Velvet & Stone: Transforming DTC Fashion with Headless Commerce
The Challenge
Stockholm-based DTC fashion brand Velvet & Stone operated a standard template-based storefront that loaded slowly on mobile networks, especially during seasonal product drops. Heavy image assets and code scripts dragged page loads down to 2.8 seconds, contributing to a high cart abandonment rate of 64%.
The Engineering Solution
Webx Horizon deployed specialized custom ecommerce development services to modernize the brand's checkout infrastructure:
1. Decoupled Storefront Frontend: We designed a custom Next.js frontend that communicates with the Shopify backend via the Shopify Storefront API. This kept Shopify's secure checkout intact while giving us full control over the visual design and speed.
2. Explicit Image Optimization: We configured image assets to load responsively based on device size, with non-critical elements deferred to keep page loads fast.
3. Optimized Checkout State: We implemented client-side state management to ensure adding items to the cart occurred instantly without page refreshes.
The Results
* Average Mobile Page Load Speed: Reduced from 2.8s to a stable 0.38 seconds.
* Cart Abandonment Rate: Dropped by 28% due to a smoother, faster single-page checkout flow.
* Store Sales Conversions: The faster browsing experience drove a 140% increase in sales conversions.