Overview
Holloways of Ludlow is a leading British retailer of designer lighting, furniture, and homeware, with seven physical showrooms and a strong ecommerce presence.
In addition to serving retail customers, the company supports a significant B2B trade audience across architecture, interior design, and hospitality sectors.
To meet ambitious growth goals, Holloways partnered with Clear to deliver a major digital transformation. This included migrating the B2C site from Magento to Shopify Plus and developing a fully integrated B2B trade platform, connected with key systems such as Linnworks, Klaviyo, and QuickBooks.
Our team focused on creating an enhanced user experience, improving site performance, and building customised workflows for trade operations.
How We Helped:
- Shopify Plus Migration (B2C)
- Trade Website Design & Development (Shopify)
- UX Enhancements & CRO Improvements
- Linnworks, QuickBooks, Klaviyo, Zendesk Integrations
- Magento 2 Technical Support (Pre-Migration)
- SEO Migration Strategy & Redirect Mapping
- Paid Media Tracking Setup (GA4, Meta, Microsoft, Google)
- Ongoing Shopify Plus Support Retainer
The Results:
- 71.2% increase in average order value
- 73% increase in conversion rate
- 44% online growth YOY
- 2x faster quote-to-order turnaround
The Brief
Holloways had outgrown their Magento ecosystem. Multiple disconnected systems, slow performance, and a fragmented trade operation were holding the business back.
The goal was to move both retail and trade operations onto Shopify — ensuring scalability, simplicity, and seamless data flow across platforms.
Key Issues
- Clunky & Fragmented Magento Backend: Poor performance, duplicated data, and a high reliance on developer support slowed agility.
- Trade UX Not Fit for Purpose: The B2B workflow lacked self-serve options, structured quotes, and inventory integration.
- Complex Migration Risk: With strong SEO rankings and 100k+ SKUs, moving to Shopify risked a major traffic drop.
- Disconnected Systems: Order and inventory systems (Linnworks), CRM (Klaviyo), and finance (QuickBooks) all needed custom integration
- Retail Store POS Disjointed: The lack of a unified in-store and online system limited store staff visibility and caused delays in processing.
Objective
To create a stable, scalable ecommerce ecosystem that unifies retail and trade operations on Shopify Plus. This included migrating from Magento, building a gated trade storefront, integrating all critical systems (Linnworks, Klaviyo, QuickBooks, Zendesk), and delivering a performance-focused user experience that drives revenue, improves quoting efficiency, and reduces internal admin burden.
The Approach
Shopify Plus Replatforming
We began with a detailed audit of the Magento 2 site and a UX review of key user flows. From here, we created a bespoke Shopify Plus theme built for performance, mobile UX, and future scalability.
- Rebuilt product and category architecture for Shopify’s data model
- Introduced drag-and-drop merchandising tools
- Integrated advanced filtering by room, brand, and style
- Created a clean, mobile-first navigation structure
- Connected Shopify POS for seamless in-store and online management
The new Shopify Plus store gave Holloways full control of their retail website — from merchandising and promotions to editorial and SEO updates — all without requiring developer input.
Trade Website Design & Development
We replicated their existing Shopify site and made customisations to the frontend, using the Shopify ecosystem, designed specifically around trade customer needs.
This meant we could create a secure account login, quote generation tools, and account-based pricing logic whilst also maintaining data that is shared across both sites.
Key Features:
- Login-only product and category access
- “Apply for a trade account” onboarding flow
- Quote-to-order process via Shopify Draft Orders
- Professionally styled PDF quotes (with and without images)
- Editable per-product discounts and salesperson assignment
- Status tracking for pro-forma and deposit orders
- Full sync with Linnworks, Klaviyo, and QuickBooks
The result was a frictionless self-serve trade portal that halved the time to generate, approve, and convert quotes into orders.
UX & Conversion Improvements
We applied UX best practices throughout the project — from navigation design to quote workflows. Our team focused on reducing mobile drop-off rates and simplifying complex ecommerce interactions.
UX Improvements Included:
- New mobile-optimised mega menu
- Enhanced product pages with swatch filters and related products
- Wishlist and swatch request features
- Mobile-first quote form flow
- Improved visual hierarchy and trust signals across pages
These updates contributed to a +38% increase in mobile conversions and faster time-to-quote on the trade site.
System Integration
To streamline operations and eliminate manual admin, we integrated Shopify with Holloways’ core business systems.
Linnworks was configured to handle real-time inventory sync and SKU management across both B2C and trade sites.
QuickBooks was connected to automate invoicing, pro-forma handling, and payment reconciliation. Klaviyo was integrated to support segmented email flows for both trade and retail audiences, including abandoned quote and post-purchase sequences. Zendesk was connected to centralise support queries across in-store and online channels, improving team visibility and response times.
SEO Migration Strategy
With thousands of indexed URLs and high organic visibility, SEO was treated as a core risk area during migration.
SEO Deliverables:
- Comprehensive URL redirect mapping via Matrixify
- Metadata and canonical transfer for all templates
- Schema setup via Smart SEO
- Technical audits before and after launch
- Collaborative SEO migration plan with Holloways’ external agency
The migration preserved organic traffic and rankings — and in some areas, improved visibility — without the typical 4–6 week drop-off that often follows replatforms.
Analytics & Paid Media Tracking Setup
We set up and connected all analytics and media platforms to give Holloways full visibility of retail and trade performance:
- GA4 configuration with ecommerce funnel tracking
- Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, and Meta conversion setup
- Meta Conversions API implementation
- Product feeds for Google Shopping and Meta Commerce Centre
- Audience creation for remarketing and lookalike campaigns
We worked with Holloways’ internal marketing team to ensure performance data was flowing correctly into existing reports and dashboards.
The Results
+71.2% Revenue Per User, 2x Faster Quotes
increase in revenue per customer
increase in conversion rate
online growth YOY
faster quote-to-order turnaround
Clear helped us transition from a slow and scattered setup into a fully integrated Shopify system that performs — both for our retail customers and our trade partners. Their team understood the complexity of our operations and built something that just works.
Adam Knight, Head of Ecommerce, Holloways of Ludlow
Ongoing Collaboration
Holloways continues to work with Clear through a Shopify Plus growth retainer, ensuring the platform evolves alongside the brand’s ambitions and user expectations. Our collaboration spans technical support, UX refinement, marketing enablement, and international expansion.
Shopify Plus Support & Development
We provide technical support across both the retail and trade sites, handling updates, theme enhancements, and app management. This ensures stability, speed, and compliance while allowing the Holloways team to focus on growth rather than firefighting.
UX & Conversion Optimisation
We run ongoing UX reviews and performance testing to identify opportunities for improvement across key templates and user flows. A/B testing is used to refine product page layouts, checkout friction points, and quote conversion rates — with particular focus on mobile experience.
International Expansion via Shopify Markets
As Holloways explores new markets, we’re supporting the setup of Shopify Markets to handle regional pricing, language preferences, and fulfilment workflows. This future-proofs the site and enables a scalable approach to international trade and retail.
SEO Monitoring & Technical Improvements
We continue to monitor site health, indexation, and organic performance post-migration. This includes resolving crawl issues, improving page speed, and assisting with content adjustments aligned to SEO objectives.
Paid Media Feed & Analytics Support
We support the Holloways team with product feed optimisation for Google Shopping and Meta Commerce Centre. We also maintain conversion tracking infrastructure across GA4, Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, and Meta — ensuring campaign performance is measurable and reliable.