Platform migration and data driven insights spark business revenue growth
Bagsy's redesigned consignment marketplace allows merchants to sell and purchase with ease. Improvements in day-to-day
operations such as automatic PayPal Seller Payouts and easy Help Desk ticket tracking enabled efficiency, allowing
Bagsy to focus and further expand into new verticals.
3 minute read
The Challange
Bagsy was looking to stabilize their marketplace, eliminate dependency on a monolithic search application SOLR,
redesign catalog filtering and user navigation, enable modern payment methods such as Apple Pay and Google Pay,
streamline the customer journey to purchase, and ultimately replatform to Magento 2. Being on a legacy Magento 1
platform, opportunities were limited.
The Brand
Children grow quickly, and having to purchase a new wardrobe each year is not cheap. We have all benefited from
hand-me-downs and shared our outgrown clothes with our friends' children. Wouldn't it be nice if there were an
easy way to sell those gently used garments?
Bagsy has found a way. Gone are the days of ironing, tagging, pricing, and delivering clothes to consignment stores,
waiting for a customer to spot your jewel amongst a rack of clothes. No longer do you have to fluff and photograph,
post on the internet, hope the payment clears, and pack and head to the post office.
Bagsy is refining how savvy parents resell their children's clothes. Users sign up online and request a
Bagsy Consignment Bag. Fill the bag up with clean, good condition, gently used children's clothes and give
the sealed bag to UPS. Bagsy takes care of the rest.
The Discovery
When X2Y first started working with the Bagsy team, the website was operating on a Magento 1 legacy platform. After
performing the initial discovery, the immediate next step was to stabilize the infrastructure servers. Bagsy contains
over 200,000 products and has very active site users; optimizing resources was key to making sure the consignment
marketplace was always online. This was a challenge because search and database were hitting various limits, causing
performance declines at random intervals due to high traffic from visitors and bots. We analyzed the heavy data queries
and tuned both the database and codebase for efficiency, which resulted in stable resource usage, improved customer
experience, and website performance.
While being on a legacy platform, website security was a priority for Bagsy and our team. We've performed a code audit,
secured legacy modules, updated Magento 1 to the latest available open-source version, and put ShopBagsy.com behind
multiple layers of firewall rules, and implemented country restrictions to mitigate risk until we have the opportunity
to migrate to a modern ecommerce platform.
With the marketplace stable and security hardening in place, X2Y began to study Bagsy's business model and users.
The Analytics
Using available analytics data, we found that approximately 73% of visitors were mobile users, 26% were desktop users,
and 1% used tablets.
Mobile
Users / Visitors
73%
Tablet
Users / Visitors
1%
Desktop
Users / Visitors
26%
With this information in hand, we analyzed mobile visitor behavior using heat maps, session recording and playback tools
such as Microsoft Clarity and using what we've learned proposed a clean and mobile-first design with a focus on user experience
and checkout conversion.
After implementing parts of the new mobile design, we shifted our focus back to data analysis. By reviewing visitor
behavior and historical data, we found opportunities to increase the overall shopping cart value and reduce cart
abandonment through strategic messaging, incentives, and the implementation of automated abandoned cart recovery.
In addition, we've optimized data feeds to Google Merchant Center and Facebook Commerce to further push product
data to secondary sales channels.
For the next two years, X2Y continued to maintain ShopBagsy.com with minimal feature development but continuously
tweaking the user experience, purchase path, fixing minor bugs, and providing support to the Bagsy team because
developing new features on a legacy platform was not cost-effective for the business. The idea was to utilize this
time to optimize the marketplace UX/UI so that when the time comes to upgrade to a new platform, we won't need to
reinvent the wheel; we can simply carry over all of our findings into the design on the new platform.
Average Order Value
2021 vs 2020
Increased by 17.52%
Average Order Value
2022 vs 2021
Increased by 8.56%
Average Order Value*
2023 vs 2022
Increased by 19.65%
Between the time X2Y started working with Bagsy up until the migration, the average order value (AOV) has increased
by 17.52% for 2021 vs. 2020, 8.56% for 2022 vs. 2021, and 19.65% for the first half of 2023 vs. 2022.
