eCommerceHow Made People used Storyblok to optimize growth and rebrand for Stronger

• Headquarters: Stockholm, Sweden
• Technology Stack: Nuxt.js, Centra, Findify, Klaviyo, Flowbox, Ingrid, ReBOUND, Yotpo, and Cloudfare

Stronger launched their new eCommerce website just before Black Friday 2020 with Storyblok. Having previously been on a Magento setup that restricted their growth, the new site tested the limits and performance of what was to come. The result was a site that brought in higher conversion rates, decreased costs and administration overall, and an extended global presence supporting customers worldwide. 

The instant results from November 2020 (to November 2021) astonishingly have shown (Centra):

Challenges that hindered Stronger’s business growth and customer experience

Stronger was previously using Magento and was used to a more monolithic structure. Several factors hindered Stronger’s digital experience, including:

• A system that was not built for the modern world with the right tools to grow:
  Developers and site administrators had to adhere to the tech stack given to them without the flexibility to adjust to new technologies or components, constricting their ability to grow.
• Restrictive backend from a monolithic structure impacted workflows:
  Friction between internal workflows prevented focus on delivering content and instead redirected their developer’s time to technical difficulties that involved the monolithic backend structure of the site.
• Time-consuming limitations in usage and what could be built:
  Previously, the site was being handled by two developers/administrators who primarily focused on the backend. They had to upload the content manually, resulting in bottlenecks.
• Dissatisfaction with the inability to easily tap into their desired international strategy:
  Due to the nature of a monolithic site, all previous international sites were hosted individually rather than under one ‘umbrella.’ Each content piece had to be updated manually per website and market.

Stack limitations dictated by a monolithic CMS

Stronger wanted a stack that they could live on for another 4 to 5 years and not have to redo everything within a 1 to 2-year lifespan as the market adapted with continuous content.

Stronger, a Swedish lifestyle brand for women, came to the Swedish eCommerce agency, Made People, as a fast-moving fashion brand quickly expanding into different markets and languages. As Stronger was still using their previous platform setup, they needed a reactive solution that could go beyond the limit and capacities of their previous platform. As the company wanted to attract a larger audience, Stronger explored opportunities to rebrand for the international market while aiming for fast business growth. The brand approached Made People, who showed an entire ecosystem landscape of different services and tools that would allow them to build future-proof experiences.

To achieve that growth, Stronger turned to Made People to help fill the gaps and aid in rebranding as part of their international strategy. They would consolidate all their sites into one uniform domain, making it more manageable. 

Why did Made People choose Storyblok for Stronger?

Stronger wanted something that could work for 4 to 5 years to future-proof their business. They sought to migrate to a stack that could be adapted to future customer experiences. Made People found Storyblok as a solution to easily start projects and grow to different content types such as omnichannel-focused or localized-focused. This was perfect for Stronger’s need to grow, focus on content for their customers, and tap into new markets. Apart from this, the main strengths that were also found included: 

• The choice of building the eCommerce storefront with Centra, an API-based eCommerce engine that manages cataloging, inventory, returns, shipments, etc.
• A robust Visual Editor that allows content editors to see changes in real-time
• The ability to custom-build components that fit the specifications and needs of each campaign and project and could be reused easily 
• Storyblok’s best-of-breed setup allows the brand to include different tools and integrations to Stronger’s desire

Tools & integrations that leveled up Stronger's eCommerce experience with Storyblok

Following Stronger’s need for growth, Made People integrated eCommerce solutions funneled through previously custom-built components within Storyblok’s CMS interface. These are reusable and can be applied to any sort of project, campaign, or brand. The following integrations were connected to Storyblok and used by Stronger: 

• Centra - eCommerce platform: An order Management System that handles PIM (Product Information Management), Payment, WMS, and Promotions
• Findify: A Machine Learning algorithm that runs through different products within the brand’s catalog, pulling it from the center eCommerce engine (Centra) to Storyblok. The software then boosts the products within Storyblok automatically, with little to no management effort required from site administrators, developers, or marketers. 
• Klaviyo: A newsletter function catered precisely to customers' interests by connecting to Findify and Centra eCommerce. Klaviyo can then identify specific keywords or campaigns to redirect search queries to cater towards personalizing the newsletter experience for a customer’s specific needs.
• Flowbox: A direct Instagram display component that displays images on a website
• Ingrid: Provides end-to-end solutions toward the best delivery experience possible.
• ReBOUND: An eCommerce returns management solution.
• Yotpo: An eCommerce marketing platform that displays and handles customer reviews, referrals, visual loyalty marketing, and SMS marketing. 

Localizing for each customer’s language

The beauty of localization and translations in a headless CMS is the ability to do it once and apply it everywhere. Such a tool is key for eCommerce shops with overseas customers who might be in a specific location and may use a different currency or language in their purchasing experience. With an in-app personalization component, targeting certain pages or campaigns to specific markets or countries made it simple to pull certain product lines from Centra’s eCommerce engine for specific markets. In Stronger’s case, Stronger caters to over 120 countries, 8 languages, and 7 currencies.

A ‘Stronger’ site

Stronger’s tremendous growth has expanded into 7 new markets, with more coming as it sets its sights on further growing within Europe. 

Stronger is a brand that lives to tell its story as it continuously grows. Storyblok has pushed Stronger to new horizons and storytelling capabilities while trying new features to adapt to future needs.