UntilGone is Given Unlimited Freedom to Scale with BigCommerce

SOLUTION

Limitless freedom to build custom solutions.

One key reason Bell knew BigCommerce was the right platform for UntilGone was its robust API capabilities. With the help of his BigCommerce Implementation Project Manager, Bell seamlessly incorporated his custom back-end solution through an API connection.

Now, UntilGone’s back-end data is always up-to-date and the team no longer has to cut corners.

“We had to integrate our back-end with BigCommerce and replace the Shopify integration. Our Implementation Project Manager really helped get this accomplished. Our back-end is fully compatible with BigCommerce, and my business works the way it should because BigCommerce does what it needs to do,” remarked Bell.

Since switching platforms, Bell has launched three new daily deal marketplaces: Daily Steals, Pick Your Plum, and ShopHempDeals. BigCommerce has enabled Bell to easily connect his custom back-end to each different store that he runs on BigCommerce.

However, Bell doesn’t only use APIs to connect his back-end solution. With BigCommerce, he has the freedom to build and connect any integration he can think of to effectively run his different marketplaces.

“If we want to do something outside of BigCommerce, we can just build an API. We recently built a dynamic collection tool, which is a collection of products based on rules. The fact that BigCommerce lets us do that means they’re focused on being a true partner,” remarked Bell.

Front-end customizability.

While Bell and his team are well-versed in creating custom back-end solutions, they partnered with Arctic Leaf to help redesign the store and improve it for the customer experience. Part of this included rebuilding the store’s front-end with the same feel and familiarity customers were accustomed to while finding ways to optimise it.

“We work with APIs a lot, but none of us are front-end people, and there's a lot of expertise that goes into doing a good front-end experience. That’s one of the reasons we partnered with Arctic Leaf,” explained Bell.

BigCommerce’s freedom and flexibility allowed Arctic Leaf to replicate the look and feel of the original UntilGone store, providing shoppers with the same experience they’re used to. At the same time, the agency improved it to meet ADA compliance standards and more strategically merchandise products.

After seeing how well Arctic Leaf redesigned UntilGone’s site, Bell asked the agency to do the same for Pick Your Plum.

“Arctic Leaf is a company that does a great job of bringing those front-end experiences to life. I definitely would endorse them as an agency to work with,” said Bell.

Flexibility to incorporate best-in-breed technology.

Bell is always looking to incorporate the latest technology into his ecommerce sites. With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), it’s no surprise he’s found innovative ways to use this new and exciting tool to his advantage.

After piloting it to write product descriptions, Bell saw the endless ways AI could benefit his marketplaces. Now, he integrates Google Cloud for Retail into UntilGone and Pick Your Plum.

With Google Cloud for Retail, shoppers receive personalised daily deal emails based on their engagement and purchase history. Beforehand, Bell and his team would manually select products to include in the emails, and customers would not receive tailored recommendations.

“We use Google Cloud for Retail to recommend products in emails that are personalised for an individual. The tool will start targeting you very specifically based on factors like what you're engaging with and what products you buy,” explained Bell.

Bell also recently rolled out Google Cloud for Retail’s search functionality into UntilGone to create a more tailored search experience for shoppers based on browsing history.

“When you have a large demographic of customers, having an AI tool that automates the recommendations based on what a person is looking for is very valuable. We looked at building our own AI tools, so being able to do this with Google was a really big advantage,” explained Bell.