EXPRESSO Overhauls Their Ecommerce Website for Spectacular Results

SOLUTION

Leveraging native functionality and integrations to create a powerful ecommerce solution.

As Blackbit began examining alternative ecommerce platforms, three contenders made it to the shortlist: Shopify, Shopware 6, and BigCommerce. While each provided varying levels of customisation and integration options, Blackbit and EXPRESSO chose BigCommerce because of its cost, speed, and functionality. 

The BigCommerce Page Builder met all of EXPRESSO’s customisation requirements, and the open APIs would allow their teams to integrate marketing, PIM, and other tools quickly. This also gave them the ability to add another new feature onto their site: the ability for customers to customise and personalise their own hand cart.

Endless product configuration options make for a one-of-a-kind customer experience.

One of the most extensive new features on the EXPRESSO website is the product customiser. This new tool allowed EXPRESSO customers to create infinite product configurations based on their own unique needs. Tires, shovels, handles, and more can all be added to a custom product with a simple click, and can each be set independently of one another. Each selection reflects immediately in a product preview which, in turn, includes the updated price and product details.

Previously, customers could only purchase products with the EXPRESSO logo on them. Now, with the new product editor, customers have the option of uploading individual logos or custom text to have their product custom printed.

Retaining and refining core B2B and DTC functionality.

A large part of EXPRESSO’s business comes from B2B sales. On their original site, they can easily segment their customers between B2B and direct-to-consumer (DTC). This allowed them to easily filter between expected shipping options and payment methods specific to B2B customers. They did not want to lose this functionality as part of the site migration.

On BigCommerce, Blackbit was able to retain and refine key features that created a positive customer and admin experience. Using B2B features native to BigCommerce, like audience segmentation and custom checkout systems, EXPRESSO could maintain the core functionality of their previous platform while improving the overall experience elsewhere

PIM integration was key for success.

While EXPRESSO decided to move away from Pimcore as their ecommerce solution, they still wanted to use the tool for product management. Pimcore acted as a data repository for all of their regional ecommerce stores, and was also integrated into Google Merchant Center, making it the core of their ecommerce operation.

BigCommerce’s open APIs allowed for seamless integration with Pimcore. “Pimcore is the foundation of our product information management,” said Rene Clobes, Digital Marketing Manager at EXPRESSO. “In combination with BigCommerce as our ecommerce front-end, we have the optimal solution in terms of security, performance, and flexibility.”

Design and UX was paramount in the rebuild.

For the new site design, Blackbit started out with the BigCommerce Cornerstone theme, which worked perfectly with EXPRESSO’s extensive product catalogue. They then used the BigCommerce Page Builder to improve and customise page design. This also allowed EXPRESSO’s internal teams to create and develop their own custom pages for new products or campaigns after the initial build.