This customer story was authored by Mark Nagelmann, Director of Web Operations at Lull.
Like many other home furnishing companies, we’ve faced economic hardships due to factors like high mortgage rates and student loans. However, Shopify has been a miracle worker, allowing us to increase efficiency while saving on costs significantly.
Just four months in, and Shopify has already blown us away! While we're just scratching the surface of its conversion and revenue potential, our early success lies in a different ingredient: cost efficiency.
That's why Shopify isn’t just a platform for us, it’s a lifesaver. With Shopify, we’ve:
- Slashed infrastructure & software costs by 25%
- Dramatically reduced processing fees by 25%
- Unlocked new sales channels: the Shop App alone now accounts for 1% of our order volume
- Added Shop Pay, which drives 80% of our express checkouts
- Hit a 14% conversion lift during 2023 Black Friday and Cyber Monday alone
- Successfully launched new promotions targeting overstocked inventory
- And much, much more!
We were able to migrate to Shopify all inhouse, going from complex custom tech to up and running on Shopify in just 6 months, with no previous Shopify experience.
This is our story.
Meet Lull, your dreamy sleep partner
Lull was created for one simple reason - We want people to sleep better so they can live better. We believe comfort shouldn't be a luxury. That's why we crafted premium mattresses within everyone's reach.
For over five years, I've seen and done it all with the incredible Lull team. From overcoming early challenges to celebrating landmark victories, there's no place I'd rather be. Santa Barbara, California may be the backdrop, but it's the company's products and purpose that keeps me anchored.
Our first breakthrough came with the introduction of our Original Lull Memory Foam Mattress. Our mattresses aren’t just about saving you money (although that's a nice bonus), it's about waking up feeling like you actually got some sleep!
The challenges
From brick-and-mortar to Shopify rocketship
In the early days, our custom tech stack felt like a blank canvas with infinite possibilities. "You dream it, we build it!" was our mantra. But the freedom soon turned into a burden. Our beloved homegrown tech stack started draining resources instead of fueling growth. It couldn't keep pace with the lightning-fast evolution of ecommerce, leaving us frustrated and struggling to keep up.
For instance, tweaking a single line of text… a simple task in most systems, but for us, a grueling weeks-long odyssey through code sprints, feature development, QA, and deployment hell.
Finding the right ecommerce solution was no longer a nice-to-have, it was a life-or-death mission.
Why BigCommerce — and why it didn’t work
In search of a solution, we turned to BigCommerce. At the time, we didn’t like the rev share model of Shopify Plus (little did we know BigCommerce would cost us way more in the end...). BigCommerce seemed like a reasonable choice, given its perceived affordability.
A/B testing BigCommerce
We opted for a phased approach, beginning with BigCommerce's checkout. It took a year to fully integrate and test this crucial component.
Keeping our old tech and using BigCommerce together was a mess. We had to choose one, and BigCommerce wasn't the right fit. We had big drops in sales and lost hundreds of thousands on developers and platform fees.
While testing BigCommerce’s checkout, conversions plummeted by 15% compared to our legacy site. Session to purchase rates went down 13%, as did intent-to-buy by almost 8%.
Frequent outages
Adding to the frustration, slow load times and frequent outages plagued our experience. I found myself frequently receiving 2:00 am alert notifications about issues that could degrade or break our store. The irony of this all happening while selling the world’s most comfortable, sleep-enhancing mattresses was not lost on me.
Unresponsive and unreliable support
We struggled to get support from BigCommerce. Our account representative changed multiple times in just one year, and although they were kind, their solutions didn't meet our needs.
We also tried their Solutions Architects, but their costs and deliverables didn’t align with our expectations.
In the end, BigCommerce offered us a partial refund and acknowledged that they did not meet our needs.
Like a bad breakup, we were left with low morale and an unknown future.
The solution: Why we chose Shopify
Recognizing BigCommerce wasn’t the solution, we made the bold decision to migrate to Shopify. Why?
