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J Parkers

J Parker's Digital Transformation Project and Replatform to BigCommerce

The Challenge

The challenge that J Parker’s faced was keeping up with customers’ changing habits and the demands of the online horticulture industry. As the industry has needed to adapt to digital transformation, J Parker’s were looking to re-platform and improve its ecommerce infrastructure to meet the demands of the changing consumer habits and ensure that it could continue to deliver exemplary service to its customers. The rapid shift in consumer spending to digital channels and the Spring 2020 restriction of offline marketing and service due to COVID-19 was a challenge that needed addressing. J Parker’s wanted to ensure that their customers could continue to access their products and services safely and securely, and the decision to re-platform and improve their ecommerce infrastructure was a step in the right direction. 

J Parker’s had decided to migrate from its current bespoke platform to BigCommerce, a partner capable of providing customers with a far superior online experience. They needed an agency partner with experience building BigCommerce websites and a strong pedigree in SEO migration. They were looking for an extension of their team that would help them to continue to grow, ensure that internal processes and systems are updated to meet the demands of the online horticulture industry and remain competitive in the market.

J. Parkers Digital Transformation Project

The Brand

J Parker’s Dutch Bulbs is a family-run business that has been supplying quality flower bulbs, plants and seeds to gardeners in the UK since 1933. With a long-standing tradition of providing the highest quality flowers, they have become one of the UK’s leading garden suppliers and are managed by the original family. Today they sell a range of garden plants and bulbs across three main business pillars:

  • Retail (JParker’s) 
  • Wholesale (Dutch Bulbs) 
  • Partner Relationships (Mirror, Telegraph, Express)

 

J Parkers Logo

The Solution

J Parker’s chose to work with Space 48 to move to a new ecommerce platform. After an in-depth RFP process, it was decided that a SaaS platform was the best fit due to the resources available in the team. The challenge was to ensure the migration to the new platform would be smooth sailing and keep their current customer base happy with the same brand look and feel, but with a more simplified functionality and better usability on mobile devices. BigCommerce was selected as the platform of choice due to its out-of-the-box solution, as well as its B2B Bundle product for the wholesale side of the business, Dutch Bulbs. Through the work of Space 48, the transition was successful and J Parker’s was able to keep their customers happy and maintain their site speed. J Parker’s was able to achieve its goals of improved customer experience and scalability.

Choosing BigCommerce

The BigCommerce platform is an ideal fit for the business. It allows for innovative third-party integrations, such as Klevu and Bloomreach, which provide enhanced customer experiences and personalised shopping experiences. Bigcommerce is the ideal partner to meet J Parker’s current and future ecommerce requirements and will allow them to adapt quickly to changes in customer behaviour and scale. 

Third Parties

J Parker’s was looking to select a third-party search provider that could provide a robust search tool to accommodate the website’s unique needs. After researching and evaluating various providers, J Parker’s selected Klevu to provide the search engine technology for the website. Klevu provided the perfect combination of features that J Parker’s was looking for; its search engine was designed to accommodate misspellings and synonyms and offer alternative and complementary products. Klevu’s search engine was also robust enough to incorporate editorial blog content and technical questions such as ‘how to plant a cottage garden style’. With the selection of Klevu, J Parker’s felt confident that the website would have an excellent search and merch provider that would take it steps ahead of the competition. The content-driven commerce model being adopted by J.Parker’s will enable them to communicate with customers in a more personalised way and provide educational and inspirational content throughout the site, which in turn will help customers to make more informed decisions when shopping

J Parker’s chose Bloomreach as their Customer Data Platform (CDP) due to their ability to handle offline customers and provide a more targeted approach to marketing. Space 48 integrated Bloomreach into the BigCommerce platform to pass data between the two to present a more personalised experience. Bloomreach’s web layer function also allows for segmented audiences to be targeted with promotions, such as pushing the catalogue signup only to those who don’t already have it. Having chosen Bloomreach, J Parker’s have seen fruitful results from their targeted marketing approach and ability to handle offline customers.

B2B Bundle for Dutch Bulbs

Following its successful deployment with its B2C site to the BigCommerce platform last year, we followed up with the deployment of the revamped wholesale B2B store to deliver this multi-faceted migration. The migration from their existing platform to BigCommerce included much data and technical SEO work to maintain their customer orientation. Interestingly, the PLP, a template that normally receives heavy modification, leverages the BigCommerce OOTB PLP to deliver a stunning browsing experience. Utilising Bigcommerce’s openness, we integrated multiple technologies, including: 

  • Bloomreach – CDP 
  • Klevu – AI-powered search 
  • REVIEWS.io – reviews 
  • Checkout.com – PSP 
  • BundleB2B – Added B2B functionality 
  • Fetchify – postcode lookup 
  • Gorgias – customer service

Utilising BundleB2B with BigCommerce allowed J Parker’s Dutch Bulbs to provide a much better experience for their B2B customers. Integrating multiple technologies into the BigCommerce platform allowed them to offer their customers a streamlined and personalised experience.

 

J.Parkers Flowers

The results are in

The replatform was successful and J Parker’s was able to keep their customers happy and maintain their site speed. J Parker’s was able to achieve its goals of improved customer experience and scalability. Space 48 is pleased to continue its relationship with J.Parker’s Dutch Bulb in its next phase of growth with BigCommerce and the results speak for themselves

77%
%
Increase in online retail revenue
58%
%
Increase in online wholesale revenue
59%
%
Increase in Online transactions for retail
9.7%
%
Increase in AOV

In Space 48, we have found a partner that has not only a deep understanding of the technology they champion but also the intricacies around the mail-order horticulture industry. We have placed a lot of faith in the agency over the years, and they continue to consistently deliver a very high standard of work. We have big plans to become better at what we do, to become the customer go-to in the online plant buying space (both from a product and knowledge perspective). With our partners, Space 48 and BigCommerce, we feel we are in the best possible position to do so.

Jonathan J Parkers Jonathan Bracewell
Group Head of Marketing, J. Parker's

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