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Web & Digital Platforms

Replatforming a multi-brand retailer to headless commerce

Three ageing storefronts sharing one overloaded template were rebuilt as a headless front end on a shared component library, cutting page load times and ending the annual Black Friday panic.

Client
Multi-brand retailer with three storefronts and 40,000 SKUs
Industry
Retail & E-Commerce
Engagement
Phased delivery with dedicated squad
Duration
22 weeks
6.2s → 1.4s
Mobile LCP, product pages
+31%
Mobile conversion rate
−38%
Annual hosting cost

The situation

What was going wrong

  • 01

    Product pages took over six seconds to render on mobile, and mobile was 71% of traffic.

  • 02

    Three brands shared one heavily patched theme, so a fix for one frequently broke another.

  • 03

    Peak campaign traffic required over-provisioned hosting all year to survive two days of demand.

  • 04

    Merchandisers could not change page layouts without a developer release.

Our approach

What we did, and why

  1. 01

    Measured before redesigning

    We established Core Web Vitals and conversion baselines per brand and device, so the value of each change could be demonstrated rather than asserted.

  2. 02

    Separated front end from commerce engine

    A Next.js front end consumes the commerce platform through its API, letting us rebuild the customer experience without migrating orders, customers, or payment configuration.

  3. 03

    One component library, three brand themes

    Shared components carry brand-specific design tokens, so each storefront looks distinct while a single fix applies everywhere.

  4. 04

    Gave merchandising control back to the business

    Layouts became composable blocks in the CMS with preview, removing developer involvement from routine campaign changes.

The outcome

What changed

Largest Contentful Paint on mobile product pages fell from 6.2s to 1.4s, and mobile conversion improved across all three brands in the first full quarter. Static rendering and edge caching cut hosting spend despite handling a heavier peak than the previous year, which passed without incident.

6.2s → 1.4s
Mobile LCP, product pages
+31%
Mobile conversion rate
−38%
Annual hosting cost

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Next step

Tell us what you are trying to fix

Send a short description of the problem and we will reply within one business day. The first call is a 30–45 minute conversation with someone senior — free, and with no obligation.

sales@interwebservices.co.uk128 City Road, London, EC1V 2NX, United Kingdom