Smart Migration Case Study: From Outgrown Platform to Shopify Success
Is your online store stuck on an outdated platform? Discover how Arlington Power – a leading outdoor equipment retailer – transformed its e-commerce business by migrating from a legacy system to Shopify. This interactive case study will show you the challenges they faced, the solutions implemented, and the business-boosting results. If you’re a business owner considering a move to Shopify, read on for a real-world blueprint for success.
The Challenge: Outgrowing an Outdated E-Commerce Platform
Arlington Power’s journey began with a core problem: they had outgrown their old e-commerce platform (Zoey). The site was struggling under the weight of thousands of SKUs and a growing customer base. It lacked modern integrations and features, leading to several pain points:
Limited Scalability: The legacy platform couldn’t easily handle Arlington’s expanding product catalog and traffic. It was becoming a bottleneck to growth.
Integration Gaps: Arlington Power’s back-office systems (like their warehouse management) weren’t well-integrated with the online store. This meant manual processes (re-entering orders, updating inventory) that wasted time and risked errors.
Poor User Experience: The old site offered a dated, cluttered interface. Customers found it hard to navigate the extensive parts catalog or find product details quickly. Important information like spec sheets or financing options wasn’t readily accessible, potentially costing sales.
Difficulty in Updates: Making changes or adding new features on the legacy platform was cumbersome. Arlington’s team felt “stuck” with what they had – not ideal for a business that needs to stay agile.
In short, Arlington Power’s outdated e-commerce system was holding them back, both operationally and in delivering a smooth shopping experience. They needed a modern, scalable solution.
Figure 1. Challenges
The Solution: Migrating to Shopify for a Modern, Scalable Store
Shopify emerged as the clear answer to Arlington Power’s challenges. Shopify is a leading cloud-based e- commerce platform known for its scalability and rich feature set. It can seamlessly support a store with 10 products or 10,000, growing as you grow – without the performance headaches. By moving to Shopify, Arlington Power aimed to:
Improve Reliability and Speed: Shopify’s infrastructure offers 99.99% uptime and fast load times, ensuring customers have a smooth experience even during peak seasons.
Leverage Modern UX & Features: Out-of-the-box, Shopify provides clean, mobile-friendly templates and a vast ecosystem of apps. This meant Arlington could quickly enable new features (reviews, financing, live chat, etc.) that were difficult on Zoey.
Streamline Integration: Shopify has robust APIs and integration capabilities. This was crucial for connecting the site with Arlington’s internal systems (like their Infinity warehouse software) and other tools – enabling real-time data flow instead of manual work.
Lower Maintenance Overhead: As a hosted platform, Shopify eliminates the need for Arlington’s team to worry about server maintenance or software patches. They can focus on business, not IT upkeep.
Crucially, migrating to Shopify didn’t mean starting from scratch. All of Arlington Power’s valuable data – products, customers, orders – could be brought over. With the right approach and expert help, the migration would set them up with a future-proof online store without losing past information. Arlington Power entrusted our team of Shopify experts to lead this transition, and we crafted a step-by-step migration game plan.
Expert-Led Migration in Action: How Arlington Power Moved to Shopify
Executing a migration of this scale requires careful planning and know-how. Here’s how we delivered the solution for Arlington Power, combining automated tools and custom development for a seamless transition:
Comprehensive Data Migration: We began by transferring all products, customers, and orders from Zoey to Shopify using LitExtension – a leading e-commerce migration tool. This ensured thousands of SKUs and years of order history were imported accurately without tedious manual entry 4 . With LitExtension, data like product names, descriptions, prices, and customer records were moved in bulk, preserving Arlington’s critical business information.
Custom Order Integration (Shopify + Infinity): Simply migrating data wasn’t enough – the new Shopify store needed to talk to Arlington’s internal systems. We developed a custom Node.js integration service that links Shopify with Infinity (the company’s warehouse management system). Now, whenever an order comes in on the Shopify site, the integration automatically sends the order details to Infinity in real-time via API in XML format 5 . This eliminated the old manual step of re-entering web orders into the warehouse system. Every Shopify order is tagged as “exported” once synced 5 6 , ensuring no order is missed or duplicated. The result? Smoother operations and fulfillment – staff can pick, pack, and ship faster with all online orders instantly in their internal workflow.
Revamped Product Pages & UX Enhancements: We rebuilt Arlington’s product page layouts on Shopify to match the structure their customers were used to on Zoey, but with major improvements. All the product information is now cleanly organized and easy to navigate:
Specifications & Details: Using Shopify’s metafields, we structured technical specs and features into a dedicated section on each product page. Instead of a wall of text, customers can now click a “Specs” toggle to view an organized list of product specifications (e.g. dimensions, part numbers, compatibility) 7 . This makes it simple to find technical info at a glance, replicating the detail Arlington’s B2B customers expect.
Documentation: Important product documents (like manuals, spec sheets, or diagrams) that didn’t migrate automatically were manually added to the new site. We made sure each relevant product has downloadable PDFs or links to these resources. No more hunting around – users can get the info they need right from the product page.
Financing Options: For big-ticket equipment, we integrated financing directly into the Shopify product pages. Customers see a “Pay over time” option and financing details (e.g. “Residential Financing available – $50 minimum”) right under the price. This mirrors the financing info Arlington offered before and makes it more visible – a key factor to encourage sales of higher-priced items.
Pre-Order Functionality: We also enabled an option for pre-orders on items that are out-of-stock but incoming. These products are clearly labeled and can still be purchased as pre-orders (rather than just showing “Out of stock”), so Arlington doesn’t miss out on capturing demand. The Shopify site was tweaked to handle this gracefully, informing customers of any wait on pre-order items.
