PAIGE, a leading denim and apparel retailer, faced significant technical complexity due to their existing ecommerce architecture. Seeking a faster and more reliable online experience, they reimagined their ecommerce strategy by adopting a simpler headless tech stack—one powered by Shopify, Next.js, and Vercel—that ultimately boosted their Black Friday revenue by 22% and increased conversion rates by 76%.
Link to headingOvercoming inherited complexity
When Director of Engineering Michael La Colla joined PAIGE, he inherited a overly complicated and nuanced system built on Commercetools, Angular, and Bloomreach.
Despite this being a headless approach, integration and data syncing issues plagued the company’s technical capabilities and omnichannel goals. These limitations slowed innovation, delayed development, and created operational challenges across departments. PAIGE’s priority became clear: simplify their technology stack.
Link to headingSimplifying through complete re-architecture
Michael and the team at PAIGE chose to re-architect their ecommerce platform instead of simply redesigning the site. They worked across departments to surface key issues such as outdated Angular code, operational friction, and complex vendor integrations, using that alignment to streamline their tooling decisions and remove unnecessary dependencies.
Their new architecture resolved existing limitations across departments and enabled sustainable growth:
Shopify: Chosen as the commerce foundation for its best-in-class omnichannel capabilities integrating across ecommerce, retail, fulfillment, customer service and marketing.
Next.js: Offered Server-side Rendering (SSR), resolved SEO issues previously encountered with Angular, aligned PAIGE with current industry standards, and provided flexibility without vendor lock-in.
Vercel: Ensured reliable user experiences even during peak traffic periods with automated deployments, global CDN, and simplified developer experience through features like preview deployments and instant rollbacks, while also providing continuous access to Next.js and React expertise.
Link to headingRecord-breaking Black Friday performance
The new PAIGE website launched months before Black Friday, with rigorous stress-testing ensuring reliable performance. The results demonstrated clear success, creating what could be described as a “blissfully boring” Black Friday–one with record-breaking performance and without any incidents:
22% increase in traffic with no downtime, a significant improvement over previous years
76% increase in conversion rates
24% increase in average orders per minute
An overall increase of 22% in revenue during Black Friday Cyber Monday
The website handled it [Black Friday] with no performance issues. The leadership group chat was silent–blissfully boring. Record-breaking year.Michael La Colla Director of Engineering at PAIGE
Link to headingExpanding omnichannel capabilities
PAIGE’s simplified tech stack built on Shopify and Vercel is driving continued innovation, enabling rapid expansion of multi-channel features, including buy-online, fulfill-from-store, and the introduction of a new loyalty program. Improved UX/UI design and faster site performance have also led to sustained conversion increases and enhanced customer engagement.
With a stable and flexible foundation, PAIGE can now quickly implement new features and respond promptly to business requests, staying ahead of customer expectations and market trends. PAIGE is well-positioned for future peak seasons and beyond.
PAIGE’s story is a model for retail brands ready to build what’s next: Shopify as the commerce backbone, with Vercel delivering the performance and reliability that turns traffic into revenue.
How Paige exceeded their Black Friday goals with Next.js, Vercel, and Shopify
In this recorded session, hear from PAIGE's Director of Engineering to learn how a headless tech stack with Next.js, Vercel, and Shopify helped them exceed their Black Friday-Cyber Monday 2024 goals.
Watch the online event