It was obvious! Ask your nanny, your friends' kids, your uber driver… people know Shopify, and for good reason.
Shopify is “the leader” in the ecommerce market. However, it wasn't just about technology; choosing Shopify was about regaining control, agility, and efficiency.
But migrating from a complex, homegrown tech stack to a confined platform was frightening. Would our unique identity fit into the confines of the Shopify infrastructure? The answer: Yes.
OK, so Shopify is the solution… but how could we un-spaghetti our complex infrastructure, and within budget?
We began by carefully vetting several major dev agencies. We were impressed by their professionalism and talented personnel—some even offered helpful assistance at no cost. But most proposals exceeded $1 million and stretched over 8-16 months, making them out of reach for our needs.
We decided to tackle the migration to Shopify all in house.
Lull’s “results-focused” DNA, combined with our dedicated drive and humility, made it easy for us to migrate to Shopify, despite initial concerns about high costs and long timelines.
We rebuilt our entire homegrown infrastructure, which had taken us nearly a decade to build, within six months, and for under $10,000.
Results: Early success with Shopify
Even though we’re new to Shopify, we’ve already experienced countless wins profound to Lull’s bottom line.
For the first time ever, I’ve been able to enjoy the holidays, instead of work them. Shopify apps like Launchpad made it incredibly easy to coordinate, adjust, and enhance our marketing efforts on the fly.
We hit a 14% conversion lift during 2023 Black Friday and Cyber Monday alone. We also launched two new programs simultaneously: gift cards (incentivized by built-in discounts), and our first ever percent-based promotion. These kept shoppers happy and our margins healthy.
Processing fee savings
At a time where customers are increasingly looking for financing options, finding payment partners who are fair to both the customer and company is of great importance. Despite initial skepticism, Shop Pay has been a huge win for us.
Shop Pay’s installment plan alone led to a 25% reduction in processing fees. Shop Pay now makes up more than 80% of our express checkout mix.
Infrastructure reduction
Implementing Shopify inspired us to review our org structure, software stack, and operating expenses. This led to a 25% reduction in software costs and 10-15% savings on internal tech expenses.
Ditching the old inefficiencies, our opex model is leaner and meaner.
New sales channels
Our sales instantly jumped when we started exploring new sales channels offered by Shopify.
The Shop App accounts for 1% of our total sales—a sales channel we previously did not have access to.
Now, with all our sales unified in Shopify, from Facebook and Instagram to TikTok, Amazon, and even B2B, Lull is able to deliver exceptional sleep experiences to new audiences.
Expert guidance and 24-7 support
Shopify isn’t just a platform. It is a trusted partner on Lull's journey to take the lead in the mattress market.
Shopify and their team treat us like royalty.
I can't speak highly enough about how wonderful Shopify’s account and support teams are. They have guided us and solved every single issue, fast and friendly.
Powerful automations
It’s been incredibly freeing to find and make quick, high-impact updates.
The Shopify Flow app makes things so easy. Using the Flow automation extension, we have easy to manage workflows that manage our logistics, captures, notifications, and more.
Just this morning, we had a problem with an order. I went into Shopify’s Flow logs and saw there was a slight hiccup. The issue was identified and solved in minutes. With our old system, I doubt we would have found the issue, let alone a solution.
Looking ahead
Our Shopify implementation was not just a migration; it was a transformation that continues to drive cost savings and growth.
Keeping up with all the features and innovations Shopify offers has become our biggest challenge, but it’s a good problem to have.
I’m excited for upcoming initiatives and launches. In the past, product launches and new payment gateways would take us months to a year to roll out. With Shopify, we can launch a new product in a single day, and add new payment gateways with a click of a button.
We’re powering up our store in every way, from leveraging ready-made tools in the Shopify App Store, to even making our own custom apps.
Shopify just opened the door, and we're eager to sprint through the possibilities—buckle up, the future of ecommerce is bright!
