⚡ Industry X-Ray

Startups

How did Zappos test selling shoes online?

Show all answers

What Happened: How did Zappos's founder test the idea?

Photographed shoes in stores and bought them only when someone ordered. Nick Swinmurn posted photos of shoes from local stores to test demand. Source: Wikipedia – Zappos

Why: Why was it smart?

It proved people would buy shoes online with no inventory risk. The test cost almost nothing. Source: Wikipedia – Zappos

The Lesson: The lesson?

Do things that don't scale to prove demand. Manual tests beat speculative investment. Source: Wikipedia – Minimum viable product

Get new X-Rays by email

A 60-second insider secret, a few times a week. Unsubscribe anytime.