Katalyst

Migrating Katalyst’s headless storefront to a Shopify theme build

Commerce

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Our Impact

We helped Katalyst replace their Builder.io headless frontend with a Shopify Liquid-based theme site to boost site performance and simplify store management.

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Moving from a headless CMS to Shopify lowered their total cost of ownership and prioritized speed, integrations, and scaling
We delivered their new site in less than 1 month and launched for the Black Friday season
The relaunch contributed to increased holiday sales and helped reduce their customer acquisition costs by 70%

Katalyst is a lightweight full-body workout suit and an investment in your strength.

Katalyst has developed an elite full-body workout system that uses Electro Muscle Stimulation (EMS) technology to help users improve their fitness. Combining their patent-pending training system and full-body suit, they deliver specially-tuned, low frequency impulses to major muscle groups, multiplying the results of simple, body weight movement exercises.

THE VISION
‍
The Katalyst team wanted to improve their site performance, simplify their maintenance and updates, and ensure their elevated storefront was for the upcoming Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) season.

Switching from a headless CMS to a Shopify Liquid storefront would streamline their store management, boost their site performance, and leverage Shopify’s robust ecosystem and support. Though headless solutions can be unmatched for customization and flexibility, Shopify Liquid is often the superior choice for brands prioritizing speed, simplicity, and seamless integration.

WHY LAZER?
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Katalyst had been told they couldn’t finish this overhaul before BFCM — Lazer knew that we could. With our vast experience in commerce and the Shopify ecosystem, we knew we could build fast and make improvements to their commerce experience on a tight deadline.

Visit Katalyst

platform

Web
Shopify
Builder.io

Expertise

UI/UX Design
Frontend Development

Stage

Series A

Investors

Stripes
Incisive Ventures
Unlock Venture Partners

Approach

Rebuilding their headless site as a Shopify theme

We replaced their Builder.io headless CMS with a Shopify Liquid-based themed site that closely matches the style, appearance, and functionality of the previous site.

We analyzed the headless site build and broke the content down into reusable sections that would allow us to quickly build the new theme in Shopify and ensure that it can be easily maintained going forward.

While applying the headless store’s UX, UI, and functionality to the new themed storefront, we identified opportunities to improve the UX, designed those improvements, and implemented them in the theme.

The product page design for the Katalyst web storefront, displayed in both desktop and mobile views.

Two desktop views of the Katalyst web storefront, displaying product and feature photos and descriptions.

Approach

Streamlining site content with reusable design elements

We migrated content pages from the existing headless store to Shopify using sections, blocks, and the theme customizer.

We broke the design down into reusable patterns, colours, and other styles that will be easy to refer to and reuse in the future. The simplified content was also easier to test, preview, and tweak ahead of launch.

Approach

Packaging subscriptions with physical products

Katalyst’s full-body suit is a unique product that needs to be associated with a subscription purchase.

We combined Recharge subscriptions with the suit purchase, and tied the subscription data to their iOS app where users manage their workout. We also accommodate for third-party payment methods by having a separate checkout flow that makes sure the subscription data will make it to Recharge.

The Katalyst full-body suit’s product page displayed in desktop and mobile, and the checkout page in mobile view.

Approach

Crushing Black Friday launch and ensuring a smooth transition

We trained the Katalyst team on their new content management features, making it easy for any member of their team to maintain it going forward.

The new theme launch for Black Friday went very smoothly; it was a seamless transition with no downtime and we continued to provide support post-launch. In addition to the theme change, we worked throughout to configure and reconfigure Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to support Katalyst’s reporting requirements.

The Katalyst website in desktop view, featuring their mobile app for guided workouts.

With an extremely fast build and successful launch, our work on Katalyst’s site helped increase their sales during the key BFCM season.

The switch from headless to Liquid was the right move for their business, providing a reliable, performant storefront without a ton of technical overhead. We trained their team to manage their site content, and Shopify’s user-friendly admin and features make that easy to pick up and maintain.

With access to such a robust ecosystem and new features, they can now scale and grow their business much more quickly. We’ve continued to support their initiatives and look forward to creating more magic with them on Shopify!

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