Shopware
Quick launches in new markets with eCommerce store
Nübee’s main business goal was to migrate their previous, custom-made online store to a more innovative platform. We wanted to help them grow, so we recommended a suitable technology and moved all the crucial features from the existing system to the new one.
Additionally, the client also asked our team to provide new functionalities to make their online baby food shop even more advanced and modern. We agreed that such an approach would give their brand a boost and help them achieve their objectives.
Service
eCommerce implementation
Technology
Shopware 6
Shopware PWA
Scope
Vertical
Baby food
Nübee is a Swiss manufacturer of fresh, organic, and natural baby food dedicated to kids in age groups
up to three years.
It’s a brand for aware customers that want to provide their little ones with the best quality nutrition. Their store contains advice for parents, a loyalty program with subscription options, and the products. The convenience of their service and the value of their offer is undeniable.
Recognized objectives
The client couldn’t grow their eCommerce store further because it was a custom platform written for them. Introducing new features and changes was almost impossible or very time-consuming. Their business requires a platform that is easy to maintain and can grow with their business.
Also, Nübee requested that we research customer behavior, collect relevant data, and prepare an eye-catching design based on that research and data. They deeply cared about their brand’s presence and how it speaks to clients that visit their website. User experience (UX) is crucial when selling products that are unique
and groundbreaking.
Challenges of this project
There were several challenges we stumbled upon during the project. We took care of them with the client’s objectives in mind.
The first thing we had to handle was the subscription feature that had a unique list of requirements. Shopware plugins couldn’t achieve the results Nübee was looking for because of architecture differences, so we decided to prepare the functionality from scratch. Thanks to this approach, the client can now do exactly what they need within their subscription program.
We also spent quite some time preparing integrations with SAP and Mailchimp. The product is still evolving from its MVP phase into an international eCommerce platform with appealing features.
The project went through several phases with organized scopes of work. Everything was adjusted to agile principles and guidelines to deliver the expected results on time. We had to bet on custom adjustments for
a solution we picked to achieve all the goals set by the client.
Here’s a review of the process:
Discovery phase
Nübee came to us with clear requirements, which were definitely helpful at the initial stage of the project. They asked us to analyze their expectations, recommend technologies suitable for their ideas, map the shopping platform and all its features, and create a task backlog. During a series of workshops, we produced full documentation.
To help the client decide on the technology, we created a presentation to showcase the differences between the standard Shopware front end and Shopware PWA. We presented our recommendations and price estimations for two project variants. Nübee decided to pick the second option, and we proceeded with a list of needed plugins. Also, our team created a production plan with phases, including the MVP implementation. After the roadmap was created, we could move forward.
Product design
This stage was based on collaboration with the full team. Every part of the design was consulted with the development team. Here’s the productive workflow we curated during that time:
- The UX design team conducted research with users to find out the needs and opinions on subscription sales and the architecture of products and its division.
- Studied data from Google Analytics to define pain points and causes of user frustration.
- Based on research and interviews, we created several low-fi concepts that were then tested and discussed.
- The idea was to divide the users into those who already know the products and those who need additional education.
- This gave rise to the concept of how to create a subscription sales path and a configurator that tells you what to order.
- Then we adjusted the Nübee brand to more digital usage and started working on hi-fi mockups.
- They were given to the development team for review.
- Developers gave feedback, and when the mockup was accepted, it was passed to the client for the final assessment.
By having this workflow, every mockup was in tune with the client’s expectations and possible to implement by developers. The work was more productive, and the teams had more space to communicate with the client and each other. However, the UX designer had to be present almost throughout the entire development phase because this approach was more time consuming.
MVP development
The team composition in this project was elaborate. We had one project manager, two to three back-end developers, two to three front-end developers, one tester, one or two UX designers, one SEO specialist, and one analytics specialist. They all worked hard on the execution of the MVP requirement list, and if there was a feature that was not included in it, we would estimate needed resources and ask Nübee for the green light.
Before going live, we prepared a detailed implementation plan divided into days and hours. It contained a to-do list that described what had to be finished and configured. Last but not least, we created test scenarios that had to work before the release day.
We can proudly say that the customized front end based on Shopware PWA is close to the standard version. It was only tweaked in places where it was necessary for quicker implementation and better processing of features. One of the problems we had to solve was non-satisfactory support for the Safari browser, so we had to spend more time adjusting functionalities to that.
From the beginning, the store was supposed to be available in multiple locations. The MVP was tested in Switzerland, and next, we’ll create the German and Austrian versions. How does it work in terms of architecture? It’s basically the same back end based on Shopware 6 with a country-specific Shopware PWA front end. The main differences are the currencies, product catalog, payment methods, and delivery options.
As for the other needs of the client, we implemented dedicated events that allow Nübee to collect data and analyze their customers’ behaviors in the online store. An SEO specialist was also involved to reassure the high position of the freshly implemented website within search engines.
Since the company sells food, we introduced functionalities that would enable their unusual logistics process. By doing so, customers always receive their fresh products quickly. With Shopware, we could allow visitors of the eCommerce store to pick their preferred delivery time and the platform would inform the partner company every day at 4 a.m. what should be prepared for the next day’s orders.
In the future, we plan to build and implement the following features:
- Buying vouchers for someone else and sending them via email or traditional mail.
- A reward program for referrals with discounts as rewards.
