was acutely aware of the pain points inherent to the paint buying process, and she set out to create a digitally native brand offering a simplified, curated paint shopping experience.
Clare’s philosophy centers around convenience, utilizing technology to choose the perfect color, and an innovative sampling process that favors easy peel and stick samples over tiny paint chips or cumbersome sample pots.
The Challenge
In its pursuit of a more joyful and frictionless paint-buying experience, Clare had to grapple with the unique challenges inherent to the industry. Unlike many D2C products, paint is a particularly high consideration purchase. In fact, many customers take more time to pick a paint color than they do to buy a home.
Customers may intentionally start their paint purchasing journey far in advance of a planned project, or spend a long time considering and saving up for the purchase. Whether the customer is moving into a new space or refreshing their current one, it’s not unusual for traditional paint companies to see a consideration period of 4-5 months before a purchase is made.
The Solution
Essentially, Clare’s challenge boiled down to two factors: the long consideration period inherent to the paint-buying process, and the fact that many customers indicated that they specifically saved up for their paint purchases before embarking on a home improvement project.
Clare knew that a buy now, pay later solution was essential to its goal of removing friction from the paint-buying process. After considering a number of BNPL providers in the early days of the business, Zachs and Gibbons felt that Zip’s solution was the best fit for the needs of their nascent customer base.
Zachs recalls that “the integration process was seamless compared to other integrations we’ve implemented.” Spearheaded by Zachs and the Zip team, the integration went live in January 2019, just six months after the company’s launch.
The Results
Clare’s decision to partner with Zip represented a commitment to making paint purchases more accessible to everyone. Not only does the brand offer “best-quality” paint at a significantly lower price point than the industry standard—it also offers the opportunity to paint now and pay later via Zip.
“The integration process was seamless compared to other integrations we’ve implemented.”
Paige Zachs, COO
Over the past six months, the uncertainty associated with COVID-19 has not been a deterrent to Clare’s success. Growth of the home improvement industry as a whole alongside a shift towards ecommerce sales has led to the acceleration of Clare’s business during this period. In the spring of 2020, the company’s average weekly sales via Zip increased by 125%. These customers are particularly loyal, and Clare has also seen about a 24% lift in average order value for those who check out with Zip.
As Clare looks ahead to the future, the brand is focused not just on growing its internal team and overall sales, but on continuing to lead the way towards a more joyful and painless experience for its customers.
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