Folio — E-commerce Redesign
Conversion-led redesign of a premium stationery brand's online store, driving a 38% uplift in purchase rate.
2023
Overview
Folio sells premium stationery and paper goods to a discerning audience. Their existing Shopify store was built in 2019 and hadn't kept pace with their product range, photography, or customer expectations. The brief: redesign the core purchase flow to reduce drop-off and elevate the brand experience.
Audit & Diagnosis
Analytics review revealed three critical drop-off points:
- Product listing pages — high bounce rate, low add-to-cart
- Product detail pages — customers leaving to search YouTube for paper reviews
- Cart — 68% abandonment, many returning to browse
The store was losing customers at the exact moments it needed to build confidence and desire.
Design Approach
We prioritised a content-first approach: editorial storytelling woven into the commerce experience. Product pages became feature stories — paper weight, texture, and origin explained through photography and writing, not just spec sheets.
Key Changes
- Listing pages: editorial grid replacing the generic Shopify default; contextual photography showing products in use
- Product pages: long-form layout with material storytelling, swatch interactions, and in-context photography
- Cart: persistent side-cart with cross-sell logic; reassurance copy addressing common objections
Outcome
- Add-to-cart rate: +41%
- Purchase conversion rate: +38%
- Average order value: +12% (attributed to contextual cross-sells)
- Cart abandonment: reduced from 68% to 49%