The Migration
At the end of 2022, we were in a position to begin planning a replatform to Magento 2. The scope of work was lengthy;
we had a lot of delicate components to build, and data to migrate to the new platform. Using analytics data, we identified
two Go-Live opportunities: November through December, and May through June. We decided to target the end of June to launch
on the new platform. Between requirements gathering, research, and planning, it took a couple of months to ensure all
requirements were captured. While the consignment marketplace was operating as usual, behind the scenes, in parallel,
we set up new servers, installed and configured a blank Magento 2 instance, and began the migration process.
Kick-Off
Setup
Infrastructure
Stand up new development server in parallel with live production. The development infrastructure will be scaled up to become new production at Go-Live.
Install Magento
Install clean Magento 2 instance and have it ready for development.
Configure Platform
Review and update platform settings (sales, catalog, customers, checkout, taxes, payments, shipments, etc.) per business operation requirements.
Data Migration
Categories
Review taxonomy, import a revised and improved category structure.
Products
Cleanup legacy attributes, migrate product attributes, attribute sets, and standardise product data. Map all products to the new category structure. Migrate all products.
Shopping Cart Price Rules
Migate all cart and catalog rules and discount coupons.
Customers
Migrate customer groups and all customer related data.
Reward Points
Migrate customer store credit balance and transaction history.
Help Desk
Migrate all customer support tickets, ticket states, and convesations.
Marketplace Sellers
Migrate all marketplace seller payments, orders, and earnings.
Content
Migrate all static pages, and content blocks.
Blog
Migrate all blog categories, posts, and comments.
Product Catalog
Mass Product Import / Update
Implement a mass product import / update solution to allow admin users to quickly manage 200,000+ product catalog.
Product Search
Implement fast and robust catalog search without impacting performance or infrastructure resources.
Navigation
Implement a flexible and user friendly navigation management solution to render new catagory taxanomy allowing customers to quickly view and navigate marketplace categories on mobile and desktop devices.
Out of Stock Products
Implement logic to handle sold out products through in cart & product messaging, and halt user checkout with OOS products.
Similar Items
Implement an automated solution to genearate related, up-sell, cross-sell products based on past customer purchases and available catalog data.
Shop By Brand
Implement a solution to handle over 5000 brands and allow admin users to easily manage said brands.
Unique Product URLs
Implement unique product URL key mask generation. URLs must be SEO friendly and never contain duplicate URL keys as new products are continuously added to the catalog.
Setup URL Rewrites
Setup 301 permanent URL redirects for new the category structure, map 200,000 legacy product URLs to new SEO friendly URLs, and make sure all other URLs are redirecting correctly to retain SEO value.
Abandoned Cart Recovery
Implement a flexible abandoned cart recovery solution to allow administrators to manage recovery campaigns directly through the platform.
Checkout
Taxes
Make sure checkout tax rules are in place and tax calculations are per business requirements.
Shipping Methods
Enable checkout USPS shipping carrier and methods. Integrate with ShipStation to automatically sync shipments and tracking information back to the ecommerce platform to notify customer of fulfillment.
Payment Methods
Configure BrainTree to handle Credit Card and PayPal payments. Enable Apple Pay and Google Pay. Allow customers to use reward points for purchase. Enable Gift options during checkout.
Marketplace & Seller Portal
Consignment Bag
Implement custom logic to handle consigment bag orders.
Seller Registration
Steamline seller registration and account approval process.
Seller Dashboard
Implement the ability for sellers to view their store products, sales, orders, and earnings and cash out transactions.
Help Desk
Integrate Help Desk with Seller Dashboard to allow users to open support tickets and request payouts.
Administrator Dashboard
Build a Marketplace Dashboard to allow admins to manage seller accounts, commissions, sellers' products, view business earnings, seller earnings, and initiate payouts to sellers.
