Digital designer based in New York City with a passion for information design, presentation, and accessibility. Formerly Lead UI/UX Designer at an eCommerce marketing agency.
Wine Insiders & Macy’s Wine Shop
Migrating America’s best online value wine retailers onto Shopify with a brand-new look.
macyswineshop.com
RoleLead UI/UX Designer
Years2022-24
Project TypeWeb, UI/UX, CRO
Overview
Wine Insiders and Macy’s Wine Shop are notable eCommerce wine stores recognized as America’s best online value wine retailers. Both brands, operated under the same parent company, specialize in curating award-winning wines that can be conveniently delivered as individual selections or curated wine club boxes. Wine Insiders focuses on high-quality, expertly chosen selections from around the world, while Macy’s Wine Shop, an extension of the iconic department store, integrates wine shopping seamlessly into Macy’s overall shopping experience. Together, these brands strive to elevate the online wine shopping experience, making them influential in the digital marketplace for wine enthusiasts.
This project encompassed a comprehensive migration and website redesign for both Wine Insiders and Macy’s Wine Shop onto the Shopify platform. The migration of these sites from their existing system to Shopify would facilitate the integration of the Shopify DRINKS app and completely modernize their websites, aiming to enhance the overall user experience. By transitioning to Shopify, the new sites could leverage integrated Shopify apps and custom-designed elements to strengthen their marketing strategies. This initiative would enhance the online presence and shopping experience of both companies, making it more appealing to existing customers while attracting new ones.
Challenges
- Legacy System Limitations: Wine Insiders & Macy’s Wine Shop’s existing eCommerce platform limited their scalability, customization, and integrations with third-party apps and services.
- Outdated Websites: The previous eCommerce stores had outdated user interfaces that affected engagement and retention. Some outdated elements limited customization for landing pages, wine clubs, and marketing efforts.
- Customization Requirements: Their previous websites had limited functionality when it came to integrating custom features that the clients wanted for the website. Custom bundle variants, PDPs, product recommendations, and other features were important to implement onto the new website.
Solutions
- Migration to Shopify: By moving onto Shopify, Wine Insiders & Macy’s Wine Shop have the power to continue scaling, customize any time through Shopify’s customizer, and integrate with Shopify apps such as the DRINKS app, Rebuy, ReCharge, Okendo, and more.
- UI/UX Enhancements with Custom Design: Collaboration with the client’s DTC teams to create a visually appealing and intuitive design that prioritizes user experience and mobile responsiveness.
- Custom Feature Integration: Custom wine recommendations that are AI-driven with DRINKS Recommend, alongside improvements to product organization & filtering, bundle variants, and updated navigation.
Shipping & Compliance
The integration of the Shopify DRINKS app enhances functionality by enabling age-gating and state-specific shipping selection. This ensures compliance with legal requirements while tailoring product offerings to match the customer’s location.
Cohesive Brand Identity
Both websites maintain a cohesive brand identity that aligns with their individual markets while reflecting the relationship to Macy’s and their parent company.
Optimized Product Pages for Sets & Individual Wines
The product pages for both individual and set products are optimized with improved bundle variants, product descriptors, and AI-driven product recommendations.
Custom Slide-out Cart
Easy-to-access slide-out cart to promote higher average order value by displaying the free shipping thresholds and minimum requirements based on bottle quantities.
Integrated Account and Subscription Portal
Centralizes all customer information in one place for returning customers to easily access their history, past orders, subscriptions, addresses, and more.Conclusion
The comprehensive website redesigns and Shopify migrations for Wine Insiders and Macy’s Wine Shop have led to significant improvements across multiple aspects of the brands. By leveraging Shopify’s user-friendly backend and app integrations, the brand’s DTC teams have streamlined their operations, including order management, inventory control, exclusive offers, and website customization. The redesigned websites now offer a modern and intuitive user experience, leading to increased user engagement and longer session duration. Enhanced recommendations have contributed to increased conversion rates, supported by AI-driven upsells, improved product filtering, and intuitive product detail pages. Overall these initiatives optimized Wine Insiders and Macy’s Wine Shop’s online retail experience and positioned both brands for continued growth and customer satisfaction in the online wine retail sector.