Case Study: Skinstinct Gains Scalability, Simple Checkout Process With E-Commerce Solution

Problem: Skinstinct, an eco-friendly clothing, towel and spa product designer, manufacturer and distributor, wanted an e-commerce platform that accounted for scalability, security, hosting and checkout.

Solution: Contracted with a shopping cart and e-commerce software provider.

Results: Skinstinct averages an 11 percent conversion rate, well above industry standards.

For Chicago-based Skinstinct, an eco-friendly clothing, towel and spa product designer, manufacturer and distributor, finding the right e-commerce platform was not without its trials. But a false start, massive compare-and-contrast spreadsheets, and an exhausting internet search eventually led it to a comprehensive e-commerce solution that accounted for scalability, security, hosting and, perhaps most importantly, a conversion rate that reflects a quick, intuitive checkout process.

Originally launched as a brick-and-mortar retailer, Skinstinct quickly grew a national following and expanded into a web store. While almost everything is run in-house, the company chose seasoned e-commerce developer 3DCart as its e-commerce solution following a bad experience with a competing software solution.

“We launched with a solution we thought would handle our needs, but there were a lot of hidden fees when we tried adding certain capabilities to the solution,” says Topper Hull, Eightfold Development’s COO, Skinstinct’s parent company. “Eventually, it made sense to put together massive feature spreadsheets for each product we looked at in order to clearly evaluate how cost factored into the feature set.”

In terms of comprehensive functionality, 3DCart satisfied nearly all of Skinstinct's requirements, offering more than 1,000 different features around marketing and promotion, statistics and reporting, search engine optimization, product management, hosting, security, and more.

“A company that listens to its customers is exactly the kind of company we look to work with; we’ve seen the solution evolve a little, with major upgrades around social media integration and future direct blogging capabilities," Hull says.

The back-end ease of use of 3DCart's solution was a huge benefit, but the real kicker was the front-end design. Part of the strategy behind creating the feature spreadsheets was to take into consideration factors that Hull and the rest of his team liked and disliked about shopping online. One of the critical questions the team asked was, “How many steps are there until checkout?”

Hull found that a lot of competing solutions seemed to have longer, more confusing checkout processes, while 3DCart had a much smoother, quicker user interface. It uses a three-step checkout system that displays potential purchase items at all times, saves addresses and offers customizable emails for keeping customers updated on order statuses, simple order management options and more.

Now, with a simple checkout that doesn’t take chances on losing customers, Skinstinct enjoys an average conversion rate of 11 percent from landing page to purchase.

“Another big selling point,” says Hull, “was the option to collect analytics that help quantify and validate our experience.”