Shopify integration
Introduction
Many potential customers, particularly in retail, use Shopify to run their online businesses. These brands often lack significant development resources, and Shopify offers a low-effort eCommerce solution. Currently, other platforms similar to Braze provide low-touch direct integrations with Shopify, which has led to us typically losing out on deals to our competitors.
The Problem
Braze doesn't have a turnkey integration with Shopify, which results in losing deals to competitors who offer this feature.
Customers do not have an easy way to import Shopify data into Braze to better target and understand users. As a result, Braze is also missing out on eCommerce prospects whose primary source of revenue comes from an online shopping experience, since we do not offer a turnkey integration like our competitors.
Process
Goals
Our ultimate vision was to provide brands with the ability to seamlessly integrate their Shopify storefront with Braze to drive meaningful, real-time customer engagement.
Mutual Shopify and Braze customers would be able to easily import Shopify data related to the order/purchase lifecycle, allowing them to segment, personalize, and trigger messages across channels like email, in-app messages, push notifications, and more.
Eventually, our goal is to differentiate our Shopify integration by enabling customers to seamlessly integrate Braze’s web SDK on Shopify storefronts, allowing them to realize the full value of the integration much faster.
Desk Research
Competitive research: Who else offers a Shopify integration, and how does it function?
Market research: Which current and potential customers use Shopify, and what are the sales opportunities?
Product research: What is our current offering and workaround for Shopify integration?
Discovery Interviews
After conducting desk research to understand the landscape and opportunities, we interviewed 6 customers and 5 internal sales and onboarding team members. The questions we wanted to answer were:
Why Shopify?
Who would use/buy it?
What’s the potential impact and adoption?
What are the current workarounds?
Usability Testing
Because the workflow was simple and straightforward, we tested a high-fidelity prototype (see Final Design below) with 6 customers, totaling nearly $1M in ACV. We spoke with Marketing Directors, eCommerce Managers, and other stakeholders, with members of our engineering team sitting in on nearly every conversation.
Research Insights
A Shopify integration would be profitable: We have the potential to sign over $1M in new deals in the first year, specifically within the SMB eCommerce market.
A Shopify integration is valuable to customers: Customers emphasized that when Braze syncs data from Shopify, they can run better-targeted and personalized emails, texts, and in-product messages. Bringing all their messaging into Braze is beneficial, as it allows customers to fully control their cross-channel communication around order lifecycles. For example, customers can streamline abandoned cart, promo/upsell, and repeat purchase messaging flows.
A Shopify integration is valuable to prospects: Braze sales team members highlighted the addressable market and potential runway for selling to smaller Shopify-using customers, which aligns with company goals.
Braze’s Shopify integration is easy to use: In just a few clicks, customers can connect Braze to their Shopify storefront, with data transferring immediately.
Final Design
Below is the MVP prototype, where users can input their Shopify storefront name, navigate to Shopify to install the app, and then return to Braze to wait for confirmation of the integration.
Outcomes
Launching the Shopify integration was a major win for both the business and the team. It proved to be a viable first solution, as customers could now set up the integration in a matter of minutes. Additionally:
To date, there are over 200 active Shopify storefront integrations.
Integrations have been adopted by companies of all classifications, from SMBs to enterprise-level organizations.
A basic integration can now be set up within Braze in under 10 minutes, compared to the days or weeks it previously took to create manual data connectors.
Because we built a small MVP, we left many ideas and insights for the team to consider in future iterations. While adoption for the integration might be slow initially, numbers will steadily increase as more Shopify-using customers sign with Braze. The value of the integration will continue to grow as new features are released and it becomes more robust and differentiated from competitors.
This project also uncovered several technical constraints and issues, which launched a multiyear initiative to rewrite large parts of the broader partnerships product area.
Shopify promoted the partnership, stating that Braze is “Empowering the Retail Engagement Evolution.”
Reflections
I would have liked to talk to more prospects and non-customers, but recruiting wasn’t successful, and we had enough confidence in what to build and why that we moved forward using insights from internal stakeholders and customers.
I joined the Partnerships product team in the summer of 2020, stepping away from a stalled project (surveys). Joining a new team, especially one that hadn’t had a dedicated designer before, posed some challenges but was not a major hurdle. The team was very receptive to design and research needs and ideas, and they actively participated in collaboration and QA sessions.
Right as we entered Beta, a full-time designer was hired for the team, and I stepped away. To this day, the integration has proven to be very successful, with new features being added each quarter since its initial release in 2020.