Iron Planet Hobbies

Previously, when customers selected a brand, they couldn’t easily switch to another without leaving the page. We introduced a sticky view displaying all available brands, allowing users to seamlessly select different manufacturers without disrupting their browsing experience. Additionally, we enhanced category visibility by adding brand logos, making it easier for customers to browse products by manufacturer.

To improve shopping experience, we implemented a list view feature with an “Add to Cart” button and quantity selector. This allowed customers to add multiple items to their cart directly from category pages, streamlining the purchasing process, particularly for repeat customers familiar with specific products.

We updated the homepage by replacing the Build Your Model Railroad section with a dynamic rotating carousel to highlight promotions and featured products. The header was redesigned with a repositioned logo, adjusted colors, and a larger search bar for better visibility. These updates improved the overall aesthetics and usability of the site.

Customers faced multiple issues during checkout, including payment failures and incorrect shipping rates. Some shoppers experienced PayPal checkout errors, where the system would freeze during payment processing. We resolved these problems by refining checkout rules, adding pop-up alerts for missing information, and ensuring major credit cards were properly integrated. Additionally, we fixed a pricing display issue where default prices appeared instead of sale prices in the order details page.

To facilitate the smooth migration of orders, customers, reviews, and products, we utilized the Cart2Cart migration tool. This ensured that historical data was transferred seamlessly without disrupting ongoing operations.

We built automated email flows, including welcome emails, abandoned cart reminders, post-purchase follow-ups, and back-in-stock notifications. These helped re-engage customers, reduce lost sales, and provide timely updates on product availability. The subscriber list was also segmented based on customer behavior, purchase history, and location to ensure more targeted and relevant messaging.

Given that 25% of their business comes from pre-orders, we developed a pre-order email sequence consisting of an announcement, a reminder to pre-order before the deadline, and a final last call email when products arrived. Additionally, we created holiday promotions for key sales periods, including Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas.

We designed professional email templates for product launches, featured products, and educational content (e.g., “How-To” guides for beginners). Since the brand prides itself on customer service and expertise, emails were crafted with an informative, approachable tone and meant to address their target market: model railroad enthusiasts.

To help grow the brand’s subscriber base, we created a dedicated landing page to capture visitors’ phone numbers and email addresses.