Britain’s foremost fashion designer outfits himself for e-commerce.

How Paul Smith used Adobe Commerce to bring omnichannel experiences and customizable products to high-end shoppers.

Established

1970

Employees: 209

Nottingham, UK

www.paulsmith.com

15.5%

Increase in revenue

Products:

Adobe Commerce ›

Objectives

Create a simple, streamlined e-commerce experience on a future-proofed site

Provide omnichannel shopping and fulfillment and a more sophisticated mobile experience

Incorporate customizable products and add global capabilities

Results

15.5% increase in revenue

8.6% increase in mobile users

5% increase in mobile conversion

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A fashion-forward take on e-commerce

Paul Smith is Britain’s foremost designer. He is renowned for his creative aesthetic, which combines tradition and modernity. Reaffirming the values that Paul set down in 1970, “classic with a twist” remains the company's guiding principle. Happily positioned between high fashion and formalwear, Paul Smith takes reference from both and is proud to stand apart. Everything Paul Smith creates is underpinned by a dry, British sense of humor — but his greatest attribute, according to Vogue, is his simplicity. In pursuit of a simple, streamlined e-commerce experience, in October of 2017 Paul Smith decided to upgrade to Adobe Commerce.

Paul Smith began their e-commerce journey in 2004, by developing a bespoke web store with the help of an outside agency. But since 2012, Paul Smith’s team had managed e-commerce development in-house on Magento Commerce 1. However, the business was changing fast: 50% of their traffic was coming from users on mobile devices. The Paul Smith brand was also expanding fast into Asia, and their high-end shoppers were demanding an omnichannel experience — and customizable products.

The Paul Smith brand was also expanding fast into Asia, and their high-end shoppers were demanding an omnichannel experience — and customizable products.

A digital transformation

With digital now one of their largest sales channels, optimizing the Paul Smith online experience would have a direct impact on the company’s success. The goal for their upgrade was to future-proof the site, deliver a more sophisticated mobile experience, add global capabilities, and include omnichannel shopping and fulfillment, while simplifying their e-commerce operations — the Paul Smith way. The clean code and streamlined performance of Adobe Commerce was just what they needed.

On-the-go commerce

Adobe Commerce helped Paul Smith focus on improving their mobile experience, with clearer listing pages, accessible links, and streamlined menus. The team implemented the default Adobe Commerce checkout to ensure existing third-party extensions worked seamlessly, and they used PayPal Express Checkout to increase conversions. They also enjoyed minimized cart abandonment on mobile and desktop alike.

A customized experience

Paul Smith used the new site to launch their customizable products. Shoppers can now select a wallet, scarf, or purse, and add their initials, or one of Sir Paul’s famous “doodles.” A monogram preview feature allows users to visualize how the design will look in real life. The Paul Smith team also developed their own content editor (using React JS) to easily build responsive pages, and to support new products and brand collaborations. Meanwhile, in the ‘Stories’ section, Paul Smith content comes to life with widescreen video, vivid imagery, and copy that's as eye-catching as their fashion.

Fulfilment made easy

Fulfilment is now simpler than ever. If stores can’t fulfil an order directly, Paul Smith can fulfill using stock inventory that flows through Adobe Commerce. Then, customers can pick-up in-store or have the product shipped directly to their home. They can even buy their monogrammed purse from a sales assistant and pick it up later, or have it delivered.

This omnichannel process can be extended to any global store in the Paul Smith network, and setup is easy too. It’s all done on the Adobe Commerce admin panel with zero help from the web development team. All orders are pushed to PRIMA ERP using API and are processed by the dispatch team at a central warehouse. By integrating with multiple couriers, Paul Smith offers the choice of Free/Express/Scheduled and Click-and-Collect delivery options.

The upgrade to Adobe Commerce achieved each of Paul Smith’s unique goals, allowing the brand to respond faster to changes, deliver a better customer experience in-store and online, and support their global expansion. Performance significantly improved with faster global page-load times, thanks in part to the platform’s built-in Varnish page-caching. With the launch of shoppable Instagram, Paul Smith also saw a 5% improvement in mobile conversion.

The new Paul Smith site supports six countries, two languages, and multiple currencies. Key to the site’s efficiency is the default site structure which reduces the volume of content, while allowing each country to manage content locally — a truly global operation. Using Adyen payments worldwide, Paul Smith can offer more options, managing both online and in-store purchases seamlessly.

In the six months after their upgrade, Paul Smith has seen revenue increase by 15.5%. Their focus on the mobile customer experience paid off with an increase of 8.6% in mobile users, and an increase of 5% in mobile conversions. For Paul Smith, simplicity really was the answer. And with Adobe Commerce, they’re ready for whatever their customers demand next.