Secrets Boutique has been a physical retail location for 30 years. With the retirement of the former owners the prospective purchaser Karen Bowers decided to take the business in to the future online.
She wanted a beautiful, easy to use and modern store that reflects the style and success of Secrets and allows it to compete into the 21st century. From here, Katy's Boutique was born.
How did you earn your first sales? Which channels are now generating the most traffic and sales for you?
The first sale came just 48 hours from the store going live through a Facebook marketing campaign. The referral itself was a click through to the Shopify store from the Facebook plugin. As a new business it's a great feeling to know your investment in Shopify and marketing has a return so quickly. It gives the confidence to continue forward.
Tell us about the back-end of your business. What tools and apps do you use to run your store? How do you handle shipping and fulfillment?
We went for the Fashionopolism theme which fitted our business look well. With a bit of refinement from the developer and some great imagery from suppliers we think we have a site that oozes quality.
With a Payment Sense direct gateway the check out process is quick, easy and seamless and as well as the Facebook plugin we have Aftership which is a great way of keeping our customers informed with the order progress.
What are your top recommendations for new ecommerce entrepreneurs?
My top recommendation would be to invest as much as possible in the look. Get it right, and a site that is easy to use and flows well and the customers will come! Next tip is don't underinvest in your marketing!