Always Fits

Always Fits was a unique gift shop created by Ashley Judge. When we were in business, the domain AlwaysFits.com was home to a robust e-commerce store on the Shopify platform with thousands of products, a seamless checkout, and every functionality requested by our customers over the years. However, what remains today, at Always Fits Forever, is a memorial to the good times.

Always Fits was bootstrapped by Ashley Judge from $0 in a small apartment in Medford, MA to $10M in annual sales.

Always Fits gained customer trust, and then conversions, through omnichannel marketing strategies, including social media, e-mail, digital advertising, SMS, mobile app and push, and affiliate marketing.

Digital Advertising

Always Fits attributed its 2018-2021 growth to digital marketing. It saw a 4X-5X ROAS on prospecting campaigns prior to the IOS 14 privacy setting changes in 2021. Always Fits achieved these gains with founder Ashley Judge managing campaigns in house and listening – via data and statistics, but also anecdotal comments – to its customers. Judge believed that customers tell you what you need to know and how best to market to them if you listen and react, rather than blindly following industry conventions.

Email Marketing

While digital marketing is credited with the growth of Always Fits, email marketing produced year after year increases in return customers. With nearly 800,000 e-mail subscribers, Always Fits poured its heart into email campaigns and flows that nurtured and created frequent repeat customers.

SMS + Push Notifications

Always Fits believed in meeting its customers where they were. With more than 110,000 SMS and Web Push notification subscribers, these channels provided a steady stream of repeat customers. Always Fits had only begun to scratch the surface of SMS messaging, experimenting with interactive messages and in-text purchasing.

Social Media

Social media was the heart of Always Fits. It was where we most authentically met up with our customers and prospective customers to share in a mutual love of humor, friendship, and nostalgia. With more than 500,000 social followers across Facebook and Instagram, Always Fits believed in showing, not selling. Peruse our preserved Instagram page for a tale of brand loyalty.

Always Fits App

Always Fits launched an app in its final 6 months in business. This app enjoyed 25,000 downloads in its first 6 months and a conversion rate and AOV more than double the website.

Affiliate Marketing

Always Fits worked with Share-a-Sale and Skimlinks to further incentivize bloggers and editors that were organically writing about Always Fits. Always Fits prioritized honest, authentic inclusion in gifting roundups rather than sponsored, but understood the evolving times, where even editorial websites expected affiliate commissions.

Press

Always Fits was mentioned in the press more than 1,000 times and was frequently featured on The Today Show. Nothing made the office cheer like our name on the screen on a nationally broadcasted morning show.

Ashley Judged served as the Chief Branding Officer for Always Fits, overseeing the cultivation of a cohesive brand story and corresponding design vocabulary.

Always Fits was operational during a transformative period in e-commerce operations that demanded constant problem solving and innovation. Always Fits took on operational challenges such as the Amazon-created-expectation of near immediate delivery (for free), the Covid-19 pandemic and corresponding supply chain disaster, and the ever-increasing cost of third-party fulfillment and delivery. In its final holiday season, Always Fits achieved a goal it had chased for more than a decade: orders during its peak season shipped within 24 hours, all customer service tickets were responded to in under 24 hours, and our customers could count on Always Fits to deliver the perfect holiday gift - and shopping experience.

Always Fits was customer obsessed and prioritized a customer-centric approach in all strategic planning. No matter how big or small, every single customer request was logged, categorized and read by founder Ashley Judge. The company pivoted quickly and reactively to the feedback of our customers. As a result, the shop received tens of thousands of online reviews citing our best-in-class customer service.

Judge served as head buyer and style director for Always Fits, working with hundreds of makers, brands, and national publishing houses to curate a one-of-a-kind product mix. She negotiated exclusive product lines and unique licensing relationships, and served as a sounding board for many brands before they finalized their seasonal offerings.

“Always Fits founder, Ashley Judge, built a goofy, sweary, giftable empire by expertly tapping into the ‘slumber party sillies’ we all felt as kids and teens. Whether raised in the 80’s on Strawberry Shortcake; or in the 90’s, binge watching Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead; or the 2000’s, cranking Britney, Judge intuited how to harness our favorite, almost-forgotten past obsessions and ingeniously mix, match, and proffer them up as cards and gifts. In an online space where retailers were trying to be a one-stop-shop for all things, Judge built a thriving business by going niche. Always Fits struck a chord with its audience, becoming the gift shop where people in the gift industry shopped, all while successfully competing with mainstream giants."

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