Close-Up is a Belgian fashion store that focusses on young, trendy women. 6 years ago, they came knocking on our door with the question to build them a webshop. We obviously listened to that knock and of course documented the results in our original Close-Up blogpost. 1 year ago, we heard a knock once more – it was time for an upgrade! We were, of course, very happy to blow new life into this fruitful partnership.
Why the upgrade?
Quite simple. After 6 years, so much has changed. It was time for a new design that enticed users even more than before, just as much it was time to add new features in order to move forward to a more unified commerce. To ensure a fully stable and profitable webshop, it was time to refurbish it.
What are these new features?
They are pretty cool, let us tell you that.
1. New design for Close-up
The design itself is fresh, colourful and focusses on user friendliness. Visitors can easily navigate through the website without any sort of confusion or frustration. We then made it easy for Close-Up to make small design changes themselves. For instance, take that they want to focus on a certain trend. Now, they can easily adapt the colours of the site to match the highlighted trend. Amazing, right?
Of course, there’s more to it than just playing with colour. Although it is needless to say, we will say it: the webshop is 100% responsive. Because well, shopping happens from literally every screen we own – for Close-Up, 70% of their clients shop from their phones!
2. Shop the look
Beautiful lookbook pictures are much nicer on the eye than the average packshot. Exactly why Close-Up prefers to use such imagery – but you have to make it both appealing and easy for the customer to buy the shown items. Baldwin added the “shop the look” feature: you click on the picture of a look you like and get an overview of what items the model wears. In this view you can either purchase all products at once, or you can add the ones you like to your cart. Easy peasy!
3. Product & Stock synchronisation with an ERP-system
No more manual fiddling with adding new products to your webshop! The sync with the ERP-system allows Close-Up to relax a bit more, as it automatically synchronises new products with the webshop. To make this magic happen, we partnered with ShopPlus. We furthermore implemented an orderexport: every order made on the webshop gets exported to the ERP-system, where it is processed. Easy peasy, part 2.
4. Clients get stock updates
You know the feeling when you see this really amazing item that you absolutely need in your life, but it is out of stock or not available in your size? And how devastating it is if you can’t subscribe to receive updates about its availability? Well, Close-Up shoppers definitely won’t encounter those frustrations as it is possible to leave their e-mail address and get notified when the item they like is back in stock.
5. Reserve items in store
Imagine this: you’re madly in love with a certain item. Yet, you can’t help but feel that it may not suit you. And you greatly dislike the hassle of returning online-bought items that don’t fit. Well, luckily for you, you can now reserve products in one of the Close-Up stores! You just swing by, try it on, get complimented by the sales assistants, buy the item and leave with a happy feeling. No worries if it doesn’t fit: there is no obligation to buy whatever you reserved in the store. The perfect example on how to boost your unified commerce!
6. Love for our partners
Yes, we are aware that this isn’t exactly a new feature. But we just want to say thank you to all our partners! ShopPlus for making the synchronisation between webshop and ERP-system happen. Bpost for being a trusted delivery partner. Combell for being the strongest website host. MultiSafepay for making sure Close-Up clients’ can shop and pay safely. The success of this webshop could not be possible without all of you <3
The struggle
Oh, the struggle. THE struggle. Corona 2020. Panic for physical stores, enthusiasm and possibilities for webshops. Thanks to the COVID-19 quarantine, it was obvious that online business would become part of society’s economic cornerstones.
But that’s not only why we devoted all of our passion and professionalism to building the perfect webshop. We didn’t do it because fashionista’s were slowly dying due to lack of physical shopping – but because we delivered a little bit of happiness to your front porch. Webshops were a fun escape for those cooped up inside, were useful for vulnerable people, were the new way of business. And that’s why we worked so hard: to stand out!
The launch
It took us a good year to get there, but here we are. Good things take time. Definitely when you get hit by a global pandemic, as that’s not exactly an issue you foresee in your average meeting. Together with Close-Up, we checked every last detail of the webshop and never stopped improving. Until there was no more room for improvement. They always say that the proof of the cake lies in the eating of it. Well, the proof that Close-Up is a d*** good webshop then lies in the fact that literally immediately after the launch, orders came flowing in. A perfect flow. A stable webshop. Lots of happy clients. And good sales for Close-Up. What more could we wish for?
Interested in this project? Stay tuned for more! We’ll soon publish an interview with Close-Up. Interested in building your own webshop, but don’t want to do it alone? We got your back. Let’s get in touch and start the most awesome partnership of a lifetime.
