Overview
A growing fashion brand was struggling with their legacy Shopify store. Despite investing heavily in ads, they were hemorrhaging sales due to poor mobile experience and a clunky checkout. The owner reached out after seeing cart abandonment hit 67% during a holiday sale, costing them thousands in lost revenue.
The Challenge
The existing Shopify theme loaded in 4.2 seconds on mobile (industry target: <2s). The checkout required 7 steps with redundant form fields. Inventory sync with their warehouse happened once daily, leading to overselling issues. Mobile users made up 65% of traffic but only 30% of sales. Most critically: they were losing $12K+ weekly to cart abandonment during peak season.
The Solution
I built a custom headless storefront using Next.js for sub-second page loads and implemented a radically simplified checkout. Instead of 7 steps, I combined shipping and billing into a single screen, integrated Stripe's one-click payment, and added guest checkout (they previously forced account creation). For inventory, I built a webhook system that syncs with their warehouse API every 15 minutes, with real-time stock warnings on product pages.
The Process
Performance Audit & User Research
Ran Lighthouse audits revealing 23-second mobile load time on 3G. Analyzed GA4 data showing 73% of mobile users bounced before seeing products. Interviewed 15 customers who abandoned carts—most cited 'too many steps' and 'had to create account.'
Headless Architecture Migration
Migrated from Shopify Liquid to Next.js headless setup, keeping Shopify as backend for order management (client's team was familiar with it). Used Shopify Storefront API for product data, implemented edge caching via Vercel for instant page loads.
Checkout Redesign & A/B Testing
Reduced checkout to 3 screens: Cart → Shipping/Billing (single form) → Payment. Added Stripe Payment Elements for one-click checkout. A/B tested guest vs required login—guest checkout won (38% higher completion). Implemented exit-intent popup that saved 15% of abandoners.
Inventory Sync & Launch
Built webhook listener connecting their warehouse software (ShipStation) to Next.js. Stock updates now propagate in 15 mins vs 24 hours. Soft-launched to email list, monitored errors, then full launch with 99.8% uptime in first 90 days.
Tech Stack
“I was skeptical about leaving Shopify, but keeping it as the backend was genius. Our team still uses the same order system, but customers now get a store that actually loads on their phones. The improvement in cart completion alone paid for the project.”
Lead Automation System
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