For ecommerce retailers, the shopping experience can be the difference between a customer completing a purchase and leaving the site.
That means the platform behind the store needs to give agencies enough flexibility to build an experience around the retailer, while offering reliable performance and smooth deployment.
Limely, a Chester-based ecommerce agency, takes a user-first approach to ecommerce design and development. As an Aero Commerce partner, the agency uses the platform to build bespoke stores focused on performance, usability and conversion.
We spoke with Limely about how they use Aero to create high-class ecommerce experiences that make it easier for customers to find products, make informed decisions and complete purchases.
Starting with the customer experience
For Limely, the shopping experience is central to how an ecommerce store should be designed.
Rather than treating the website as simply a place to display products, the agency considers how every part of the journey contributes to the customer's decision to buy, from finding a product through to completing checkout.
This approach requires an ecommerce platform that can support the experience the retailer wants to create.
As Limely puts it:
We put the user’s shopping experience at the forefront of our minds every time we build a new online store. One way that we guarantee that we’re on the right path is by utilising Aero Commerce and their range of tools that have been meticulously created with their client’s business and their customers in mind.
Aero gives Limely the flexibility to translate that approach into the design and functionality of each store, without relying on a standardised storefront or forcing every retailer into the same customer journey.
Keeping stock information accurate
One of the simplest ways to damage an ecommerce experience is to let a customer find a product, add it to their basket and only discover later that it isn't available.
For retailers with large or frequently changing catalogues, maintaining accurate stock information is therefore an important part of the customer experience.
Aero's inventory and stock management functionality gives retailers greater visibility over stock levels, orders and replenishment requirements. This can help teams identify products that need attention and keep availability information accurate across the store.
Making product discovery easier
Good ecommerce navigation should help customers find what they're looking for without making them work for it.
Search, filtering and navigation become particularly important as a retailer's catalogue grows. Customers may arrive knowing exactly what they want, or they may only have a general idea of the product they're looking for.
Aero provides tools including layered navigation and result redirection, allowing agencies to create more effective ways for customers to explore a catalogue.
That flexibility means search and navigation can be designed around the retailer's products and customers, rather than being treated as a one-size-fits-all feature.
Giving products the information they need
Online shoppers can't physically pick up a product, examine it or ask a member of staff a question. Product pages therefore need to provide enough information to give customers confidence in their purchase.
Limely uses Aero's product functionality to create detailed, informative product pages that can incorporate elements such as:
Detailed product descriptions
High-quality product imagery
Image zoom
Colour and fabric swatches
Product availability information
Relevant product information and purchasing options
These features aren't simply about making a product page look better. They help answer the questions a customer might have before deciding whether to buy.
For retailers selling products where colour, material, dimensions or availability influence the decision, being able to present that information clearly can remove unnecessary friction from the buying journey.
Making checkout part of the experience
The checkout is often treated as the final step of the ecommerce journey, but it's also one of the points where retailers can introduce unnecessary friction.
Once a customer has decided to buy, the objective should be to make completing that purchase as straightforward as possible.
Aero gives agencies flexibility over the checkout experience, including features such as guest checkout, optional account creation, order summaries and saved payment details. Its extendable architecture also allows agencies to introduce additional functionality where a retailer has specific requirements.
This gives Limely the ability to design a checkout around the customer journey rather than forcing retailers into a rigid process.
Building without unnecessary constraints
A major advantage of working with a flexible ecommerce platform is the ability to make decisions based on what the retailer actually needs.
Limely's current Aero offering includes bespoke storefronts, full design flexibility and access to the Aero platform API as important parts of its approach. The agency also integrates Aero stores with existing technology such as ERP, PIM, fulfilment and payment systems where required.
For us, this is one of the key reasons an agency-first platform model matters. The platform provides the core ecommerce functionality, while the agency can shape the experience around the retailer's brand, products and operational requirements.
A partnership that supports better builds
The relationship between a platform and its agency partners can be just as important as the technology itself.
As a certified Aero partner, Limely has direct access to the Aero team and the wider partner ecosystem. This gives the agency a route to platform expertise when it needs it and helps it stay up to date with the capabilities available through Aero.
That two-way relationship also means agency experience can feed back into the continued development of the platform.
The result is a model where Aero provides the ecommerce foundation and Limely brings its expertise in design, UX and development to create a store around the individual retailer.
Designing the experience around the retailer
There isn't one definition of a great ecommerce experience.
A fashion retailer may need highly visual product discovery and detailed product variants. A homeware retailer may need richer product information and imagery. A retailer with a large catalogue may need sophisticated search and filtering.
The technology needs to accommodate those differences.
Interested in building your next ecommerce store with Aero?
Get started with Aero and we'll help you explore the platform, your requirements and the right agency partner for your project.
Want to learn more about Limely? Visit Limely to explore its approach to building bespoke Aero Commerce stores.
