Ann's Cottage.
Delivering a flexible, user-friendly Shopify Plus site that’s ready for action!
Previously on IRP, the Ann’s Cottage team sought a more flexible eCommerce platform with a design showcasing its credentials as field experts. “The brand needed a user-friendly platform where the in-house team could react at speed to new requirements but also enable them to prepare well in advance for sales and promotions,” says Cass Manning, Project Manager at blubolt. “Reducing the total cost of ownership while reaping the rewards of a true SaaS-based platform with an ambitious roadmap and ecosystem were also critical.”
Walking on water with a sleek design.
Ann’s Cottage wanted a fresh look that reflected the brand’s innate surf lifestyle. “Ann’s Cottage is the UK’s oldest surf shop, so we wanted the design to emphasise their heritage and authenticity but also show that the brand is at the forefront of the surf and skate product offering,” says Matt Walsh, Designer at blubolt. “So for the new design, we updated the branding style, used in page videos, and added progressive loading of content on scroll to give the site a modern look and feel.”
Riding a wave of new features & functionality.
By migrating to the Shopify Plus platform, the blubolt team was able to implement a raft of new features and functionalities for Ann’s Cottage. “To better showcase the brand’s hero range of wetsuits, we worked with Octane.ai to incorporate a quiz to help users find the perfect wetsuit with the aim of increasing conversion rates,” says Charlotte Buckley, Developer at blubolt. “We also collaborated with Vestico to offer customers accurate sizing recommendations and size charts.
Helping customers quickly and easily find what they are looking for across the brand’s large product catalogues was also addressed with improved search, filtering and navigation via a custom Boost API. Further building on the brand's surf-loving ethos, the blubolt team integrated the brand’s Surf Cams into the new website, utilising the Admiralty API so shoppers can check out the daily forecasts and conditions!
Additional partners for the project included Klaviyo for emails, Gorgias for customer service and live chat, Yotpo for UGC, Trustpilot for Reviews, OneTrust for Cookies, Klarna for payment options, SmartWishlist for wishlists, and Cegid (ERP) connection implemented by Retail IT.
Surf’s up: Ann’s Cottage on Shopify Plus.
The brand now has a gorgeous site that emphasises Ann's Cottage's expertise and heritage; the site design also won a Special Kudos from the CSS Design Awards. With greater in-house flexibility and control combined with greatly reduced total ownership costs, Ann’s Cottage can focus on expanding the brand!
Let’s hear from Luke Fox, Director of eCommerce at Ann’s Cottage directly:
“Blown. Away. We’re all so happy and impressed with the amazing blubolt team. We’ve had very few issues, and any we had were dealt with there and then, as blubolt had already thought of them!”
