Shokz started its journey selling its flagship open-ear headphones through retail channels and a brand website, but today, it’s a global leader in bone conduction headphones with a strong omnichannel presence. Since 2011, the fast-growing Chinese brand has continued to invest not only in its technology, but also in growing its brand across sales channels and consumer touchpoints—at a global scale.
The initial focus on the direct-to-consumer (DTC) site allowed Shokz to establish its brand persona and build relationships with consumers, but Shokz wasn’t achieving the site traffic and brand reach that it needed to grow. Meanwhile, colleagues in the US were seeing third-party sellers have success on Amazon and saw the perfect opportunity for Shokz to grow.
“It pointed to a shift in consumer behavior that we couldn’t ignore: The clear desire from shoppers to be able to purchase our products on Amazon,” explains Cici Chen, Head of North America Ecommerce. “This strategic move allowed us to maintain the benefits of our DTC channel, while capitalizing on the reach and convenience of Amazon. We could meet our customers wherever they preferred to shop.”
Since launching on Amazon, Shokz has continued to grow both on and off of its Store on Amazon.com. But in both cases, the company has been growing with Amazon. In 2021, Shokz started using Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) to handle its DTC site orders, which helped improve the company’s fulfillment operations and delivery speeds. And through MCF, the team learned about Buy with Prime, a solution that allowed Shokz to offer Prime shopping benefits on its US site.
“By implementing Buy with Prime, we’re tapping into a powerful ecosystem that aligns perfectly with our target market,” Cici says. “It creates a unique value proposition that combines the strengths of our DTC website, such as brand control and direct customer relationships, with the reach, efficiency, and trust of Amazon.”
Tapping into the Amazon fulfillment network and audience of millions of Prime members has helped Shokz increase delivery speeds on its site by more than 60%, as well as attract more new customers. After implementing Buy with Prime in May 2024, the company saw a 9.3% increase in new-to-brand customers and an extra boost in traffic and sales during key sales events.
Fast, free delivery for Prime members
As the business expanded, Shokz hoped to grow its customer base, especially as it opened its product portfolio to millions of US Prime members, first by launching a Store on Amazon and then by activating Buy with Prime on its DTC site.
“Buy with Prime helps us reach Amazon’s vast customer base, particularly those coveted Prime members,” Cici says. “And our research indicates that Prime members closely match our ideal customer profile.”
Prime members can shop eligible products on Shokz.com, like the OpenSwim Pro headphones, and get fast, free delivery and easy returns by signing in to their Amazon account directly on the site. Although Shokz already offers free standard shipping on its US site, those orders are shipped in 3-5 business days and two-day shipping costs US$11.99. But shoppers who check out with Buy with Prime automatically get free shipping, with orders now delivered in 1-2 business days—some even on the same day, says Cici, emphasizing the more than 60% faster delivery speeds.
“This helps us meet growing expectations for rapid fulfillment and enhances customer satisfaction,” she says. “It has also improved our ability to compete with similar ecommerce brands by leveraging Amazon’s reputation and efficient logistics.” Because Buy with Prime orders are fulfilled by MCF, Shokz can use one pool of inventory at Amazon fulfillment centers to fulfill orders from its Amazon Store, standard checkout on its ecommerce site, and checkout using Buy with Prime.
The company also uses MCF in the US to fulfill orders placed on its TikTok Shop and other ecommerce marketplaces, giving shoppers a consistent fulfillment experience with fast, reliable shipping across all Shokz sales channels.
Increased traffic, new customers with Buy with Prime
Given Shokz’s positive experience with MCF, improved order fulfillment was the primary driver behind trialing Buy with Prime, but Shokz also ended up seeing traffic benefits from the checkout solution. Prior to implementing Buy with Prime, the ratio of new to existing users on its website had remained relatively stable, despite various efforts to significantly increase its new user base. But after implementation, Shokz saw a 9.3% increase in first-time customers. About 82% of Buy with Prime orders are from customers who are new to the site, compared to 75% through its native checkout.
“Buy with Prime has helped address one of our main challenges: attracting new customers to our DTC site,” Cici says. “We believe that the fast shipping and the trust of Prime have been key factors in encouraging these new customers to shop on our website.”
Seeing the Buy with Prime badge and Prime Check logo on Shokz’s site signals to Prime members that they’ll get a checkout and delivery experience that they love. And because the company uses Reviews from Amazon, a feature exclusive to Buy with Prime merchants, shoppers can see Shokz’s Amazon reviews directly on product pages on its site. The team sees this as another way to boost trust, with familiar social proof and consistency in product information across channels, while also keeping shoppers on the site.
Participating in key Amazon sales events, like Prime Day and Prime Big Deal Days, has also helped Shokz boost site traffic and shopper conversion. Before and during Prime Big Deal Days in October, the team participated in Buy with Prime co-marketing efforts and offered Prime exclusive products. They used the Buy with Prime marketing toolkit to create promotional materials and display the Buy with Prime badge across ad channels, like Meta and Google.
As a result of these efforts and the increased awareness, the proportion of Buy with Prime orders on Shokz’s site jumped 51.7% during the event to nearly 44%. And compared to the previous month, Shokz saw a significant increase in Buy with Prime units sold, making it one of the most successful merchants that participated with Buy with Prime in the key sales event.
A premium brand experience across channels
Although the numbers speak for themselves, the Shokz team sees the value of Buy with Prime beyond the positive performance metrics. From the beginning, Shokz has been committed to high-quality products and maintaining its premium brand across all of it channels. The team sees Buy with Prime as way to reach a premium audience of shoppers and elevate its DTC shopping experience to match the brand positioning.
“This alignment between product quality, website experience, and order fulfillment creates a cohesive, premium brand image across all customer touchpoints,” Cici explains. “Offering Buy with Prime not only improves our competitive position, but also sets a new standard for customer experience in our industry. We’re now better equipped to attract, convert, and retain customers in an increasingly competitive ecommerce landscape.”
And through its omnichannel strategy, Shokz is able to maintain this premium brand position and shopping experience across all the channels where it sells its innovative products. Shokz can truly meet its customers where they prefer to shop, giving them a consistent, premium shopping experience that helps the brand rise above the noise.
Are you a China-based merchant with a US entity? Learn more about Buy with Prime for your US site.