Automated Custom Product Configurator for Shopify-based E-commerce
Country
United Kingdom
Industry
Gifts & Apparel
Goals
Nerdy Banana's vision for an advanced product configurator was ambitious, so we excitedly embraced the challenge!
01
Creating a custom Shopify app for product customization
We agreed to create a product configurator that would allow customers to personalize products more easily and effectively. This tool would integrate seamlessly with Shopify’s back end, saving the Nerdy Banana team’s time and resources.
02
Automating order processing and reducing delivery times
We aimed to automate the order processing phase, reducing the manual workload for Nerdy Banana’s team. This included automating the preparation of print files and integrating the solution with Shopify’s order placement flow.
03
Making customer experience fun with live product visualization
The goal was to offer customers a fun and interactive way to personalize their products with live previews, reducing uncertainties and improving the overall shopping experience. This included options to add text, images, and other elements to their products.
Challenge
Nerdy Banana’s manual order processing and lack of an automated product configurator hindered their efficiency and customer experience. We were happy to turn this around!
Charlie Rodman
Director at Nerdy Banana
We frequently had customers asking if they could see a preview of their order to see how it would look.
Nerdy Banana is a UK and USA-based digital and e-commerce agency. Being the proud owners of over 10 Shopify brands, they faced significant challenges with their manual product customization and order processing. Their previous setup required extensive manual work, including cutting out customer faces from uploaded pictures, which was time-consuming and prone to errors.
Manual Processes Limited Efficiency
The manual process for order management required additional work from the design team, slowing down production and delivery times. Customers were unable to enjoy a fun and interactive customization experience, lacking instant product visualization and personalization options.
Technological Challenges
We identified several technological challenges:
Creating a universal configurator applicable to various product types with different customization needs
Implementing an automated, user-friendly photo cutout solution
Integrating the configurator with Shopify for a seamless customer experience and efficient order processing
These challenges required a comprehensive and innovative approach to transform Nerdy Banana’s e-commerce operations.
Approach
Embracing the creative challenge, we developed a bespoke solution to enhance Nerdy Banana's e-commerce operations, integrating seamlessly with Shopify and elevating their customer experience.
Charlie Rodman
Director at Nerdy Banana
Each time we had dilemmas about the product’s development direction, Naturaily provided us with every solution’s pros and cons.
Custom Shopify App Development
We created a unique solution exclusively for Nerdy Banana, using Vue and Nuxt JS for the front end and Ruby on Rails for the back end. The app integrates important third-party tools via REST API and GraphQL.
Key Components
Front-end Layer: Allows customers to customize products live on the website with features like text input, image upload, filters, and more.
Post-purchase Automation: Automates the generation of print files and prepares them for shipment, significantly reducing processing time.
Admin Panel: Gives the Nerdy Banana team control over product templates and customization options, allowing for easy updates and modifications.
Live Product Customization
Customers can see and modify their products with a live preview. The integrated Cutout Pro background remover ensures photos fit perfectly into the design. If the auto cutout isn’t perfect, customers can adjust it manually. The system ensures all designs are printable, eliminating the need for manual checks.
Post-purchase Automation
The automated system generates print-quality files and saves them into a specific Dropbox folder, reducing the time needed to prepare products for production. Different product types have specific saving requirements, which our solution handles seamlessly.
Admin Panel Features
The admin panel allows Nerdy Banana to define what clients can do within product templates, manage orders, view print files, and handle customer service issues efficiently. This enhances operational efficiency and supports rapid response to customer needs.
Results
Seeing the results of our work with Nerdy Banana was incredibly rewarding. We were thrilled to see our efforts worth every hour spent!
Charlie Rodman
Director at Nerdy Banana
Thanks to Naturaily’s technological proficiency, know-how, and forward-thinking, we’re significantly improving our customer journeys.
The custom Shopify app we developed revolutionized Nerdy Banana’s order processing and product customization. Customers can now enjoy a fun and interactive shopping experience with live previews and instant personalization options.
Higher Operational Efficiency
The automated system significantly reduced the manual workload for the design team, reducing the production lead time from 48 hours to 5 minutes and file preparation time from 24 hours to 10 seconds. Delivery times were shortened from 4-5 days to just 1 day.
Fun Customer Experience that Elevates Satisfaction and Sales
Customers can visualize their products during customization, leading to higher satisfaction and reduced support needs. The new system ensured high-quality cutouts, eliminating poor-quality photos and streamlining the purchase process.
Scalability
The solution is scalable, allowing Nerdy Banana to apply the configurator to various products and brands, paving the way for future growth and enhanced customer engagement.
Outcome
We helped Nerdy Banana speed up custom orders, bringing smiles to customers and saving time for the team
Before
High manual workload, long production lead times, and lack of interactive product customization affected Nerdy Banana’s ambitions for growth.
