Background
Muscle Republic is one of Australia's pre-eminent activewear brand. The brand is built on e-commerce, with the majority of sales coming through the website.
The Task
As part of a six month consultancy, Butterflys was tasked with a revamp of the Shopify website. Muscle Republic had already been using Shopify for two years, and wanted a refresh that would benefit both the in-house team, and also provide a better experience for visitors.
Context
The business had come across a number of issues in regards to both the front- and back-end of the website, including:
- The previous website developer had incorporated a number of unnecessary codes that meant that numerous website updates would always have to be tasked for him to complete. These tasks weren't able to be completed by the in-house team.
- The website design was outdated and was not fitting of a demographic of buyers that was 70% female. The old interface was masculine, and aggressive in design.
- Various ineffective apps were being used for functions that were already built into Shopify.
Solution
Over the course of two weeks, Butterflys proceeded to rebuild the website using a free theme supplied by Shopify.
The key changes implemented during this time were:
- Reduction of apps, and unnecessary elements in the website that would reduce the yearly subscription fees, and also loading time.
- Updating the front-end to provide a more minimal style, in-line with Australia's most popular fashion websites.
- Re-categorisation of products in line with the streamlining of categories as part of the brand's repositioning.
- Creation of a filtering system for customers to easily find what is available for immediate purchase.
- Rebuilding the product-in-stock notification system, allowing customers to sign up for notifications and stay in touch in relation to new product launches/product restocks.
- Creation of a bundling system as part of the business model of permanent value for customers who invest more into each purchase. More items lead to a greater discount, reaching a purchase value activates a free gift etc.
The Outcome
Muscle Republic continues to be one of Australia's most beloved activewear businesses, with a strong community and a website and front-end that now reflects the approach of the brand.
Since the launch of the new website in April 2019, Muscle Republic's e-commerce platform has averaged a conversion rate of 2%, double that of the standard e-commerce benchmark of 1%.
The in-house team now solely manages the backend, without the need of a retainer or large one-off fees for a developer to make alterations.
The key to a great website is an experience that reflects the modus operandi of the business, staying on top of industry trends for an attractive experience. If you are interested in exploring a website rebuild, shoot us a message by clicking here.