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Engineering growth

Case study

Driving conversion, AOV & subscriptions for Kulfi Beauty’s DTC storefront

An ongoing DTC optimization retainer for Kulfi Beauty focused on cart, navigation, product pages, bundling and subscriptions. Using UX enhancements, admin-configurable promotions and integrated workflows, the program is designed to measurably improve conversion rate, average order value and subscription adoption while strengthening post-purchase operations.
Driving conversion, AOV & subscriptions for Kulfi Beauty’s DTC storefront
Results
  • Better mobile shopping experience with optimized navigation, search, and mobile-first menu layouts.
  • Greater operational agility with admin-configurable promotion thresholds, navigation items, and merchandised promo cards.
  • Higher on-site conversion rate through reduced friction in the cart and clearer, more trustworthy CTAs.
  • Improved subscription adoption via clearer buy box options, enriched subscription benefits, and in-cart toggles.
  • Increased average order value driven by transparent free gift and free shipping thresholds and flexible bundling strategies.
  • More consistent, on-brand communications across transactional Shopify emails and post-purchase touchpoints.
  • Reduced customer support load and faster resolutions thanks to integrated self-service order issue flows and Gorgias workflows.
  • Scalable experimentation framework supported by a DTC optimization spreadsheet, bundling master sheet, and shared Figma system.
  • Stronger product discovery and category exploration through reworked desktop and mobile navigation and targeted promo surfaces.

Kulfi Beauty

Over a multi-year retainer, we partnered with Kulfi Beauty to systematically optimize their direct-to-consumer (DTC) storefront. The engagement focuses on measurable improvements to conversion rate (CVR), average order value (AOV), and subscription rate through targeted UX enhancements, smart promotion logic, and tighter integration between the storefront and support tooling.

Client Overview & Engagement Goals

Kulfi Beauty is a DTC beauty brand with a growing online customer base. As traffic scaled, they needed their digital experience to work harder across the entire funnel, from discovery and product consideration through checkout, subscriptions, and post-purchase support.

The retainer engagement was structured around clear commercial goals:

  • Increase conversion rate by reducing friction in cart and checkout flows.
  • Grow AOV via strategic promotions (free gifts, free shipping thresholds, bundles) surfaced at the right moments.
  • Boost subscription adoption by making Subscribe & Save clearer, more compelling, and easier to manage.
  • Strengthen post-purchase and support workflows with integrated tools and branded communications.

To support continuous improvement, we maintained shared artifacts including a Bundling Master Sheet, a DTC Optimization Spreadsheet, and a collaborative Figma system that captured design, logic, and tracking requirements for each initiative.

Key Workstreams

1. Cart & Promotion Experience: Free Gift, Progress Indicators & Trust

The cart is one of the highest-leverage surfaces for DTC performance. Early work focused on making promotions more intuitive while removing distractions that hurt conversion.

Automated Gift-With-Purchase (GWP)

  • Implemented logic so that when a cart reaches a defined threshold (for example, 60 value), a free gift is automatically added to the cart.
  • Introduced a visually distinct 'Your Gift!' section in the cart with brand-aligned styling and clear labeling that the item is FREE, not just 0.00.
  • Ensured the free gift appears without page refresh and removed quantity selectors and remove buttons for clarity.

This work makes the promotion feel tangible and trustworthy, reinforcing shoppers’ progress and giving them a clear reason to add more to their cart.

Progress Indicators for Promotions

  • Repurposed and extended the existing shipping progress component to show GWP thresholds alongside free shipping thresholds.
  • Created admin-configurable thresholds so the team can adjust promotion levels without developer intervention.
  • Refined accompanying copy, placement, and alignment to keep messaging readable and centered above progress bars.

These progress indicators give shoppers a real-time sense of how close they are to rewards, helping nudge higher AOV in a transparent way.

Reducing Friction & Increasing Trust in Cart

  • Removed shipping protection upsells that were adding noise and friction at a critical decision point.
  • Updated the primary CTA to 'Secure Checkout' and added a 'Secure' label with a lock icon to strengthen trust and perceived safety.
  • Added an item counter and reinforced free shipping progress to help customers understand order value at a glance.

Together, these changes simplify decision-making, reduce second-guessing, and are designed to contribute to higher conversion rates.

2. Subscription Growth Through In-Cart and Buy Box Improvements

Subscription revenue was a key focus of the retainer. We made subscription options more discoverable, more comprehensible, and more clearly rewarding.

In-Cart Subscription Toggle

  • Implemented an in-cart toggle that lets customers switch an item to Subscribe & Save directly from the cart.
  • Positioned the toggle and messaging around benefits such as unlocking free shipping to encourage adoption.
  • Coordinated with Shopify subscription infrastructure to ensure changes were technically sound and trackable.

By allowing customers to convert to subscription late in the journey and by pairing that option with tangible benefits the cart experience is engineered to support recurring revenue growth.

Buy Box Redesign on Product Pages

  • Clarified the shade selection experience by adding a 'Shade:' label and displaying swatches in a single horizontal row (with consideration for edge cases when many swatches exist).
  • Reworked purchase options so 'Buy Once' and 'Subscribe' appear in a vertical stack, making comparison and choice more intuitive.
  • Added per-option pricing within each row so customers can immediately see how pricing changes with each choice.
  • Enhanced the subscription box with a delivery frequency selector, a perks list, and a '+FREE SHIPPING' badge where applicable.
  • Removed duplicate prices from the Add to Cart button to reduce visual clutter and avoid confusion.

This buy box overhaul is designed to lift both single-purchase conversion and subscription adoption by making benefits obvious and reducing cognitive load.

