1. Case Study Final Report
Tejas Mistry
Charlotte Morrison
Brennan Hinck

2. 1. Business description
Loot Crate was co-founded by Chris Davis and Matthew Arevalo in 2012 who aimed to create
a “comic con in a box”. Loot Crate harbors a unique relationship with their customers, by
sharing common interests, and genuinely caring about the products they provide. Loot
Crate’s competitors include: Nerd Block, Booty Bin & 1Up Box. Loot Crate provides a
monthly subscription service and delivery of unique products that cater to the interests of
their “nerdy” clientele. The deliveries include t-shirts, models, action figures, posters,
stickers and other fandom merchandise.
2. Business model
Loot Crate (at its core) is a subscription based service. Loot Crate harbors a community of
people with similar hobbies/interests. They acquire merchandise from companies that
may have minimal damage, or didn't live up to standards, and markup the price while at
the same time distributing it to the consumer in a quirky way. Customers pay a monthly
subscription and receive hand-picked boxes of gaming/movie related merchandise from
high-value vendors.
As of 2014, they were generating revenue at an $18 million annual rate. The Loot Crate
business objective is to create a community of like-minded individuals sharing common
interests and exploring new products. Loot Crate is actively seeking bigger partners to
expand their brand. In addition they have expanded the offerings to include Loot Pets.
Major video game companies are partnering with Loot Crate to offer more exclusive
items.
3. Relationship management
Loot Crate advertises in areas of the market where their inventory is valued, such as
conventions. They gain customer loyalty by connecting with the fans over the items they
provide. Letting them know that they as a company are nerds and value their products
just as much as the customers. “Loot Crate is a monthly mystery crate for gamers, geeks,
and fans of pop culture, delivering cool (and often exclusive!) items like collectibles, t-
shirts, gadgets, and more. There’s a $45+ value in every crate!”
Customers tend to be young gamers in general that like to collect these items. These are
people who would once wait in long lines at gaming conventions to purchase these items
one by one. Their suppliers are giants in the gaming and movie industries. Loot Crate has
partnered with companies like Nintendo, Marvel, Capcom, etc. to bring handpicked
collectible items to gamers and geeks to procure merchandise that will benefit consumers
and promote the manufacturers.. These suppliers (while largely successful on their own)
are looking for a way to connect with a geek audience and view Loot Crate as a way to

3. get samples of their products in the hands of 400,000+ committed geeks, which can
undoubtedly help with pricing.
4. Business Process Models
One of Loot Crate’s business goals is to create a community. They have taken various
steps to achieve this goal. For example, their website sends out a newsletter to those
customer who have set up accounts on their website. This newsletter keeps all customers
informed on company updates and new product arrivals.
Based on research conducted of some Loot Crate job postings, it was determined that
they use an ERP system to help make their internal workflows seamless and highly
efficient. They also have a full-fledged mobile app that customers can download on their
phones and have access to their account and view various forms of media with content
from around the world. This app helps further achieve Loot Crate’s goal of creating a
community based business.
Below are some of Loot Crate’s most important business process models:
Business Process: Create Customer Account
Description: Steps to create a Loot Crate Account
● Click the login link
● This opens a popup which gives the customer the options to either (a) login or (b)
sign up.
● Once the customer enters their email address and clicks the signup button, they
are redirected to a popup verifying their signup & informing them that they are on
the email list to receive the Loot Crate monthly newsletter.
● The pop then automatically redirects them to the homepage.
● To view additional subscriptions, repeat steps above.
Business Process: View Subscriptions available
Description: Customer gains info on subscriptions that Loot Crate offers
● From the Loot Crate homepage, the customer selects “Pick A Crate” from the
navigation menu.
● This presents a dropdown menu of available subscription services.
● The customer then selects the desired subscription service and is then redirected
to a detailed description page.
Business Process: Purchasing subscription
Description: The process that customers follow to purchase a subscription
● Process continues from View Subscriptions available process.

4. ● From the detail page of the desired subscription, the customer clicks get Loot
Crate button.
● The customer is then directed to page where they can either create an account,
register via Facebook, or login.
● Once the customer either (a) creates an account or logs in, they are directed to a
plan selection page which displays the plans available as well as prices.
● The customer clicks the select button underneath the plan they wish to purchase.
● This directs the customer to the checkout page, where they must enter
demographic, shipping, and billing details.
● They then click subscribe after which they are directed to confirmation page.
5. Technology Infrastructure
Loot Crate members interact with the system through the Web site. On the site, they can
view current and previous Loot Crate boxes to get an idea of the types of products that
will be shipped in the monthly subscription services. After viewing the monthly service
packages, customers can view different payment plans with discounts for prepayment
and order monthly subscription services. Members also can interact with the system by
signing up for a monthly newsletter. This newsletter will be sent to the customer’s email
account and provide product information, updates and new offerings.
The easy-to-navigate Web site with a simple clean layout makes following through with
purchases easy for customers. Competent web design leads a customer’s eyes to the
most important features of the page and the prevalence of links in most images and text
allows the customer to easily get more information about areas of interest. Allowing
membership in the community without requiring a purchase helps Loot Crate achieve
their secondary business objective of creating a community of like-minded individuals that
share common interests. This community is a potential customer base for Loot Crate and
targeted advertising can be delivered through the newsletters and email system.
The Loot Crate e-business uses a variety of technologies through the Internet. The Loot
Crate website utilizes the most current Web design standards through HTML5, CSS and
JavaScript. They are able to track customer information through the use of session
cookies. Loot Crate utilizes Web servers for hosting the Website in tandem with database
technology for storing customer information, order details, and available inventory.
Users are allowed limited access to the Web site prior to account creation. The users
may view the products and offers prior to establishing an account. There are multiple
methods for opening an account including entering an email and password, using
Facebook or using a Google account. Upon account creation the user is able to sign up
for a newsletter to receive product updates. Once the user creates an account, he/she is
able to select pricing options and proceed to a purchase page.