Mobile-Friendly Design: The new Shopify theme is fully responsive. Whether a contractor is ordering parts from a desktop at the office or a phone from a job site, the experience is smooth. Navigation menus, filters, and the checkout all work great on mobile – a big upgrade from the old site’s usability.
Handling Special Migration Challenges: During the migration, we encountered a few data quirks. For example, certain product attachments and linked PDFs on the Zoey site didn’t auto-transfer. Our team tackled this by locating those files and uploading them into Shopify, then linking them to the respective products. We also double-checked that all SKU numbers, customer accounts, and past order records came through correctly, fixing any inconsistencies from the automated migration. In the end, nothing was lost in translation.
By combining these steps, Arlington Power’s new Shopify store launched with all key data intact, enhanced functionality, and a robust integration backbone connecting their online and offline operations. It was truly a comprehensive upgrade – one that the following before-and-after comparison makes clear.
Figure 2. The migration diagram
Streamlining Parts Availability with ARI PartStream Integration
To support Arlington Power’s extensive parts catalog, we integrated their Shopify store with the ARI PartStream system. This allowed the site to dynamically search for OEM parts using brand and SKU combinations. When a part was found in ARI’s database, the integration automatically retrieved product details—like specs, images, and pricing—and created the listing in Shopify on the fly. If the part already existed, it was surfaced immediately with the correct variant.
This solution eliminated the need for manual product entry and ensured Arlington’s parts catalog stayed accurate and up to date. As a result, customers could reliably find and purchase the correct replacement parts, directly boosting service efficiency and sales conversion. The integration played a crucial role in maintaining continuity from Zoey’s structure while leveraging Shopify’s flexibility and scale.
Figure 3. ARI PartStream Integration
Results & Business Impact: Smoother Operations, Better UX, More Potential Sales
Migrating to Shopify and implementing these improvements brought significant benefits for both Arlington Power’s team and their customers:
Streamlined Operations: The integration between Shopify and the Infinity warehouse system immediately paid off. Online orders now flow automatically to fulfillment, so staff no longerspend hours re-entering data or chasing down online sales in separate systems. This reduces errors (no more shipping mistakes from manual input) and speeds up delivery times. In short, Arlington’s back-office is now as efficient as their new website – an end-to-end win.
Improved Customer Experience: The new Shopify site offers a far better UX than the old platform. Customers can effortlessly navigate a huge catalog using Shopify’s robust menu structure and search. On product pages, they can quickly find specs, see if an item is in stock or available for pre- order, and even get financing information upfront. This transparency and ease-of-use build trust. Early feedback has been positive – customers appreciate the smoother interface and access to information. A well-structured site means less time for customers to get answers and more confidence to click “Add to Cart.”
Modern Features Driving Sales: Features like built-in financing options and the ability to pre-order out-of-stock items can directly boost sales. Arlington Power’s customers are now more likely to proceed with big purchases thanks to the pay-over-time option being clearly advertised on product pages. And instead of seeing “Out of Stock” dead-ends, they can place pre-orders, ensuring Arlington doesn’t lose those orders to competitors. These enhancements remove friction from the buying process and could lead to a higher conversion rate and larger average order values (particularly for pricey equipment).
Scalability for Future Growth: With Shopify, Arlington Power now has a solid foundation for growth. Adding new products or even expanding to new online sales channels (like Facebook or Amazon integrations) is much easier. The site’s performance will scale with traffic – whether they run a big promotion or simply continue to grow, Shopify can handle it. Plus, they have access to a universe of apps and updates. In the future, if Arlington wants to add loyalty programs, advanced analytics, or other capabilities, it’s often as simple as installing an app or plugin. The business is no longer boxed in by the limits of an aging platform.
Peace of Mind: Lastly, migrating to a modern platform gives the owners peace of mind. Security patches, hosting, and PCI compliance are managed by Shopify. Arlington’s team can focus on marketing their products and serving customers, rather than worrying about website outages or software upgrades. The reliability of the new setup means less firefighting and more forward planning.
By solving the core problems – from technical integration to user experience – the Shopify migration empowered Arlington Power’s online business. It’s running smoother internally and delighting customers externally. The changes set the stage for potential sales growth and a higher lifetime customer value, as happy shoppers keep coming back. Arlington Power’s investment in a better platform is already paying off through operational efficiency and improved customer engagement.
Figure 4. Post Migration
Ready to Modernize Your Store?
Arlington Power’s story shows that migrating to Shopify can be a game-changer for businesses stuck on outdated e-commerce systems. Are you ready to do the same for your store?
Take the next step:
Download our FREE “Shopify Migration Checklist – a simple guide to help you plan a successful re-platforming (so you don’t overlook anything important).
Book a Free Consultation with our Shopify migration experts – get a personalized assessment of your current site and how we can help you upgrade it. We’ll talk through your specific challenges and goals, no strings attached.
Don’t let an outdated platform hold your business back. Whether you’re dealing with integration headaches, a clunky user experience, or just the sense that your website is not keeping up – a well-executed migration to Shopify can revitalize your online presence. Arlington Power made the leap and is now reaping the benefits in efficiency and customer satisfaction. Your company could be next.
Ready to unlock smoother operations and higher sales? Grab the checklist or schedule a consult today – and let’s write your own e-commerce success story. We’re here to help you every step of the way, from the initial migration to ongoing growth. (Your future customers – and your bottom line – will thank you!
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