3. Navigation & Discovery: Desktop and Mobile

To improve product discovery and category exploration, we undertook a coordinated refresh of both desktop and mobile navigation.

Desktop Navigation & Announcement Bar

  • Added a clear 'Shop Now' CTA to the desktop announcement bar to convert informational banners into direct traffic to the shop.
  • Introduced and elevated key category pages (Bestsellers, Lips, Eyes & Brows, Complexion, Sets & Bundles) directly into the main navigation.
  • Adjusted nav layouts and link ordering to surface high-intent paths without overwhelming users.

Mobile Navigation & Menu System

  • Designed a new mobile menu with support for category pages, badges or hard-coded promotional items, and a photo grid layout that leverages collection featured images.
  • Added 'Shop Now' to the mobile announcement bar and a high-contrast 'Shop All Products' CTA at the end of the mobile menu.
  • Reorganized utility content (Find Your Shade, Account, Contact, Our Story, FAQ) into a two-column grid below main categories for easier scanning.
  • Refined mobile search by visually separating the search bar and placing it above category links for a more search-first experience.

These navigation improvements make it easier for customers to find the right products quickly, particularly on mobile where most traffic originates, supporting both conversion and AOV through better discovery.

4. Product Page UX: Visuals & Information Hierarchy

On product detail pages, our focus was on helping shoppers feel confident in their choices, especially for shade-dependent products.

  • Added image thumbnails beneath the main gallery on both desktop and mobile, making it easier to browse swatches, lifestyle imagery, and detail shots.
  • Ensured the product price is visible above the fold so customers can assess value without scrolling.
  • Converted the Shade Finder into an on-page modal instead of a separate context, preventing users from getting lost and supporting higher completion and add-to-cart rates.

By tightening the visual and information hierarchy, the product page is better aligned with how shoppers actually evaluate and compare beauty products online.

5. Bundling, Inventory Behavior & Promo Surfaces

To encourage larger baskets and support campaign-based merchandising, we built flexible systems for bundles and promo surfaces:

  • Maintained a centralized Bundling Master Sheet to plan and manage bundle configurations, pricing, and validation.
  • Configured bundle products in Shopify to continue selling when out of stock at the parent level, relying on bundle component validation at checkout. This prevents unnecessarily blocking sales when components are still available.
  • Extended the Product Promos Grid to include configurable placeholder cards that link directly to high-priority landing pages (for example, a specific lip combo page), giving the team a no-code way to promote campaigns.
  • Updated navigation to include special campaign destinations like 'Lip Shoppe', with planned retirement or replacement of older categories such as Sets & Bundles when appropriate.

These changes give the Kulfi team more control over merchandising without sacrificing UX quality or requiring frequent development support.

6. Post-Purchase, Support & Integrations

Beyond the storefront, we improved how customers resolve order issues and how the brand communicates after purchase.

Order Issue Self-Service & Support Workflows

  • Designed a frontend UI where customers can look up their order by email and order number, then step through guided flows for common issues (lost in transit, damaged, marked as delivered but not received).
  • Included structured steps such as affected item selection, optional comments and image uploads, and address confirmation or updates.
  • Architected a backend database to store these submissions and relay them to Gorgias for support handling.
  • Investigated and planned integration points with Corso workflows and Gorgias APIs, including SafeShip-style fee products and modal replacements, to centralize the experience on Kulfi’s storefront.

This system is designed to reduce manual back-and-forth for the support team, shorten resolution times, and leave customers feeling taken care of when something goes wrong.

Branded Shopify Email Templates

  • Updated Shopify email templates for Order Confirmation, Refund, Shipping Update, Out for Delivery, and Delivered states.
  • Aligned visual design, typography, and messaging with the core Kulfi brand for a more consistent end-to-end experience.

These email improvements reinforce brand trust at critical touchpoints and can help reduce support queries by setting clear expectations after checkout.

Process, Tooling & Measurement

As a retainer account, the Kulfi Beauty engagement is structured for ongoing experimentation and iteration:

  • Every initiative is captured in a DTC Optimization Spreadsheet with goals, hypotheses, implementation notes, and tracking fields for AOV, CVR, and subscription rate.
  • Design and UX decisions are documented in a shared Figma file, making it easy for Kulfi’s internal team and other partners to align on patterns and components.
  • Technical changes are implemented with admin-configurable settings wherever possible (for example, promotion thresholds and menu configurations) to give the team control without sacrificing performance.
  • The roadmap spans from foundational cart/GWP prototyping in early 2025 through broader cart, navigation, and buy box initiatives in 2026, allowing learnings from earlier phases to inform later work.

Outcomes & Client Benefits

While specific metrics are tracked internally by the Kulfi team, the engagement is designed to deliver:

  • Higher conversion rates by removing friction, simplifying choices, and increasing trust at key decision points.
  • Increased AOV via clear, motivating progress indicators, thoughtful free gift and free shipping mechanics, and flexible bundles.
  • Stronger subscription performance through a more compelling, transparent, and easily accessible Subscribe & Save experience across product pages and cart.
  • Improved mobile shopping thanks to a reimagined navigation system, stronger search behavior, and mobile-optimized layouts.
  • Reduced support burden and faster resolutions via integrated order issue flows, structured data capture, and Gorgias workflows.
  • More consistent branding from homepage hero through transactional email, reinforcing Kulfi’s identity at every stage of the customer journey.
  • Operational agility with admin-configurable promotions, nav items, and promo surfaces, enabling the team to respond quickly to campaigns and inventory realities.

By combining UX design, frontend and backend development, and thoughtful integration with existing tools, the retainer program gives Kulfi Beauty a scalable, test-and-learn framework for continuously improving its DTC performance.