Ann’s Cottage partnered with blubolt to migrate to Shopify Plus, transforming their site into a high-performing, immersive lifestyle brand experience.

The problem

Evolving beyond a limiting platform.

Operating on IRP, Ann’s Cottage found that the platform was holding them back. The team needed more flexibility, faster control, and a modern digital experience that reflected their authority in surf culture.

They wanted to:

• Showcase their heritage and lifestyle expertise through elevated design and storytelling.
• Give their internal team more autonomy to manage promotions, merchandising, and content at speed.
• Reduce the total cost of ownership with a scalable SaaS platform backed by a strong partner ecosystem.

To achieve this, Ann’s Cottage partnered with blubolt to migrate to Shopify Plus and to do it in a way that aligned with blubolt’s journey-led growth approach: mapping, measuring, and optimising the customer journey to drive long-term, customer-centred growth.

The solution

A design rooted in heritage, built for performance.

We refreshed the Ann’s Cottage brand to balance authenticity with modernity. The new design highlights the brand’s surf heritage while presenting a clean, dynamic user experience.

• Updated branding and lifestyle-driven visuals reinforce expertise and trust.
• In-page videos and progressive content loading bring the surf lifestyle to life.
• Shopify Plus provides the flexibility to quickly and confidently create and optimise campaigns in-house.

Intelligent tools for a seamless shopping journey.

We focused on improving the customer journey from discovery to purchase by embedding insight-driven enhancements:

• A custom wetsuit finder quiz built with Octane.ai helps customers find their perfect fit, boosting engagement and conversions.
• Integration with Vestico delivers accurate, data-driven sizing recommendations.
• Advanced search, filtering, and navigation powered by Boost API ensure customers can effortlessly explore the brand’s large catalogue.

Immersive brand experience.

Bringing the Ann’s Cottage lifestyle online meant going beyond product pages:

• Surf Cams integrated via the Admiralty API let customers check the waves and forecasts in real time.
• A connected ecosystem of tools, including Klaviyo (email), Gorgias (customer service), Yotpo (UGC), Trustpilot (reviews), and Klarna (payment), all work seamlessly through Shopify Plus.
• The Cegid ERP integration ensures operational efficiency from front end to back office.

Through this cohesive setup, blubolt aligned marketing, design, and technical teams around the same customer journey, thereby reducing friction, improving efficiency, and setting a foundation for continuous optimisation.

The result

Growth built on customer focus.

The migration to Shopify Plus transformed both performance and process for Ann’s Cottage.

• +20% uplift in overall conversion rate since launch.
• +10% increase in Average Order Value through enhanced UX and customer journey optimisation.
• Reduced total cost of ownership and greater in-house agility.
• Award-winning design, earning a Special Kudos from the CSS Design Awards.

Most importantly, the site now truly reflects Ann’s Cottage’s surf heritage, empowering the team to deliver an optimised, cohesive customer experience and fuel measurable, journey-led growth.