Case Study: Avex Content Strategy Increased Page Speed by 10X For This Men’s Footwear Brand

Wolf & Shepherd was founded by former Division I Track & Field athletes who wanted to do something about how men’s dress shoes were uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time. Husband and wife duo Justin and Hope Schneider now run the business together, creating athletic-inspired comfortable footwear for men to pair with their favorite suits. 

In terms of production, the shoes are created using soft Italian leathers and running shoe technology and are manufactured and developed here in the United States. They use memory foam to construct “a dress shoe unlike anything else you've ever felt."

Although the brand has seen tremendous growth over the years, its e-commerce experience was in need of a complete refresh. Wolf & Shepherd came to Avex with three primary goals: increase conversions, decrease page load time, and craft a commerce experience that lives up to the quality of the brand’s standards.

Seamless Site Navigation

We create product pages that make sure to convert even the most skeptical customers. The PDPs are very minimalistic, giving users exactly what they need to make their buying decisions easier. For example, our team included sections for things such as Fit, Style Suggestions, Product Suggestions, and Financing Options.

Also incorporated in the site were user-interface elements that allow for product exploration on both desktop and mobile, making the experience accessible on all types of systems. For the checkout process, the mini-cart was designed to help the brand increase average order value and provide the customer with product suggestions.

More Than Just Commerce

Avex created custom landing pages and content types for the brand to showcase community-focused content. The client created a community of ambassadors and public figures that collaborate with the brand called the Wolf Pack, and we put them on display with the Community section.

Wolf and Shepherd also create blog content under the name of “The Den” under that same Community part of the site. 

Additionally, we incorporated content-rich pages that include embedded video, imagery, and storytelling. These visuals allow customers to engage with the impressive footwear brand on an even deeper level.

The Results

Our team of content strategists, designers, developers, and Shopify Plus specialists worked closely with the brand to reimagine the customer and e-commerce experience. Our process began with a deep dive into the brand and its content efforts to craft a revised content strategy for the new website.

After an audit of their existing website and analytics, Avex designed a completely new user-experience and built the custom Shopify Plus store. Page speed was very important to the brand, so we took additional steps to decrease load-time and performance.

Specifically, we provided support during Black Friday & Cyber Monday, helping Wolf & Shepherd set record sales and conversion increases. 

• +55% Increase in conversions

• +214% Increase in sales

• 10X'd Page load speed on desktop and mobile devices.

With the help of tech partners such as Shopify Plus, Klavyio, Hotjar, Smile.io, and Afirm, we were able to enhance the online presence of Wolf & Shepherd and saw huge increases that continue to boost the company to this day.