5. 6. Web Site Evaluation
The Loot Crate website utilizes sharp font and utilizes a black, orange, grey, and white
color scheme to appeal to a younger, gaming-oriented crowd. The page layout of this
website is very clear and easy to understand. There is not a lot of clutter on any of the
associated subpages which makes the browsing experience much better for the
consumer. As far as the navigation aspect of the Loot Crate website, the amount of tabs
that are visible/accessible immediately once the home page loads are kept to a minimum
of 6. They are clearly marked and make overall website navigation very simple. The
website makes generous use of multimedia (including how-it-works videos, images of
Loot Crates, logos of partners, etc.), however, this all contributes to a non-overwhelming
and aesthetically pleasing user experience.
The use of the aforementioned multimedia combined with the information presented
allows the user to instantly get an idea of what the company provides. Functionality-wise,
the makers of the Loot Crate web app have kept things very simple. The website carries
out a limited amount of operations but does so very well. The Loot Crate in general also
had full functionality across all major internet browsers. However, when the website was
run through the W3C validator, many of the images did not contain alt text, which would
limit accessibility for those with disabilities utilizing screen reading technology.
7. Suggestions for Business Improvement
1. Make it easier for the user to view the loot crate items. It would be nice to have a
detailed overview of the featured crate and what goodies it contained.
2. Allow customers to purchase a sample one-time crate to entice customers that are
wary of subscription services to see the potential value firsthand.
3. Offer periodic promotions or extra goodies for long-term customers. This would
provide additional value to customers that may feel the subscription service is no
longer interesting and promote customer retention. After all, gamers love to
“level-up”.

6. Works Cited
"A Crate Career Awaits!" Loot Crate. Loot Crate, n.d. Web. <http://lootcrate.theresumator.com>.
W3C. N.p., n.d. Web. <https://validator.w3.org/>.
"Loot Crate - Monthly Geek and Gamer Subscription Box." Loot Crate. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Feb.
2016.
"ICv2: Loot Crate Hits 100,000 Subscribers." ICv2: Loot Crate Hits 100,000 Subscribers. ICv2, 14
May 2014. Web. 16 Feb. 2016.
Dave, Paresh. "Loot Crate Delivers Monthly Surprise to 'geek and Gamer' Subscribers." Los
Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 7 Nov. 2014. Web. 16 Feb. 2016.
"Interview: Co-founders Matt Arevalo and Chris Davis Talk Loot Crate."Examiner.com. Examiner,
20 Aug. 2013. Web. 16 Feb. 2016.
Meeting Notes/Details:
Wed. 1/20/2016
Start: 5:45PM
Note Taker: Brennan Hinck
1. Investigated Microsoft Project Professional.
2. Created Google Doc for note taking at meetings.
3. Discovered that we are in fact a brokerage, and are looking into companies like Loot
Crate.
4. Discussed proposal and potential dates to complete it.
End: 6:15 PM
Mon. 1/25/2016
Start 5:40PM
Note Taker: Tejas Mistry
1. Get progress on Case Study proposal
2. Develop rough plan for future work and meetings

7. 3. Go over procedures to acquire Microsoft Project on each of the group member PC’s
End: 6:30 PM
Mon. 2/1/16
Start: 5:30
Note Taker: Brennan Hinck
1. Created Google Doc for Case Study Interim Report
2. Discussing first three sections of Case Study
a. Broke up work for first three sections, each member takes one question from each
section
b. Madalyn: 1’s
c. Brennan: 2’s
d. Tejas: 3’s
e. Charlotte: 4’s
End: 6:10
Mon. 2/8/2016
Start: 5:30
Note Taker: Brennan Hinck
1. Brennan assigned official group time keeper.
2. Worked on questions left behind by Madalyn after her departure.
End: 6:30
Mon. 2/22/2016
Start: 5:30pm
Note Taker: Brennan Hinck
1. Discussed and looked over Prezi for class presentation
2. Worked on Case Study Final Report
End: 6:45
Mon. 2/29/2016

8. Start: 5:30pm
Note Taker: Brennan Hinck
1. Discussed business process models
2. Worked on final case study
3. Assigned case study questions to complete before wednesday.
a. B - 7
b. T - 4
c. C - 5
End: 6:50
Wed. 3/2/2016
Start: 6:00pm
Note Taker: Brennan Hinck
1. Worked on prezi
2. Worked on process document
End: 6:50pm
Team Member Tasks Accomplished Total Time Spent
Tejas Mistry
● Final Report
● Company Research
● Website Evaluation
● Presentation
Roughly 6 hours
Brennan Hinck
● Final Report
● Company Research
● Presentation
Roughly 6 hours
Charlotte Morrison
● Final Report
● Website Research (Iterating through
various business process models)
● Presentation
Roughly 6 hours