Today, I have a great case study showing how much can change over time for a business, and how much can be improved on a site that's seemingly working well. We also have a peek into a way you can keep customers coming back.
The new Island Thyme site
Ten years after our first project together, Island Thyme came back to reimagine their site for a new chapter of growth. From their farm on Orcas Island, they grow many of the botanicals for their skincare line and distill their own essential oils, handcrafting in small batches for nearly 20 years. That depth of craft is a huge part of what makes the brand memorable, but their website was no longer telling that story well.
The challenge was to modernize Island Thyme’s website for a wider audience. That meant replacing a clunky manual sample selection process, creating better ways to reward customers who restock frequently, and building a shopping experience that could appeal to both loyal fans and new visitors.
This project resulted in a 23% increase in revenue!
Example of adding samples from the cart
We rebuilt their sample program to feel like a natural part of shopping, making it much easier for customers to explore the line without having to manually enter selections. While loyal customers would work around the old site’s idiosyncrasies, this was a barrier for anyone new to the brand. Now it’s easy, familiar shopping.
New purchasing options, like “Subscribe & Save” and “Buy More, Save More,” help loyal customers keep their favorite products on hand or stock up when they need more. At the same time, these features support Island Thyme’s growth by bringing in more predictable recurring revenue and boosting average order value.
We saw a 19% increase in orders after this project, with a 5% increase to the average order value.
We understood what made this brand precious, and we built a site that helps more people feel that too. Island Thyme Botanicals now has a website that is easier to update and better equipped to keep sharing their story as they grow. If you feel like an out-of-date website is holding you back, now is the perfect time to start a project with us. You'll be able to capture more sales this summer, and then use your data to optimize it for the holiday shopping season.
Have you borrowed money from Shopify before? This article mentions that Shopify can lend to merchants with low risk because it knows “pretty much everything” it needs to know about the clients.
