How POLYWOOD modernized its commerce platform to scale faster and operate more efficiently

POLYWOOD, North America’s largest direct-to-consumer outdoor furniture brand, has undergone a significant transformation in its e-commerce operations. The company, which offers over 150,000 product variations manufactured in-house, faced challenges with its previous e-commerce platform, Magento. This article explores how POLYWOOD migrated to Shopify, leading to a remarkable increase in conversion rates and a more efficient operation.

The Challenge: The Old Platform Became the Bottleneck

Initially, POLYWOOD chose Magento for its e-commerce infrastructure due to its capability to support a vast catalog and just-in-time manufacturing. However, over time, the heavily customized Magento environment became a constraint. The development resources were primarily focused on maintenance rather than growth, consuming over 80% of the engineering team’s capacity. Benjamin Spiegel, Chief Digital Officer at POLYWOOD, noted, “We were spending our energy on activities that were necessary but did not create competitive advantage.”

POLYWOOD’s extensive product catalog added complexity to the situation. With 150,000 variations across colors, finishes, textures, and materials, every change required significant custom development. This technical complexity necessitated specialized engineering talent, which was challenging for a company that is not a traditional tech firm. As a result, maintaining the customized infrastructure became risky, with each deployment carrying the potential to break existing functionalities.

The Solution: Moving from a Custom Infrastructure to Shopify

To overcome the limitations of its Magento environment, POLYWOOD sought a platform that could manage enterprise-scale complexity without the need for constant custom development. After evaluating various providers, POLYWOOD decided to migrate to Shopify. The decision was driven by several key factors:

Built-in Functionality with Flexible Customization

Shopify offered a combination of out-of-the-box functionality and a deep customization ecosystem. Unlike competitors that required substantial development investments for meaningful customization, Shopify allowed POLYWOOD to handle complex product configurations and manufacturing workflows without needing large engineering teams for every change. Spiegel remarked, “Everything is working out of the box, and we can get all the features the business required, but we can also still customize it to the level that matches our business.”

Access to the App Ecosystem

Instead of building every capability in-house, POLYWOOD leveraged Shopify’s extensive marketplace of verified applications. This approach solved approximately 75% of their custom needs immediately, allowing the company to focus on growth rather than development. Spiegel highlighted the importance of this ecosystem, stating, “You nurtured a growing app ecosystem… that app ecosystem is an extension of the core product.”

Enterprise-Scale Catalog Management

Managing the vast array of product variations previously required extensive custom development. However, with Shopify’s native catalog capabilities and app ecosystem, POLYWOOD could handle this complexity with minimal custom engineering. Spiegel noted, “We had anticipated a 3-6 month drawdown in organic traffic and revenue due to major site structure changes going from Magento to Shopify, but we did not see this happen after cutover.”

The Developer Community and Partnership Model

One of the significant advantages of replatforming to Shopify was the accessibility of developer talent. Finding Shopify developers and specialized resources proved easier than staffing for proprietary platforms. This access allowed POLYWOOD to tap into a deep external ecosystem, making a meaningful difference in their operations.

The Creative Canvas

With the infrastructure challenges resolved, POLYWOOD’s development team shifted its focus from building basic features to utilizing Shopify as a creative canvas. This transition allowed the team to innovate and enhance the customer experience rather than merely maintaining the system.

Results Achieved After Migration

The migration to Shopify yielded immediate and significant results for POLYWOOD:

• 22% increase in conversion rate: The transition to Shopify led to a substantial boost in conversion rates, enhancing overall sales performance.
• 12% increase in average order value: By utilizing personalization and recommendation features, POLYWOOD was able to increase the average order value.
• 100% of development resources redirected: All development resources that were previously tied to platform maintenance were redirected to value creation and AI innovation.
• Reduction in operating expenses: The company experienced a six-figure reduction in total cost of ownership and operating expenses.
• Fewer code-related errors: The migration resulted in fewer outages and customer service escalations, improving the overall customer experience.
• Part of Shopify’s ChatGPT shopping early access cohort: POLYWOOD is now part of an innovative group exploring AI-driven shopping experiences.

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