How KIAURA Turned Word-of-Mouth Into a Scalable Growth Engine With Shop with Friends
About KIAURA
KIAURA isn’t just a sunglasses brand — it’s a vision of a lifestyle. Founded by CEO Parker Godfrey in Southern California, KIAURA creates handmade, architecturally inspired eyewear that invites customers to “see life through a new lens.”
“I didn’t want to create a run-of-the-mill sunglass brand. I wanted to create a new world people can step into with KIAURA,” says Parker.
Every pair is hand-drawn and built with purpose — a balance of striking design and functional features. And just as much as KIAURA obsesses over quality, they obsess over relationships: treating every customer like family.
The Challenge
Like many premium brands, KIAURA benefited from organic word-of-mouth. Their customers loved the product, shared it with friends, and talked about it in group chats.
But Parker saw a gap:
“Our biggest hurdle was getting other people to discover the brand who haven’t already experienced it.”
In other words — happy customers were out there talking about KIAURA, but there wasn’t a frictionless way to scale those conversations and turn them into more conversions.
Enter Shop with Friends
A friend introduced Parker to Shop with Friends, a seamless way for customers to share products with friends via polls and group chats.
Setup took less than 30 minutes. The experience integrated cleanly into KIAURA’s store — no clunky popups, no intrusive banners, and no conversion-killing friction.
“It fits onto the site and looks very professional. It’s not in your face, but it allows customers to send products to their friends and get feedback — and lets them purchase as well.”
The Results: Referrals at Scale
The impact was immediate:
- Conversion rate for poll senders: 16.45%
- Conversion rate for voters: 10.53%
- Purchases often happening within minutes — 7 minutes for senders and 15 minutes for voters
- 4–5x higher conversion rates compared to KIAURA’s normal site traffic
The magic came from social credibility. When a product link hit a group chat of 3–20 people, it wasn’t just an ad — it was a recommendation from someone they trust.
“Referrals are king. Like cash is king, referrals are king. It’s free acquisition.”
Why It Works
KIAURA’s use of Shop with Friends blends brand storytelling with scalable referrals:
- Authenticity at the Core – The product experience speaks for itself, making customer referrals powerful.
- Frictionless Sharing – A poll is sent in seconds, with friends instantly able to vote, discuss, and buy.
- Conversion Power – The social proof of a friend’s vote turns browsers into buyers faster.
“You can drive a ton of traffic to your site, but if you’re not converting, you’re just burning ad spend. With Shop with Friends, we’re seeing 4–5x higher conversion. That’s proof of concept.”
KIAURA’s Takeaway
For Parker, the biggest win wasn’t just the spike in conversions — it was the ability to amplify genuine word-of-mouth without losing the personal touch that makes KIAURA special.
“What this allows us to do is create a seamless experience for customers to share products they love with friends, and it scales infinitely.”
Final Word from Parker:
“Referrals are probably the most important thing you can have in business. With Shop with Friends, we’ve made it effortless — and the results speak for themselves.”