New online store for ARK Bokhandel built on modern eCommerce technology

ARK Bokhandel, Norway’s largest bookstore chain, teamed up with the TRY E-commerce team to re-build their digital commerce website (ark.no). With over one million products sold online and 150 physical stores across the country, ARK aimed to elevate their online presence, enhance the user experience, streamline their internal workflow and boost their competitiveness in the market. 

We launched the new website on May 9th, 2023 and the project was a success! The results speak for themselves. Keep scrolling to find out more!

Challenges

Their online store, running on an SAP platform, proved to be a significant obstacle. Implementing changes or introducing new features required substantial time and resources. Frequent crashes and downtime due to high traffic affected the platform's stability, leading to a poor user experience. Security issues and an unstable testing environment added to their concerns. The use of an unfamiliar code language made it challenging to hire developers, limiting their ability to make necessary improvements. 

Furthermore, the outdated design lacked responsiveness, compatibility with modern devices, and had poor navigation, readability, and aesthetics, resulting in a subpar user experience and high abandonment rate.

Goal

Modernize and acquire a scalable platform with modern infrastructure, improve the user experience and design to strengthen competitiveness, streamline internal workflow and enhance efficiency, increase sales and maximize return on investment.

Implemented a new online store with MACH architecture

To overcome the limitations of ARK’s existing SAP platform, we embraced a modern technical architecture by adopting the MACH principles (Microservices, API First, Cloud-native, and Headless). We developed and implemented a full-scale, headless architecture using Commercetools, Sanity, Omnium, Algolia, and Bluestone. These cutting-edge technologies provided a scalable and future-proof platform, improving customer satisfaction, return on investment, and internal workflow efficiency.

Built a scalable Design System

Recognizing the importance of a consistent and visually appealing user experience, ARK invested in building a scalable Design System. Leveraging tools like Figma as a design library and Storybook as a developer library, TRY created a robust foundation for their website's design. This allowed for streamlined workflow, modernized visuals, and ensured consistency and quick updates across the website. The Design System included reusable components designed with UX best practices, fostering fluid communication between designers, stakeholders, and developers.

Embraced an Agile workflow and collaboration

A dedicated Product Owner resource from TRY helped execute an Agile workflow, sprint planning, and demos using Jira and Confluence, enabling efficient development and iteration.

Prioritized Accessibility, SEO and Testing

Both ARK & TRY placed a strong emphasis on accessibility by ensuring compliance with WCAG 2.0 AA standards as well as an SEO review to improve category and URL structure.

To assure a successful launch, TRY executed a comprehensive testing plan, including QA testing, user testing, end-to-end user acceptance testing (UAT), accessibility testing, and performance and security testing. This meticulous approach minimized bugs, improved website quality.

"Collaboration with TRY has redefined our workflow, invigorated our creativity, and fundamentally improved our processes.” —Anders Martinsson, Tech Lead ARK.no

Results

Online sales increased by 25% within the first month, showcasing the immediate impact of the new platform and design.

Over 17,000 orders were placed within a single day during the first week after the launch, highlighting the improved user experience, increased customer engagement, and the platforms ability to handle high traffic.

Internal workflow efficiency improved by over 50%, leading to enhanced productivity and streamlined operations.

Downtime reduced significantly, ensuring a stable and reliable shopping experience for customers.

New code deployment time to the online store reduced to just 3 minutes, enabling rapid updates and seamless implementation of new features.

Conversion rate increased by 15%, indicating the enhanced user experience and design led to higher customer engagement and sales.

SEO Results

22,491 more keywords became visible in Google compared to before the launch, expanding their online visibility and reach.

The website achieved 740 featured snippets in search results, compared to 0 before the launch, further improving their prominence and visibility in search engine results.
 
Revenue generated from organic search increased from NOK 25 million in Aug-Dec 2022 to NOK 75 million in Aug-Dec 2023, marking a remarkable 200% increase in organic search revenue.