Cowichan Valley Running
Cowichan Valley Running is a retail shop in Mill Bay, BC. The store carries high-quality running gear and its owner, Laura, spearheads an inclusive attitude toward running that has taken the Cowichan Valley community by storm. Whether looking to take a first jog or keeping at it for the next marathon, all runners are welcome and encouraged to join the guided group runs. Cowichan Valley Running was extremely proud of the brand they had built and the community they had fostered, but the existing website was lagging behind.
Something for Everyone to Love
As the website existed in its first iteration, it was built across two platforms: WordPress and Shopify. This didn’t provide a user-friendly shopping experience. Furthermore, the website bounced users between two different addresses. One URL was displayed when visiting the shop pages to browse products and offers, and another to peruse the organic content such as blogs and the about page. This meant the site lacked cohesion to its users. It might seem trivial at first glance, but data shows that a seamless web browsing experience plays an important factor in making users feel safe online. This is a sticking point for any site, but especially so when it comes to e-commerce.
Stitch got to work strategically planning out the ideal user experience. Through research and data analysis, the team concluded it would be best to focus primarily on the shopping experience while still offering the organic content that the local running community craved.
Redefining the Shopping Experience
Instead of simply pushing uniform rows of products onto a page, we knew the site had to have a vibrant personality. The home page became much like a magazine cover, pushing users through enticing offers and product features in an organic and enticing way. By incorporating clever copy lines and lifestyle imagery throughout, the online shopping experience achieved an organic feel.
Furthermore, our team created a fully custom triple-tiered navigation menu to accommodate a variety of users’ needs very quickly. Within a matter of mere moments, the nav allows shoppers to find out about brands and products. Likewise, local runners can use the navigation instantly find info the store, it’s owner, and the Cowichan Valley Running Club, and even join the mailing list through a flawlessly designed email signup.
Another order of business was the brand. The owner Laura had spent the better part of her career to this point in marketing. Needless to say, consistency was incredibly important to her. We were able to develop a feeling within the site’s design that brought the CVR personality to life while remaining effortlessly on-brand.
The resulting design is playful and vibrant, weaving strands of colour and lifestyle imagery throughout the shopping experience. The client was so pleased with the outcome that we continued to work together one additional marketing and collateral pieces.
