Ecommerce

Arlo's Bakehouse.

A full ecommerce build with custom order system, Royal Mail API integration, and restock management for a home bakery.

When we first connected with Arlo's Bakehouse, they were operating under a different name. Chris had started his home bakery as a small venture catering to his friends in the bodybuilding community. Things were going well, and he was ready to take the leap and build an ecommerce website to grow the business to, as he put it, "unreasonable levels."

The Store

Our task was clear. We dove into competitive research, mapped out a strategy for both the short and long term, and got to work. The design was built from the ground up, going through as many as five different iterations to align with the bakery's existing branding. We opted for vibrant product carousels and bold, eye-catching fonts to highlight the uniqueness of Chris's creations.

Custom Order Builder

We ensured that the famous restock menu was front and centre, so customers both old and new could easily browse and order newly added goods. Another feature we added was a custom order builder with a validated delivery date selector that provides a minimum of two weeks notice for a custom order. This allows customers to create personalised treats for special occasions, while giving Chris the time to make it special.

Restock Management

One requirement that arose was the need to close the store for a large period of time to facilitate restocking. We didn't want to simply lock the store. We wanted a solution where users were still free to browse while preventing orders during restocking. With some custom work, we can display a banner during restocking alerting customers, along with a countdown to when the store re-opens. Just like that, we turn an inconvenience into a hype-building feature.

Shipping Automation

We tackled a significant operational challenge: the manual entry of shipping information for every order. We integrated with the Royal Mail Click & Drop API, automating the entire process. Now, when orders come in, shipping details are automatically fed to the Royal Mail web portal, enabling labels to be generated and ready to print at the click of a button. What once took hours now happens in seconds.