“Yotpo is a fundamental part of our recommended tech stack.”
Laura Doonin, Commercial Director
Back in 1984, Emma Bridgewater was looking for a pottery-themed birthday gift for her mother. Frustrated by the available options and unable to find what she was looking for, she decided to take matters into her own hands and create the perfect gift that would go on to become an entire brand synonymous with modern, classic pottery. Since then, Emma Bridgewater has been operating from their factory in Stoke-on-Trent, where they make and decorate all of their products by hand. Their tagline, “Feels Like Home,” reflects their mission of making everyday products feel cheerful, cozy, and fun.
In 2017, Emma Bridgewater found themselves in the midst of a digital transformation, spurred by the shutdown of their longtime eCommerce vendor. With aspirations of global expansion, they needed a scalable and reliable tech stack that would support their rapidly growing D2C business, handle spikes in demand during sales periods and new product launches, and boost overall performance metrics.
Emma Bridgewater required a complete site overhaul that included replatforming, enhancing site navigation, PDPs and checkout flow, and an updating to a contemporary visual design. Behind the scenes, Emma Bridgewater needed to ensure that there was a smooth data flow between their platform and ERP systems.
Emma Bridgewater has a massive fanbase of highly engaged and dedicated shoppers, and it was imperative for them to be able to showcase that passion on site. They needed a solution that would incorporate their customer community to amplify the shopping experience with social proof.
In addition to both frontend and backend improvements, Emma Bridgewater was also looking to leverage their revamped online presence to expand beyond the UK. With various areas to improve, design and development agency We Make Websites had ample opportunity to build a new site from the ground up that would enhance the shopping experience and support Emma Bridgewater’s ambitious growth aspirations.
To fulfill their vision for Emma Bridgewater’s new-and-improved digital presence, We Make Websites began by replatforming to Shopify Plus. This provided the brand with the flexibility to grow fast and scale up without worrying about the website crashing during peak purchasing times, while also integrating with their ERP system and providing a multi-store setup that suited their international model. For the website build, We Make Websites leveraged the Shopify Plus integrations network to power different aspects of the site.
To showcase Emma Bridgewater’s customers’ passion for the brand, We Make Websites implemented Yotpo’s solutions for Reviews and Visual UGC, collecting thousands of reviews and customer photos, to strategically display that content at key moments in the shopping journey.
Emma Bridgewater’s UK site accounts for nearly 80% of their total traffic, with most of their customer base and resulting UGC originating from the region. To support their expansion efforts, We Make Websites configured Yotpo’s solutions to syndicate UGC smoothly across their US, EU, and Australian sites, helping to establish trust and credibility in their up-and-coming markets.
Emma Bridgewater’s partnership with We Make Websites and Yotpo gave them the tools they needed to tap into their dedicated fanbase and collect over 30,000 reviews and more than 2,000 customer images. With all this valuable content, Emma Bridgewater saw a significant impact on engagement and conversion, with 11.3% of visitors converting after engaging with a Yotpo on-site asset — a 70% uplift compared to visitors that do not engage with assets. Emma Bridgewater now displays authentic customer photos across over 50% of their products, with 18.3% of visitors completing a purchase within 24 hours of an impression or clicking on an image gallery photo, highlighting the influence of customer photos in inspiring purchases.
In addition to boosting key metrics, Yotpo’s solutions have given Emma Bridgewater more opportunities to gain a deeper understanding of their customers’ shopping behaviors. Using Yotpo’s Custom Questions feature in Review Request emails, Emma Bridgewater is able to determine content created by their most loyal “Collectors Club” customers, enabling them to get insight into how to better engage across other segments of their customer base.
Powered by Shopify Plus and Yotpo, and with We Make Websites’ vast expertise, Emma Bridgewater now has the tools they need to leverage their customers’ fervent passion and expand into new regions — so they can make sure that anywhere their customers are, it feels like home.
