Stitch Fix Focuses on Stylists, Listening to Fix Falling User Numbers

Faced with a drop in revenue and active users, personal styling site Stitch Fix plans to spend the new fiscal year fixing itself.

Speaking to investors following the release of fourth quarter fiscal year 2022 earnings Tuesday (Sept. 20), CEO Elizabeth Spaulding said the company wants to play to its “strength of listening and responding to client requests and meeting the moment.”

See also: Stitch Fix Cuts Workforce as Customers Leave

That means updating Stitch Fix’s stylist request note to give users the ability to add specific occasions, “so that our stylists can deliver stronger choices in these discovery moments.” The company also plans to give customers more chances to collaborate with stylists.

“Additionally, we’re working to deliver a diverse assortment that showcases our varying price points, especially at a time when consumers are more cost conscious,” Spaulding said.

Recent research by PYMNTS on the impact of inflation on consumer spending showed that 70% of consumers are reducing retail spending to pay for the rising cost of essentials, such as groceries and gas.

Stitch Fix’s earnings report showed net revenue of $481.9 million, down 16% year over year, and 3.7 million active clients, a drop of 370,000, or 9%, from last year. As it works to reverse that trend, Stitch Fix will focus on “active listening,” Spaulding said.

“Ultimately, it’s that sense of the client feeling deeply heard and we put the right product in front of them at the right time,” she noted.

Founded in 2011 in San Francisco, Stitch Fix lets customers take a quiz that helps the company learn their style preferences. From there, its stylists send shoppers clothing recommendations based on their style, fit and budget.

Spaulding told investors this system, combining data science and “creative human judgment,” has allowed the company to ship more than 75 million Fixes and fulfill over 10 million orders on the company’s Freestyle platform.

Learn more: Stitch Fix Is Broken: Onboarding, Conversion, Ad Spend Crush COVID-Era Darling

The company’s struggle to retain customers led it to cut 4% of its workforce in June, with most of the layoffs affecting non-technology corporate roles and styling leadership roles.

Earlier this year, Spaulding had said that changes to Apple’s iOS 14 marketing channels had also hampered Stitch Fix’s ability to seek out new clients.

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