Nearly 10 years ago, HydraLyte burst into the US market with its low-sugar, rapid rehydration electrolyte powder, seeking to give consumers more options in a beverage category with limited options. Amazon.com was the brand’s main point of distribution in the US and continues to be a crucial sales channel for HydraLyte, but because the hydration supplement category has become more crowded in recent years, the brand wanted to find more ways to differentiate and build direct customer relationships. That meant investing in its ecommerce site.
The team decided to add Buy with Prime to its site to provide a better shopping experience to Prime members and strengthen loyalty, while leveraging existing inventory at Amazon fulfillment centers. Not only do Prime members now get free 1–2 day shipping when they check out using Buy with Prime directly on HydraLyte.com, but shopper conversion on the site has increased 16% and the brand has seen greater new customer acquisition.
Streamlined path to purchase
The HydraLyte team wanted to serve its customers more efficiently with faster delivery times—and hopefully increase conversion as a result. This is where Buy with Prime made a significant difference.
“When we first implemented Buy with Prime, one of our biggest goals was to understand how it increased our conversion rate and moved consumers through that purchase funnel faster,” Emily explains.
HydraLyte has offered free delivery to customers, but there was a minimum purchase threshold and customers would then have to wait an average of 2–9 days to receive their orders. Checking out using Buy with Prime means Prime members now get free delivery and their orders shipped as fast as one day.
Emily attributes the company’s 16% increase in conversion to the seamless checkout and fast, free delivery that Prime members get when they check out using Buy with Prime.
She adds, “One major benefit that I’ve seen with Buy with Prime is the fact that it’s simply on the product page. Once the consumer presses that button, it automatically brings them to an interface where they’re checking out in that moment. It’s consolidating all of those different steps that can be a long process for a consumer and often a reason why they’re not converting. It’s simplifying everything for the customer.”
A refreshing take on fulfillment
Not only is HydraLyte seeing increased conversion on its site, but by leveraging Buy with Prime and Amazon’s Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF), the company was also able to lower its fulfillment costs while still offering Prime members fast, free delivery.
“One major goal that we had was understanding alternative fulfillment channels that we could use to increase that shipping speed,” Emily explains. “I would say the biggest factor in that decision-making process was how it was going to impact my costs, because margins are already tight.”
As the team started digging, they realized that if there was an opportunity to offer 1–2 day shipping speeds through HydraLyte’s normal third-party logistics provider, it would increase operating costs. In comparison, using Buy with Prime and MCF helped the company achieve that same shipping speed while also cutting down on costs.
Says Emily, “Another benefit that we’ve found with using MCF is when we’re able to consolidate that inventory pool, it reduces out-of-stocks and increases our sales. It’s been a win-win for us.”
Acquiring and nurturing new customers
The moment HydraLyte landed in the US, the biggest concern was connecting with new shoppers and growing its customer base. But customer acquisition can be a pricey pursuit for a brand that wants to make a dent in an increasingly saturated market. With the rising cost of ads, brands need to make the most of each shopper that visits their ecommerce site.
“Having a really strong customer acquisition strategy is important because we’re in a high-growth period as a newer brand in North America, and because it’s extremely expensive to acquire new customers, especially in our category,” Emily explains.
The trust of Prime is helping give shoppers the confidence to complete a first-time purchase on HydraLyte.com. An impressive 90% of the brand’s customers that check out using Buy with Prime are customers that are completely new to the site. And 37% of all new customers started their HydraLyte purchase journey through Buy with Prime.
These numbers make Emily excited to continue leveraging Buy with Prime because they prove that Buy with Prime is helping spur new customer acquisition on the company’s site. She says, “With this data in hand, it was very clear to us that Buy with Prime has a major impact not only on new customer acquisition, but also on our overall conversion rate.”
After a purchase, being able to keep the customer information of people who buy from HydraLyte, especially new customers, is crucial to the team because it’s important to stay engaged. Buy with Prime makes it possible for merchants to build direct relationships with customers by providing them with order and customer information, such as name, email address, shipping address, and phone number.
“Using Buy with Prime allows us to keep first-party data, and it allows us to reengage that consumer and start building brand loyalty,” she says. “It increases their lifetime value, which builds a very strong foundation in terms of customer trust and profitability.”
