Leading UK Fashion Brand White Stuff Boosts Customer Experience with New Composable Website on BigCommerce
- Successful launch of White Stuff on the BigCommerce platform
- 80% increase in site speed and 100% increase in mobile site speed
- Enhanced flexibility, agility, and customer experience
- International growth opportunities
- Highly composable tech stack aligned with MACH Alliance principles
- None.
Insights
The strategic move by White Stuff to migrate to BigCommerce's Open SaaS ecommerce platform signifies a pivotal shift in the company's operational focus from primarily brick-and-mortar to a more balanced approach that emphasizes digital presence. The reported 80% increase in site speed and even more notably, a 100% increase in mobile site speed, are significant metrics that could potentially lead to improved customer satisfaction, lower bounce rates and higher conversion rates. This is particularly important in the retail sector where mobile commerce is rapidly growing.
Furthermore, the integration of a composable tech stack adhering to MACH Alliance principles (Microservices based, API-first, Cloud-native SaaS and Headless) demonstrates White Stuff's commitment to technological agility and innovation. This could provide a competitive edge in terms of scalability and the ability to quickly adapt to market changes or consumer demands, which is crucial in the fast-paced fashion industry.
From a market perspective, this technological enhancement could be a signal to investors of White Stuff's potential for international growth and operational efficiency. It reflects a broader industry trend where retailers are investing heavily in digital transformation to stay relevant and competitive.
The adoption of a headless commerce architecture, as indicated by the partnership with Vue Storefront for the digital storefront, is a forward-thinking approach that separates the frontend presentation layer from the backend ecommerce functionality. This allows for greater flexibility in user experience design and can lead to faster content delivery across multiple channels. The use of Amplience for content management, Akeneo for product information management and Constructor for search and product discovery, indicates a strategic focus on enhancing the customer journey through personalized content and efficient product discovery.
The ability to run multiple country sites efficiently hints at an optimized approach for global expansion without the burden of redundant systems, which can reduce operational costs and complexity. This level of international scalability is a critical factor for businesses looking to expand their digital footprint across borders.
For stakeholders, the emphasis on a small, agile team leveraging strong partnerships and an open platform foundation suggests a lean operational model. This could translate into lower overhead costs and a faster time-to-market for new features and improvements, which is essential for maintaining a competitive edge in ecommerce.
The financial implications of White Stuff's platform migration to BigCommerce could be multifaceted. Initially, there may be capital expenditures associated with the transition to a new platform and the integration of multiple third-party solutions. However, the reported improvements in site and mobile performance could lead to an increase in online sales, which would positively impact the company's top line.
In the longer term, the shift towards a more robust and agile ecommerce platform could result in cost savings through improved efficiency and a reduction in the need for extensive IT resources. The ability to manage international sites more effectively may also open up new revenue streams and increase market share.
It's important to note that such technology investments can take time to reflect in financial performance. Investors should consider the potential for improved customer retention and higher lifetime value due to better user experiences, alongside the scalability benefits that could drive future growth.
White Stuff’s site speed increased
“We now have more flexibility to do everything we want in the short-term, and we are ready to adapt to whatever the future holds,” said Steve Borg, technology and transformation director of White Stuff.
Established in 1985 and with over 110 physical stores, White Stuff, like many established brands and retailers, emerged from the Covid-19 pandemic with a new appreciation for its digital presence. Prior to the pandemic, White Stuff had prioritized its brick-and-mortar stores, but Covid showed the company it needed to invest in its ecommerce operations and improve agility to keep pace with customer expectations and evolving shopping habits.
“Our previous online store was SaaS-based, but the performance and site speed weren’t strong enough to keep up with customer demand,” said Borg. “Changes were difficult to make, and it didn’t scale during busy times. We are a very customer-focused brand, and our new site now delivers on a great buying experience for our customers.”
It didn’t take long for White Stuff to start seeing the benefits of the new site. After switching to BigCommerce, White Stuff immediately saw its site speed increase by
With a small team managing its ecommerce operations, White Stuff needed an ecommerce platform that could support an agile, flexible and fast tech stack that could adapt to future needs. Finding the right tech stack to deliver on a superior customer experience was a top priority.
“The new tech stack allows us to run multiple country sites efficiently and without duplication, supporting our international growth plan,” Borg added.
Partnering with Apply Digital for implementation on BigCommerce, White Stuff chose Vue Storefront for digital storefront, Amplience for content management, Akeneo for product information management, and Constructor for search and product discovery.
“We have a relatively small team, and therefore we look most importantly for good partners,” Borg said. “Running a proof of concept with BigCommerce’s open platform as the foundation combined with these best-of-breed integration partners gave us the confidence that these solutions would work really well together, would give us the headless solution we were looking for to keep things lightweight, and would give us the ability to innovate quickly to deliver an incredible customer experience.”
“White Stuff now boasts a highly composable tech stack that capitalizes on MACH Alliance principles and gives them the ability to integrate platform and platform data and then use that data to quickly pivot and adapt,” said Mark Adams, senior vice president and general manager of EMEA at BigCommerce. “Their customers are ultimately the big winners here as White Stuff is able to add new features that enrich the website experience.”
"Amplience works with the world's leading brands to create incredible digital experiences,” said David Ross, vice president of sales at Amplience. “When White Stuff approached us, we were thrilled to be working with a company that cares as much about its customers as we do. White Stuff prides itself on thoughtfully designed, well-made clothes, and Amplience prides ourselves on enabling our customers to create thoughtfully designed, well-made digital experiences. It's a great match, and we're proud to be working together."
“It was a pleasure working with the White Stuff team, along with our partners at BigCommerce, Apply Digital, Akeneo, Amplience, and Vue Storefront, and I couldn’t be prouder of the result,” said Eli Finkelshteyn, CEO and co-founder of Constructor. “We’re big believers at Constructor in the additional revenue and conversions that can be driven by product discovery and on-site search software that is actually made for ecommerce. Working with our partners in composable commerce to switch White Stuff off their legacy, one-size-fits-all solution to services that are tailor-made for ecommerce, we’re thrilled with how things came together and with the business results driven for White Stuff.”
White Stuff joins a growing group of fashion and apparel merchants on the BigCommerce platform, including La Perla, Badgley Mischka and Birdsnest. To explore BigCommerce’s fashion and apparel ecommerce solutions, click here.
About BigCommerce
BigCommerce (Nasdaq: BIGC) is a leading open software-as-a-service (SaaS) ecommerce platform that empowers brands and retailers of all sizes to build, innovate and grow their businesses online. BigCommerce provides its customers sophisticated enterprise-grade functionality, customization and performance with simplicity and ease-of-use. Tens of thousands of B2C and B2B companies across 150 countries and numerous industries use BigCommerce to create beautiful, engaging online stores, including Ben & Jerry’s, Coldwater Creek, Molton Brown, S.C. Johnson, Skullcandy, Ted Baker and Vodafone. Headquartered in
BigCommerce® is a registered trademark of BigCommerce Pty. Ltd. Third-party trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240130233613/en/
Brad Hem
pr@bigcommerce.com
Source: BigCommerce
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