Create an engaging experience, and they will come. That’s the lesson learned by Munchkin, an award-winning manufacturer of baby products, as it recently launched its new direct-to-consumer webstore built on eBay Inc.’s Magento platform. Munchkin’s thriving webstore also uses PayPal for payments, and the company has just tapped eBay Enterprise’s Marketing Solutions for demand generation.
Like many branded manufacturers, Munchkin’s original site’s goal was to offer product and retail partner information and not for processing orders.
In mid-2013, Munchkin decided that it was time to extend its well-known product innovations to its own site. Munchkin partnered with commerce solutions provider Gorilla Group to develop a new ecommerce-optimized website on Magento Enterprise Edition.
The site launch was timed to coincide with the debut of the company’s new, web-exclusive line of luxury baby apparel, mbaby. Using responsive design, the new site is tailored to the needs of parents on the go and is optimized for shopping across any device or screen size. It also features rich product imagery, unique gifting ideas and a seamless checkout process.
Since the January launch, Munchkin has experienced substantial growth in sales and site visits, specifically:
- 37% increase in visits
- 122% increase in total units sold
- 55% increase in units per order
- 112% increase in average order value
- 201% increase in daily revenue
Munchkin’s experience illustrates how Magento’s flexibility can empower merchants to more effectively engage customers online and also create a separate branded experience in the same site.
Gorilla reflects on Munchkin’s ecommerce journey on Magento and where ecommerce fits in its overall strategy: “Positioning the ecommerce channel as the focal point for a multi-channel customer experience, we were able to achieve multiple goals. By incorporating direct ecommerce capabilities alongside web retail partner and store locator functionality, we were able to create a cross-channel selling environment that minimizes partner conflict.”
“Tapping into the flexibility of the Magento Enterprise Edition for Munchkin’s direct-to-consumer web store helped facilitate a multichannel customer experience and is helping to establish Munchkin.com as the go-to consumer destination for Munchkin product research, content and new discovery. We are now activating campaigns offered through eBay Enterprise Marketing Solutions,” said Jonathan Bradbury, director of global ecommerce, Munchkin. “The ability to add new commerce solutions across the portfolio, as our business grows, is a great testament to the scalability offered by Magento and eBay Enterprise.”
Following its successful experience with the new website, Munchkin is activating a campaign using search, display, attribution and affiliate solutions offered through eBay Enterprise Marketing Solutions. This is just one example of how eBay Inc. serves SMBs by giving retailers the option to add new commerce technologies from across their portfolio as their businesses grow.