Patou
Transforming French fashion label Patou into a digital fashion destination on Shopify Plus
Services
Internationalisation
Development
Technology
Shopify Plus
Shopify Scripts
Klaviyo
Challenge
Perfection is essential when working with a brand as prestigious as LVMH’s Patou. They came to us with sleek designs from their creative agency B-Reel, looking for a team of developers that could translate the look and feel into a functioning Shopify store.
And, because the Patou site was to be a proof of concept for LVMH, the finished product needed to be every bit as covetable as their French garments. There were some intricacies in the brief that called for creative problem-solving, with the added challenge of retaining the brand’s high equity.
One such challenge was the need for Patou to be accessible to fashion enthusiasts across the globe. Because the essence and experience of the brand must be represented accurately online, the site needed to offer full multi-currency, translation and region-specific content that’s compliant with local regulations.
Solution
Representing such a prestigious brand accurately online can be a daunting task. But by working closely with the LVMH branding team, we built out a store that exemplifies luxury. The Patou store is the perfect blend of design and functionality, delivering a completely bespoke experience – no matter where you are in the world.
With a heavy list of challenges, complex functionality, and no room to compromise, we had to do some creative, outside-of-the-box thinking. The plethora of solutions that were custom-built for Patou now integrate seamlessly together to provide an enjoyable, user experience.
Optimising the user journey went far beyond making it ultra-functional. The full movement of the site – from animations to speed – had to exude the luxury of a Parisian boutique. By working closely with the LVMH team and B-Reel, we were able to iterate upon the UX to provide an aesthetically-pleasing build that’s optimised to boost conversions.
Story
Known as ‘the founder of the French girl look’, Patou has epitomised Parisian chic since its conception in the couture world in 1914. The label was acquired by LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy) in 2018, leading to a critically acclaimed relaunch, complete with a new ecommerce site.
LVMH didn’t want Patou’s site to sit on a complex platform; instead, the prestige powerhouse joined a raft of luxury merchants who are launching their stores on Shopify Plus. So they approached Underwaterpistol about building a Patou concept store; one that would transform the French fashion label into a digital fashion destination.
We worked closely with the Patou team and B-Reel to curate a premium customer experience. A bespoke lookbook was included in the user journey, allowing the ecommerce team at Patou to create shoppable mini collections and display them in an intuitive way on the site. We also built dynamic, editable content sections for the blog, so the Patou team could present their content in a more engaging way, without code-heavy plug-ins.
The checkout on the Patou site has been custom-built to fit in with the luxury feel and flow of the user experience. Modifying the customer checkout allows Patou to offer a gift-wrapping service for their must-have pieces, improving the average order value (AOV) and overall experience. Additionally, including a custom 'terms of service' checkbox at the checkout ensures Patou is compliant with legal and accessibility requirements.
Custom internationalisation development was a key focus of this project. By creating an internationalised ecommerce experience, the Patou content dynamically changes depending on which of the seven countries you’re visiting from, and which language you’re browsing in.
Every aspect of the site is localised, from merchandising on the collection pages to pricing, content, availability of products, and private sales periods for specific countries. While the translation of the site is automatically detected by the customer’s IP address, this can be overridden with a simple drop-down menu.
The on-site search plays a pivotal role in the customer journey and user experience. As such, it was important that the translation of the site also filtered through to the search, offering AI-based suggestions and results in local languages to enhance conversions and customer satisfaction.
