Hi there,

We're trying something new with our 3-4x per year newsletter; let us know what you think! The frequency will not change, the content will be more organized into:

1) a slightly longer behind-the-scenes about our business (inspired by Full Belly Farm's newsletter, more about them below).

2) special promos or opportunities with like-minded businesses.

Today we're giving you a behind-the-scenes on a big inventory system overhaul we just finished! The way most retail e-commerce catalogs work is that you either have to select an option (e.g., I want a 15F-rated sleeping bag) or it defaults to an option for you (e.g., a default color). 

This not only creates a paradox of choice, but could subtly encourage the notion that we need more stuff & discourage going outdoors without "proper technical knowledge." Most of our customers are beginners & want to make fewer decisions! That's why we try to make options optional whenever possible & don't resort to using defaults either. (And for folks who do care, we have extensive guidelines online & are always happy to talk it over by phone, text, email, in-person, etc.)

This is a real headache for inventory management. Say we have 2 sleeping bags available: 1 15F-rated, 1 30F-rated. When you make an order online, you should see both options available (optional selectors). If you choose to select the 15F, then the 2nd person to order will only be able to see 30F as available--easy! But if you indicate no preference, then the 2nd person to order should actually still see both options available. Take this scenario, multiply it across more options, more items, etc., and it becomes quite complex.

This week we finally launched a new version of our inventory management that resolves this issue. Give it a try with $25 off any gear rental valid through May 1, 2022; enter code 'MarzipanMarch' (order online here, enter code on the Checkout page & hit 'Apply discount'). Some noticeable changes in the front end:

1) there's no direct add from the catalog anymore. Now you click an item to pop-open a window with more details. While this added a step, it's a net-positive, because it's a minor step that immediately allows people to access more info & better understand what they're getting

2) we removed the separate Options page entirely, it's been subsumed into the pop-up window described above

We're also super excited because this system sets us up for an improved taxonomy where we don't need to list a 2-person tent, a 4-person tent, a tent for backpacking, etc. Instead, we will just show Tent in the catalog, and relegate the nuances to options. That would not only clean up our catalog, but further make it easier for customers and meet our mission to reduce waste & increase access to the outdoors.

Hope you found this fun & interesting! Any questions, thoughts either about this format or about what we've done (please do tell us honestly even if you think something's a horrible idea), please respond to this email.