Signal Snowboards grew revenue with subscriptions

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About

Signal’s mission is to connect people through their common passion for snowboarding. Founded by pro-snowboarder Dave Lee, Signal started in retail, but shifted to become the first ecommerce, direct to consumer snowboard brand. In addition to making high-quality boards, they’ve taken a digital approach to getting people on the mountain. After using subscriptions to help customers make payments on a board over time, Signal created the world’s first and only snowboard subscription.

Signal Snowboards grew revenue with subscriptions

In Signal’s online community, members can join ride days, master classes, and events. Signal also sends members monthly gift boxes filled with gear, guides, and accessories to keep them connected to the sport they love.

"Our focus on subscriptions is synonymous with our focus on the snowboarding community: we want to create both long term value and long term relationships - which coincides with Tomorrow’s vision and their approach to our partnership."

Monochromatic photo of a man next to a colorful board

Dave Lee

CEO, Signal Snowboards

Challenge

Snowboards are a premium product, and for many customers, a significant upfront cost. Signal wanted to lower the barrier for entry. They planned to send customers their new board, but give them a more affordable option: pay it off over time. Signal was looking for an easy-to-use platform that would integrate with Shopify, and enable seamless payments for their customers. Additionally, they needed to clearly communicate the membership proposition. Since snowboard subscriptions were totally new, they had to make sure customers understood the plan.

Solution

To further define their innovative business model, Signal partnered with Tomorrow, a full service ecommerce agency. Tomorrow helped fine-tune the proposition so new users could easily understand the membership. They mapped the purchase path, and identified key points for expressing and clarifying the program to new users. With Recharge’s API, Signal offered customers payment plans through an annual subscription model. Just like making a payment for a product, customers were able to pay off their new board with monthly installments.

Results

By implementing Recharge, Signal took a seasonal business and created monthly revenue. They were able to offer a convenient payment option for their customers, and through increasing accessibility, saw a 49% increase in revenue. Not only did they open the door for more people to get their product, they built out an extensive subscription that goes beyond the board. Signal has added a white glove element by giving access to lift tickets and great gear. Through memberships, customers stay engaged with a dynamic community, and get more opportunities to experience snowboarding. By adding clear branding and iconography, Tomorrow helped users discern between two membership choices to pick the right one for them. In just the first 3 months of the new website launch, Signal already had 417 new paid members. With Tomorrow’s design experience and Recharge’s API, Signal delivered customers a seamless subscription experience. Customers move through a frictionless flow to sign up, manage their subscription, and access benefits. By upselling membership, they doubled their year-over-year growth and sold out their product 40% earlier than the previous season.