After
Automated, quick, and enjoyable, the new system lets Nerdy Banana engage their customers and set the stage for their business to the next level.
Improvements
Our work resulted in:
3x faster delivery times
Orders are now processed and delivered within 1 day.
95% reduction in production lead time
Reduced from 48 hours to 5 minutes.
98% reduction in file preparation time
From 24 hours to 10 seconds.
Zero Order Backlog
Automated processes eliminated order backlogs, ensuring timely delivery and customer satisfaction.
Increased Conversion Rates
The improved customization options and live previews led to a higher conversion rate, increasing from 3.6% to 4.9% within a few months
Enjoyable Shopping Experience
Customers can personalize products with ease and enjoy a live preview.
Some numbers (we all like numbers!)
0 mins
Production Lead Time
0
day to deliver
0
possibility for a human error factor
0%
sales growth (so far!)
Most interesting features
Interactive & fun CX
Live Product Customization
Customers can personalize their products with live previews, including adding text, images, and other elements. The integrated Cutout Pro background remover ensures a perfect photo fit.
Back end optimized
Post-purchase Process Automation
Automated generation of print-quality files and integration with Dropbox for seamless order processing and reduced preparation time.
Easy management
Comprehensive Admin Panel
The admin panel allows the Nerdy Banana team to manage product templates, handle orders, and ensure high-quality customer service efficiently.
The team
Our dedicated team ensured seamless development and implementation, providing strategic guidance and technical expertise throughout the project.
Charlie Rodman
Director at Nerdy Banana
The Naturaily team offers much more than superb coding services. Their sound advice and proficient troubleshooting on technological issues are second to none. At the same time, tuning into our business specificity was apt, quick, and facile. What I find essentially important is that they’re proactive, collaborative, and great at communicating with our team.
These great professionals worked on this project for our client:
Konrad Kuceł
Head of Growth
Tomasz KordyÅ›
Head of Delivery
About the client
Nerdy Banana offers unique, customizable gifting experiences through various brands, focusing on providing highly personalized products.
Project
Custom Shopify Development
Industry
Digital & E-commerce
Web
Nerdy BananaNerdy Banana is a digital and e-commerce agency based in the UK and USA. As described in their own words, they’re a bunch of creatives, designers, and strategists with big ideas, and one such is engaging people all over the world in non-standard, memorable gifting experiences. They manage several brands like Snugzy, Super Socks, Nifty Gifty, Dogzy, and Air Bod that offer a variety of highly customized products, including dolls, blankets, socks, and more.
I am delighted to have found more than just a vendor in Naturaily. They’ve become a partner in the true sense.
Charlie Rodman
Director at Nerdy Banana
Similar challenge? Let's get into it!
We develop solutions, you grow your business. It's that easy!
Here’s how we're making a difference in the web, together
Stories of path-breaking solutions, responsibility, and businesses moving forward
Bronson Labs
Health & Wellness E-Commerce
From Magento to Shopify: a path to 90% increased day-to-day efficiency
Bronson Labs wanted to add content, integrations, and special offers quickly. After migrating to Shopify, all website changes became easy, cutting maintenance costs threefold.
5/5
Clutch review
70%
Less dev time
3x
Lower maintenance costs
n8n
Workflow Automation SaaS
Empowering SaaS growth with a scalable, SEO-optimized Nuxt.js website
n8n sought a scalable web solution for automated API-rich content creation in huge page volumes. The rapid website we created boosted their visibility and product usage while saving tons of time.
5/5
Clutch review
300k
API-driven dynamic pages generated
900%
More Top 10 keywords in 1 year
Urban
Wellness SaaS
Transforming web management to allow quicker SaaS growth
We supercharged Urban’s website and gave their marketing team the tools and autonomy they needed. All while significantly improving web performance and SEO capabilities.
96
Performance (Lighthouse)
100%
Web devs’ time saved
Total
Flexibility & scalability
Artinfo
Auction House
Custom web app for live art auctions' market leader
Artinfo needed a seamless, real-time online auction platform to modernize bidding and engage more users. We built a scalable web platform that enhanced data processing, increased participation, and boosted sales.
75k
Unique users a month
80%
of phone bids transferred online
300
online bidding yearly
Etno Cafe
Gastronomy B2C & B2B
Modern, performant, and easy-to-navigate website based on Sanity
Etno Cafe needed a performant and secure website that'd support their growing brand thanks to its visual appeal and ease of management. They now add content quicker and engage customers more easily.
5/5
Clutch review
100
SEO (Lighthouse)
0.6 s
First Contentful Paint
Lingohub
Translation Management SaaS
Fast & scalable custom Vue.js app for improving translation efficiency
Lingohub needed a modern, scalable foundation for its translation SaaS. We migrated their platform to Vue.js, improving speed, collaboration tools, and securing €600k+ in funding for future growth.
5/5
Clutch review
600k+
Euros of new FFG funding
60%
Time saved on translation
