Multistore Implementations

Multi-store projects have become more common here at Trellis, and they present unique challenges for us as an agency and for the client. There are many variations of what multi-store means, across DTC and B2B. In this blog post, we’ll walk through some common variations of multi-store and discuss the challenges that surface during discovery and implementation/delivery.

DTC Multi-Store

In the Direct-to-Consumer space, multi-store is typically centered around a client having multiple brands that need individual storefronts. Some brand stores may have shared products, while others may have entirely different product catalogs. Both can present challenges for the client and choosing the right eCommerce platform becomes a bit more complex. 

With Shopify, we typically see clients keeping separate expansion stores for each brand. This allows the products to be unique to each brand. This means additional work, and costs, in connecting the stores to the client’s ERP or PIM to ensure that product data stays in sync across stores. This works great if the products are unique to each brand. In cases where there are shared products, that middleware sync needs to be robust. If there are variations to these shared products, such as slightly different descriptions or pricing, it can mean extra work for the client’s teams to manage and ensure the right content is displayed in the right store.

With BigCommerce and Adobe Commerce, clients can tap into the platforms’ multi-store capabilities. In this case, a single store contains all products, and the client has control over the storefront on which those products are displayed. This means a single data point to connect external systems to, which can be a cost reduction over the expansion store path above. As above, where products may need differing data for each store, a single product database can actually be more difficult to manage.

Additionally, some DTC companies may have business-to-business needs or wholesale customers who require different business logic and product selections from their DTC offerings. Choosing the right platform to manage this takes time and effort to understand the pros and cons of each. Often, choosing your platform for multi-store comes down to very small nuances unique to your business.

Multi-Store Design

A challenge with multi-stores is handling store design. For clients who have multiple brands, the question often arises of how to provide brand-specific designs without breaking the bank on multiple custom designs. The client needs to be able to showcase each brand’s unique aspects and voice, but managing multiple unique design systems can be a challenge for eCommerce teams.

Thankfully, all top eCommerce platforms have robust theme engines with reusable content blocks. Here at Trellis, we often suggest to clients that we start with a base theme with enough flexibility to be used across multiple stores. We then begin building out reusable components that have enough flexibility to be reused for each brand yet not look like the same website. An example would be the site header with a logo, search, and navigation. Header blocks that allow for varying logo placement and different mega menus can give each brand a unique look but is still managed the same way in the store admin.

For budget-conscious clients who may need to spend more time on integrations versus design, starting with a vetted marketplace theme can be a huge win. These themes come with many adaptable blocks and components and often have the ability to adapt themes to match multiple brands. Trellis then can focus on creating additional custom theme blocks specific to the client’s business needs rather than building out a whole custom site.

For clients who may need complex designs to meet their high-end brands, building out a custom theme is a great option. Trellis starts from our own trusted base theme for each platform, and focuses on designing and building the components needed, building in the flexibility required to adapt to multiple use cases.

Blending DTC and B2B

Whether a client has an established DTC market and wants to expand into B2B, or has an established B2B business that is also adding a DTC channel, multi-store can be a complex endeavor. The needs of DTC customers are very different than B2B customers. Even within the B2B business space, there are very different business needs from company to company.

B2B businesses often have complex purchasing requirements, varying payment options, and complex customer hierarchies that must be addressed effectively. B2B products can also be complex, often requiring data supplementation from various systems and locations.

Trellis spends a good deal of time with clients in our Discovery phase, understanding each side of the business to recommend the best platforms and integrations. Choosing a platform in this case often comes down to understanding the nuances specific to your business and matching those to the platform’s capabilities. 

With blended stores, you may have a subset of customers who need to purchase products in larger quantities. Ensuring products are set up for this properly is important, and ensuring the shipping rate calculations are also in place. Large quantity items often have additional shipping or freight costs, so tapping into platforms like ShipperHQ can be a good way to handle the varying rules needed.

Integrations are the Lifeblood of Business Today

Modern business is driven by integrations, from ERPs,OMSs, PIMs to marketing platforms, analytics, and customer engagement systems. Planning how those systems will function across multiple stores with varying business requirements can be daunting. Clients must enter the discovery phase with an understanding that some established business practices, in place from many years on outdated systems, may need to be rethought for modern eCommerce systems to be implemented. In almost every case, adapting to new ways of working is a boon to the bottom line, and gives the client a longer runway from which to grow.

Trellis has worked with many of the top eCommerce platforms and integrated an incredibly wide variety of systems with them. From AS400 systems to custom in-house ERPs to NetSuite, Infor, and Microsoft Dynamics, data flows are what keep a business running. Clients must ensure that product data is correct across stores, inventory is synced across multiple locations, and customer information is pulled into the correct platforms for effective marketing strategies to be managed.

Is your team ready to manage the data across many stores? Ecommerce teams are too often smaller than they need to be at our clients businesses. This means hiring on additional teams to support the different stores. Marketing, analytics, SEO, and ongoing development are all common support requests for Trellis in multi-store launches. At Trellis, we have dedicated teams (we call them squads) that work together alongside our clients’ internal teams to drive the businesses forward. We are often considered an extension of the clients’ own teams, a working relationship that benefits both companies!

Platform Selection

A common question from clients looking to launch new multi-store projects is, “What eCommerce platform is best for our business?” Five years ago, this was a much easier question to answer. Shopify, BigCommerce, and Adobe Commerce have all put a lot of work into their platforms, which greatly improve multi-store projects. We are often tasked with providing platform evaluation as part of our Discovery phase with clients.

A great deal of thought goes into this evaluation. As a platform-agnostic company, Trellis works with all three (and more) platforms regularly. Our delivery, creative, and marketing squads all have platform experts within them. Our strategy team taps into this wealth of knowledge as part of the evaluation process to understand the nuances each platform has that may affect the client’s business.

As each of the top platforms continues to evolve and improve, the differentiators between them become less clear. Shopify, BigCommerce, and Adobe Commerce (Magento) all handle multi-store projects very well. Each has unique spins on varying functionality and limitations that need to be understood. 

One overlooked aspect of choosing the right platform for your multi-store project is the ecosystem of 3rd party tools that need to work with your stores. Does your current EDP work well with the platform you are choosing? Does it also work well with the product reviews and UGC systems being considered? Once you begin to explore new solutions, often in the form of installable apps/modules, overall cost and interconnectivity become increasingly important. Having a development team like Trellis on your team brings knowledge from working with most of these systems and understanding their quirks. We also have intimate knowledge of how well, or not in some cases, these app platforms support our clients when things go sideways. 

Scratching the Surface

We’ve barely scratched the surface in this post about multi-store complexity. But this should not be a warning sign! eCommerce platforms are more than capable of handling a multi-brand or mixed business case these days and continue to expand their feature set in this space. Additionally, Trellis continues to push the boundaries of what is possible with each of the top eCommerce systems. From complex multi-brand stores to custom integrations, our squads have seen it all and continue to win our clients’ business.

If you have a multi-brand store or are expanding into DTC or B2B business, Trellis can help you determine the best path forward. Contact us today for a free consultation.