Mid market brands often feel the squeeze between startup scrappiness and enterprise complexity. This case study recaps how Flintler partnered with a growth stage ecommerce retailer on Shopify to lift conversion rate and average order value by rethinking three levers that compound together: speed, merchandising, and on site content. The work followed our structured 5 phase process, from Discovery to Launch, and reflects the same discipline you will see in our work for clients like Vela, Lume, Nexa, and Forma.

The client and the challenge

The brand had healthy traffic, strong product market fit, and flatlining KPIs. Site speed lagged on mobile, internal search underperformed, and product pages lacked the depth buyers needed to convert on first touch. In Discovery we mapped analytics, ran a UX audit, and benchmarked competitors. The opportunity was clear: reduce friction across the journey and increase relevance at the moment of choice.

The 5 phase plan in action

Our approach followed Flintler’s 5 phase model, outlined in our about and expanded in the playbook on the 5 phase brand build.

• Discovery: analytics forensics, speed profiling, heuristic UX review

• Strategy: KPI tree, test plan, technical backlog, content architecture

• Design: speed first theme refactor, navigation and search models, PDP content system

• Refinement: AB tests, GA4 event quality, CRO sprints

• Launch: production rollout, QA, observability, and training

Speed: from tolerable to fast

Speed is a conversion lever. In the Deloitte report Milliseconds Make Millions, a 0.1 second improvement correlated with higher conversion for retail sites, including an 8 percent lift captured in the findings for faster experiences, as explained in the Deloitte study. The Akamai 2017 performance report observed that a 100 millisecond delay can hurt conversion rates by 7 percent. These are directional, but they focus the roadmap.

On Shopify we prioritized Core Web Vitals. Google notes that Largest Contentful Paint should be 2.5 seconds or less, which is documented in the web.dev LCP article. We refactored the theme against the Shopify performance best practices, reduced render blocking assets, lazy loaded non critical media, and preloaded hero image and font assets. We also trimmed third party app scripts and followed the Shopify Help Center guidance on improving store performance, with special attention to image formats and sizes.

The result was a lighter first paint, faster interaction, and stable layout. We moved key Core Web Vitals into the green for mobile sessions, then validated with field data.

Merchandising: make finding and buying easier

We simplified navigation and collection architecture, then improved internal search and filtering using the Shopify Search and Discovery app. Creating intuitive filters and curating recommendations is covered in the Shopify documentation for filters and in the guidance to customize product recommendations. We implemented synonyms, boosted bestsellers for key queries, and created landing experiences that matched buyer intent.

To raise AOV we introduced bundles and cross sells. Shopify explains that selling bundles can increase average order value and deliver curation value, which is highlighted in the Product bundles help article. We used the native Shopify Bundles app for fixed sets and multipacks, and we merchandised logical add ons on PDPs and in cart. Personalization matters here. McKinsey found that faster growing companies derive 40 percent more revenue from personalization than their peers, as reported in McKinsey’s analysis of personalization value. Our rules based segments and badges made the catalog feel curated without overengineering.

On site content: depth that answers and sells

Product pages needed to do more work. Baymard’s extensive product page UX research shows that users rely on clear images, descriptive text, and spec details to evaluate fit. We introduced a modular PDP system with long form descriptions, comparison tables, size and care guides, FAQ, and usage tips. Reviews were surfaced high on the page and on collection tiles because the Spiegel Research Center analysis of online reviews found that products with at least five reviews see dramatically higher purchase likelihood.

Search visibility also benefits from helpful content. Google encourages people first content that demonstrates expertise and satisfies user intent, as described in the Search Central guidance on creating helpful content. We added Product structured data so Google can present richer results with price, availability, and ratings, following the Product structured data documentation.

If you want a deeper dive into the content and UX system we design, see our perspective on product led branding and the case study on moving from UX audit to prototype.

Implementation highlights

• Theme and asset hygiene: refactored sections, deferred non essential scripts, compressed media, and removed redundant app code

• Search and filter quality: tuned synonyms, merchandising rules, and zero results handling

• PDP content system: reusable blocks, SEO friendly copy, trust signals, and UGC patterns

• Measurement: GA4 events for product discovery, add to cart, bundle attach, and checkout reach

We validated progress with Lighthouse lab tests, field data, and behavioral metrics. Portent’s research notes that when pages load in 1 second, conversion rates are significantly higher than slower experiences, which aligns with the Portent analysis on site speed and conversion. Our field improvements tracked to higher add to cart rates, deeper product views per session, and a rising bundle attach rate.

Why Shopify for mid market growth

Shopify gives mid market teams a performant default, an opinionated theme framework, and a powerful app ecosystem. The platform’s CDN, native image transforms, and theme performance standards create a strong base, as detailed in Shopify’s theme performance best practices. Merchants can extend relevance with the Search and Discovery app and increase AOV with Shopify Bundles. If you are evaluating platforms, our take on total cost of ownership and conversion tradeoffs is in this guide to custom website vs no code.

Flintler recommends Shopify for most ecommerce builds because it lets us ship faster, measure with precision, and focus effort on experience quality rather than infrastructure.

A fast start playbook you can adapt

• Benchmark speed and UX: measure Core Web Vitals and run a heuristic audit

• Kill bloat: remove or replace heavy apps and defer non critical scripts

• Upgrade content: design PDP modules that answer pre purchase questions

• Improve findability: tune search, filters, and recommendations to buyer intent

• Raise AOV: bundle logical sets, add cross sells, and monitor attach rate

• Measure what matters: track product discovery, add to cart, and checkout reach

If you want to see how this process scales across brand and product, explore our case studies and related articles on SaaS UX and content architecture that converts and building an influencer to UGC engine. Ready to apply the same rigor to your store, from speed to merchandising to content that sells, start a conversation on our contact page or browse the latest thinking on the Flintler blog.