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Since the dot-com days, now Shopify is one of the giant eCommerce platforms, with over 4.28 million websites using it. The power of Shopify lies in its ability to empower entrepreneurs of all technical backgrounds to set up and manage their online stores easily.
However, building a thriving Shopify store requires more than creating a website and uploading your inventory. How to be successful on Shopify or in the competitive eCommerce industry? It's essential to learn from those who have already achieved success.
In today's article, let's have a coffee and get inspired by different Shopify success stories by examining how-to-win-customer Shopify strategies from other successful Shopify merchants. How can they take their Shopify stores to the next level and acquire a breakthrough in their revenue?
You might also want to read:
The Success Story of Shopify: Lessons Learned for SaaS Businesses
Allbirds: Simplicity Sells
The sustainable footwear company Allbirds has seen remarkable success since launching on Shopify in 2016 and has since grown to become a billion-dollar brand.
Allbirds has a brilliant concept of creating and selling exceptionally comfortable and sustainable footwear. Their innovative and forward-thinking business model is centered around three key principles: comfort, simple design, and sustainability.
Apart from their commitment to sustainability, Allbirds is also renowned for their focus on comfort and design. Their shoes are highly acclaimed for their soft, breathable materials and sleek, minimalist style.
Allbirds is one of several direct-to-customer (DTC) brands that modestly began their journey but achieved great success through their strong values, forward-thinking mindset, and customer-centric approach.
Everything from Allbirds’ product designs to its website shopping experience screams simplicity.
The company offers only two styles of shoes and a limited range of colors, making it easier for customers to decide. This strategy has worked well for Allbirds because it removes the complexity of product selection and presents the customer with a clear choice.
Looking at their Shopify collection page above, Allbirds presents visitors with a neat and clean filter tree on the left for choosing shoes by purposes, sizes, materials, and colors. All other filter options are collapsed in a See all option.
By simplifying the decision-making process, Allbirds has targeted customer demographics valuing simplicity and convenience. Additionally, this strategy has helped the company stand out in a crowded marketplace and differentiate itself from giant competitors like Nike or Adidas.
Simplicity = Consistency
Allbirds is not the pioneer in selling comfortable shoes; several other brands, such as Crocs, Uggs, and NikeFree, have built massive empires on the promise of spinal alignment and environmental sustainability. They have been doing it for years.
They, however, have taken its brand promise to the next level by consistently focusing on one core message: comfort and sustainable footwear in all of their online and in-store presence.
Consistency in messaging is another way Allbirds has leveraged simplicity to its advantage. The company's brand messaging focus on the promise of thoughtful comfort, which is reinforced through every aspect of the company's branding and marketing efforts.
The message is consistent across all channels, from the website to social media to public relations. This consistency in messaging has helped Allbirds establish a strong brand identity and build a loyal customer base.
Takeaways:
- Focus on simplicity in design and messaging and the effective use of consistency in your brand messaging. You don’t need to jump into the classic game that brands tend to play into to snatch potential customers’ attention.
- Cut the distractions. Cut the maze of too many options. Learn from Allbirds’ s approach to simplifying choice and removing too many decision-making elements to give customers a more seamless purchasing experience.
Miolé Home: Think Customers, Think Usability
Miolé Home, the leading home textile retailer in Chile, has been in business for over 20 years, with its first physical store opening its doors two decades ago.
Despite its long history, the company has only recently ventured into the world of eCommerce with the launch of its online store in 2020. By expertly combining the benefits of online and in-store selling, Miolé Home has secured its position as Chile's top home textile retailer.
Lesson learned: Senior buyers are just as potential as younger buyers
When bringing their textile products online, Miolé Home faced a challenge which was also a unique opportunity: their shoppers are mostly seniors, with the average customer age around 50 years old.
This age group is known to be more generous in spending while being demanding and selective, yet, they are not very familiar with modern and latest technology.
According to studies by Nielsen, the elderly face greater challenges in using websites, with lower task completion rates and a higher likelihood of abandoning online activities.
How to convert senior users with a gen-X-friendly browsing experience?
Obviously, minimizing the challenges of website navigation is the top 1 mission among other improvements needed to make an eCommerce website friendlier for senior users:
- To minimize distractions, it's best to avoid splitting senior users' attention across multiple tasks or screen sections.
- Interactions should allow for ample time intervals, with limited pop-ups and a slower pace.
- Embrace long-form text and in-depth content without hesitation.
- Etc.
With the above, Miolé Home aims to provide middle-aged customers with a simple, streamlined online product discovery experience.
The priority is to enable these customers to quickly find what they are looking for, with the online store offering essential information such as pricing and sizing to facilitate instant purchasing decisions.
Takeaway:
- Know your customers like you know your products. Then spend x10 your effort to provide them with the best online product discovery experience on your website. Traffic means nothing if they don’t turn into sales.
⇒ See how Miolé Home utilized the powerful Shopify filters and turned their website into a gen-X-magnet conversion machine:
How Boost Product Filter & Search Helps Miolé Home With Senior Customers
✨ Still curious about how these Shopify brands turned traffic into real money? Take a trip to read our success stories.
Pura Vida Bracelets: Aim for Lifelong Members Instead Of One-time Customers
Pura Vida Bracelets is a rapidly growing accessories brand that has captured the hearts of consumers worldwide with its colorful, beach-inspired bracelets.
Starting as a small business venture of 400 bracelets after a travel trip, Pura Vida Bracelets quickly became a global phenomenon, expanding its product line to include necklaces, rings, and other accessories.
After founding its wonderful niche of users, the founders wanted to build their brand into something bigger: a lifestyle that people embrace and scale bigger. They soon realized they needed to aim for - not the stars - but lifelong members who return to buy more.
To achieve their new vision, Pura Vida established the "Pura Vida Club," a monthly subscription service offering subscribers exclusive and newly launched Pura Vida bracelets, which provides exclusive access to new and limited edition products.
This approach not only enhanced the brand's visibility but also fostered customer loyalty, increased the lifetime value of their clientele, and generated recurring revenue.
Pura Vida Bracelets has achieved unparalleled success thanks to its vast and devoted fanbase that boasts 1.4 million followers on Instagram alone.
The brand has successfully leveraged social media to create a dedicated audience that is willing to show up in person to their Insta-meetups, demonstrating a rare ability to convert online followers into a thriving real-world community.
Takeaway:
- While customers may be unpredictable, a devoted and robust community of buyers can provide enduring support for your brand for years to come. Make people return for more by creative secret free gift each month or buy via a member subscription. Let’s think about it!
Sprinting ahead
In the Shopify success stories above, the “Go big or go home” motto does not always bring the desired (or, sometimes, unexpected) growth for a Shopify business.
Their answer to how to be successful on Shopify through all the sticks and stones and strategic ideas is simply lying in understanding customers at its utmost.
We hope that this article with three unique stories inspires you with ideas to smash your next business goal, regardless of its size. Go strong!