Theme
Transfer Existing Theme
Need to ensure minimal disruption to customer experience as possible. Rebuild current live mobile theme on the new platform, this includes: header, footer, homepage, catalog listing pages, product detail pages, all custom UX/UI features, cart and minicart. Desktop look and feel will inherit a lot of the mobile styling. Tweaks to desktop UX/UI will implemented in second phase post Go-Live.
Transactional Emails
Implement a better email template management system to allow admin users to create and manage email templates via drag and drop, point and click.
Marketing Components
Newsletter Signup
Integrate with a 3rd party service for newsletter capture and management of marketing campaigns.
Social Sharing
Enable users to share product information via social media platforms with tracking and analytics.
Social Login
Implement a solution to allow visitors to quickly create accounts or login via signle-sign-on (SSO) platforms such as: Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook.
Sale Channel Product Feeds
Setup and configure automated data feeds into Google, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest to push product information on the web and tie everything into strategic advertisement campaigns.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Structured Data (Schema.org and OpenGraph)
Make sure all products have basic structured data for search engines. Further structured data improvements will be implemented in the second phase.
Meta Data
Make sure product meta data is automatically generated based on defined rules and patterns.
Sitemap.xml
Setup automated sitemap generation and submit sitemaps to Google and Microsoft search engines.
Robots.txt
Review and update robots.txt to manage search engine bots and crawl rates.
Go-Live
The Result
The re-platforming efforts of the X2Y team significantly elevated Bagsy's ecommerce website and business on various
fronts. Customers now enjoy faster and improved marketplace search, filtering, cart, and checkout experiences. The
website's stability has been greatly enhanced, leading to more efficient business operations. Throughout the entire
data migration process, X2Y successfully preserved the original customer experience. Exceptional expertise with Magento
was evident as X2Y re-platformed the extensive and intricate website with minimal complications.
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Next Steps
Successful strategies don't end at launch, they begin.
Our primary objective revolves around optimizing the user experience, encompassing various key initiatives. We intend to
introduce a gift registry feature, enhance the seller dashboard, and automate the payout system to streamline day-to-day
operations. Additionally, we'll fine-tune the abandoned cart recovery strategy and align email templates with Bagsy's
marketing campaigns.
For the 26% of desktop users, we plan to revamp the heading and navigation, while also implementing general UX/UI
improvements based on visitor behavior to enhance the mobile experience.
Current Desktop Heading
Planned Desktop Heading
Our goal is to grow business revenue, and to achieve this, we have devised a comprehensive plan. Firstly, we will focus on
maximizing the quality of product structured data and data feeds while integrating into new sales channels to expand Bagsy's
product visibility across the web. This strategic move will also enable us to establish a coupon distribution and affiliate
system across aggregator channels, effectively driving more traffic to the marketplace.
As we gather more data, our next step will involve exploring automated product relations and visitor personalization,
creating a cohesive and tailored shopping experience. All decisions throughout this process will be based on careful
consideration of budget and data, with a steadfast commitment to implementing revenue generation strategies for ShopBagsy.com
that will extend well into the future.
Summary
Bagsy, a consignment marketplace for children's clothes, faced challenges with their legacy Magento 1 platform, seeking stabilization,
modernization, and replatforming to Magento 2. X2Y stepped in to address these issues. They stabilized the infrastructure,
enhanced security, and leveraged data insights to optimize the user experience and boost revenue. Over two years, the average order
value increased significantly. In 2023, they successfully migrated to Magento 2, preserving the original customer experience.
Future plans include introducing new features, enhancing UX, and expanding product visibility to drive more traffic to the marketplace.
The partnership with X2Y proved crucial in achieving business growth and success for Bagsy.
Applied Services
Replatform
Data Migration
Web Development
User Experience & Design (UX/UI)
Integrations Into 3rd Party Services
Infrastructure and Hosting
Applied Solutions
Marketplace Dashboard & Seller Portal
Abandoned Cart Recovery
Modern Payment Methods
Efficient Catalog Management
Customer Support Through Help Desk
Blazing Fast Catalog Search
Search Engine Optimization
Customer Experience Optimization
Improved Catalog Navigation / Taxonomy
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