Heyday Footwear

You created Heyday Footwear from scratch less than a decade ago. What was the most rewarding part of that journey?

There have been so many times where I’ve wanted to give up, to quit, to chuck it all and go back to a “regular” job. But then I see what I’ve built, from the shoes that turn heads, to the social media following that continues to grow, the celebrities and influencers who call wanting shoes not because they’ll get paid (which they don’t) but because they genuinely love the product and the brand I’ve built. There’s always an opportunity knocking on my door and getting to interact directly with my customers is the icing not he cake!

Your return policy offers free return shipping—what prompted Heyday to go in that direction?

When it comes to eliminating the chance of a customer abandoning their cart, free return shipping always wins out. Knowing that they can return a pair of sneakers that doesn’t fit or isn’t to their liking quickly, easily and free is something I’ve consistently offered. I vary the free shipping threshold and have found that free shipping over $150 has brought in more sales and made me more money than when shipping was “free” but the price was higher!

What are some of your own best practices that could help another growing ecommerce?

Be transparent with your business to your customers especially when something goes wrong (usually with shipping and freight delivery times). They can spot BS a mile away but really, really appreciate hearing the reason why something isn’t happening the way they want.

What are you doing to grow your business in different and unique ways?

We rely heavily on our growing Instagram @heydayfootwear which now has 32K followers. We repost all of our user generated content because nothing sells better than letting our customers—who are Heyday fanatics—do the talking for me! We’re also really focusing on inbound marketing with Hubspot. We have to give reason a people to come to HeydayFootwear.com to get educated and entertained before they shop. Most people take between 60-90 days from the time they first visit to making a purchase and there needs to be a reason why they’ll keep coming back. Blog posts, videos and special deals are the way to do it!

How has ShipStation changed the way you operate your business?

ShipStation has given us the ability to search for the best price and service level across all carriers in seconds. The ShipStation iOS app allows us to search for tracking information and even create return labels on the fly. As Chief Everything Officer of Heyday Footwear I don’t just wear many hats, I’m hands on with every aspect of the business and Shipstation helps tremendously with providing great and efficient shipping services all of our customers worldwide. The custom branded tracking emails really help us bring the premium and details of our business and website all the way through the buyers journey.

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Listen to Music to Get Ship Done, our user-built Spotify playlist, featuring Heyday Footwear: