Site performance score raised from the 40s, 50s to 90s
Site speed went down from 3s to less than 1s

Meet the Client

Island Beach Gear, located in Ocean City, NJ, is a well-known sports goods and outdoor recreation retailer. They specialize in offering various beach essentials like chairs, umbrellas, shelters, toys, towels, clothes, and accessories from top brands. Their goal is to offer high-quality products for every beachgoer. To further enhance their online presence and customer experience, they aimed for a Magento to BigCommerce migration.

Mock-up of Island Beach Gear website for Twitter OG image after Magento to BigCommerce Migration on different devices.
Island Beach Gear website mock-up on desktop and mobile devices after Magento to BigCommerce Migration.

Challenges

Island Beach Gear’s Collaboration and Website Redesign

Island Beach Gear faced significant challenges in their previous collaboration with a Poland-based agency due to communication barriers and time zone differences, which led to disappointments. Seeking a more responsive partnership and to solve some immediate issues with their current Magento site, they engaged with Wagento. They were relieved to have a Project Manager in the Americas with great English. After remediating urgent issues, the joint team turned their focus upon building and launching the new BigCommerce site to better meet their business goals.

Primary Issues with the Old Website

Island Beach Gear was struggling with two major issues:

  • High Costs: Their existing Magento website was costly to maintain. To reduce these high maintenance costs and enhance operational efficiency, the decision was made to migrate to BigCommerce.
  • Better Performance: There was a critical need to improve visibility in search engine results to drive more traffic to their website.

They needed to migrate to BigCommerce site quickly to achieve all these.

Island Beach Gear website mock-up in portrait and landscape after Magento to BigCommerce Migration.
Island Beach Gear website mock-up in portrait and landscape after Magento to BigCommerce Migration.

Client Requirements

Island Beach Gear aimed to increase sales by enhancing web traffic and raising the Average Order Value (AOV). Their primary objective, however, was to enhance the online shopping experience. They aimed to position themselves as a leading resource in the outdoor recreation industry by delivering superior customer experiences, along with educational content and a diverse product range.

Island Beach Gear product page mock-up on desktop and mobile after Magento to BigCommerce Migration.
Island Beach Gear product page mock-up on desktop and mobile after Magento to BigCommerce Migration.

Solutions

Strategic Decision and Platform Migration

In alignment with their goals, Island Beach Gear made a strategic decision to migrate to BigCommerce. This migration was driven by three primary reasons: firstly, to leverage BigCommerce’s enhanced performance capabilities and user-friendly interface; and secondly, to streamline operations and improve the customer experience on the new site. The third reason was to reduce the total cost of ownership associated with Magento.

Website Redesign and Performance Optimization

With assistance from Wagento, Island Beach Gear undertook a complete redesign of their website. The focus was on creating a site that is easy to use, navigate, and visually appealing. We enhanced the website’s performance, improving metrics on tools like GT Metrix and Lighthouse, and reducing the initial load time.

Theme Evaluation and Selection

Wagento, in collaboration with Island Beach Gear, conducted a thorough evaluation of various themes to ensure that the new website was not only visually appealing but also technically robust.

Promotional Marketing and Traffic Generation

Furthermore, Wagento ensured that the new platform was optimized for promotional marketing, aiming to increase traffic and sales.

Island Beach Gear home page mock-up on desktop, tablet, and mobile after Magento to BigCommerce Migration.
Island Beach Gear home page mock-up on desktop, tablet, and mobile after Magento to BigCommerce Migration.

Results

With the Magento to BigCommerce migration, we observed several improvements including the client goals:

Website Performance

Their website performance analysis scores saw a substantial improvement, rising from the 40s and 50s to the 90s. Load times went from 3 seconds to less than 1 second.

Boost in Sales and Average Order Value (AOV)

The redesigned website attracted more visitors, resulting in increased sales and a higher average order value (AOV). This indicates that customers were purchasing more products or services per order, reflecting successful upselling and cross-selling strategies.

Cost Benefits of Migration

The client’s decision to migrate their website to BigCommerce made maintaining the site more cost-effective and manageable. This transition significantly reduced the total cost of ownership associated with their previous Magento platform.

Final Thoughts

Island Beach Gear addressed their issues of low sales and excess inventory by transitioning to BigCommerce. This move significantly boosted their online presence and sales and established new benchmarks for customer engagement and satisfaction.

Unlike previous experiences, Wagento completed this project within budget, which was a notable success for Island Beach Gear. Additionally, they appreciated the prompt and detailed communication from the Wagento team.

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