SilkSilky, which specializes in selling silk products, believes that the future of fashion should be healthy and comfortable. With a philosophy of “Free to Life, Free to Dream,” the Chinese brand wants their customers to experience pure bliss with the SilkSilky ultra premium 6A Grade mulberry silk pajamas, dresses, robes, clothing, pillowcases, sheets, bedding sets, hair accessories, sleep masks, and more.
When SilkSilky was founded in April 2021, they immediately chose to partner with Shopify to establish an independent, branded site. After upgrading to the Shopify Plus plan the brand took advantage of its powerful tools, such as a multi-site layout to drive international expansion and advanced customization features, leading to a 680% increase in sales in two years.
Since moving to the Shopify Plus plan, SilkSilky has seen:
- 680% growth in sales within two years of upgrading to Shopify Plus
- Increased conversion rates in European countries
- Reduction in the rate of return, from 7%–8% to 1%
- 3X increase in checkout survey response rates compared to email marketing
The challenge: One size doesn’t fit all when going global
Since their inception, SilkSilky has partnered with Shopify to establish a direct-to-consumer (DTC) site as part of a concerted effort to build their own brand and establish a foothold in the competitive fashion market. For SilkSilky, a DTC site not only allowed for the free display of products but also enabled quick user feedback and timely strategy adjustments.
However, customer insight and quick decision-making processes for strategic direction required seamless integration between the commerce platform and SilkSilky’s self-developed enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. Likewise, the brand’s pursuit of identifying user needs and gaining granular customer data for analysis also required comprehensive backend integrations, as well as deep data insight within the commerce platform.
SilkSilky’s efforts to expand their brand internationally and achieve regional localization also proved to be a challenging task. From differences in language, culture, and currency to varying consumer preferences in different countries, every detail had the potential to impact the localization process for the brand in other markets. For example, size standards tend to differ between the US and Europe, and consumer preferences for colors can also vary.
The solution: Multiple sites and backend integration support expansion
SilkSilky upgraded to the Plus plan eight months after adopting Shopify, making use of the platform’s seamless integration capabilities and API architecture to link it with their custom ERP system. This improved the efficiency of customer and financial data analysis for more accurately controlled costs, and aided in the management of production cycle processes.
Through the ERP system, SilkSilky can clearly see dynamic data on sales forecasts, production schedules, inventory estimates, and stock levels, and can use algorithms to minimize waste as much as possible. As a result, costs have significantly decreased, allowing prices to genuinely benefit consumers.
With international expansion on SilkSilky’s agenda, the brand used Shopify’s international sales tools and its ability to establish multiple sites targeting different countries. This supports the merchant in expanding with additional stores at no extra cost, providing localized experiences for users in each country, including promotional activities, product displays, and user management.
For instance, when SilkSily is running a promotional campaign like “Get $10 off when you spend $100,” they could customize the settings based on the actual conditions in each country, eliminating the headache of discount conversions between different currencies. Data for each site could be managed independently, ensuring operational efficiency.
In order to quickly expand our business to more countries and markets, we upgraded to the Shopify Plus plan. This allows us to achieve one-stop management for multiple sites while also maintaining the freedom to operate each site independently. The upgrade process was very smooth; it was completed with just a click.
Payment habits vary significantly across different countries and regions, and as the “last mile” of the purchasing process, payment diversity is key to improving conversion rates in different markets. For SilkSilky, Shopify supports customization of the checkout page, for example to allow the most frequently used payment methods to be prioritized in order of display.
Moreover, Shopify’s checkout page customization capabilities let SilkySilky add a user survey triggered immediately after a customer places an order—an effective way for the brand to listen to its customers. This survey has a response rate more than three times that of email marketing. With an additional 15% discount offer to boost participation even further, SilkySilky can obtain valuable feedback to optimize future products and services.
SilkSilky also used Shopify Flow as a key contributor to reducing their product return rate. Using Shopify Flow, the brand could implement logic instructions to flag all orders deemed high-risk and automatically put them on hold for payment. The team can then manually contact the customer to request partial credit card information for verification, reducing the chances of returns.
Using the Shopify App Store to quickly gain additional capabilities, SilkySilky implemented the AI-driven Reamaze Live Chat Helpdesk CRM app, helping the customer service team members double the number of emails they can manage in a day. The brand also adopted the Joy: Rewards & Loyalty Program app to support point-based rewards for purchases, advanced tier privileges, and discount stacking.
The result: Regional customization and data analysis power revenue growth
After upgrading to the Shopify Plus plan and using various advantages such as multi-site layouts and advanced customization features, SilkSilky saw a 680% increase in sales revenue within two years. The brand has also seen a significant boost in conversion rates in Europe following their international expansion.
Thanks to Shopify’s seamless integration with their ERP system, SilkSilky’s procurement costs dropped by about 20% in the first year after upgrading to the Plus tier. In the second year following the upgrade, the brand decreased procurement costs by another 30%. More recently, in the third year since the upgrade, overall costs have fallen by more than 40% compared to initial levels, driven by data analysis made possible by the ERP integration.
Shopify Flow has become a crucial tool for protecting SilkSilky from losses while significantly optimizing the order management process. For instance, with Shopify Flow being used to filter SilkSilky’s product return process, the brand has avoided their most problematic orders, helping to prevent returns after shipment. Compared to the previous return rate of 7%–8%, the brand’s return rate has fallen to less than 1%.