Pier 1 Imports

Client Challenge

Pier 1 Imports is the eighth-largest furniture retailer in the United States. In August 2019, Pier 1 Imports recruited Bytelion to optimize their eCommerce platform. Looking for specific recommendations, Pier 1 consulted Bytelion’s team of experts for user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) improvements to their eCommerce platform.

Bytelion quickly ramped up onto the project and delivered an outsized impact. Through their commitment to adaptation and efficiency, Bytelion implemented UI improvements, provided rapid code deployments, and improved internal workflows.

Bytelion’s Solution

Bytelion was critical in efforts to overhaul the existing user interface of Pier 1’s eCommerce platform and optimize the user experience. They learned a fully-customized Salesforce Commerce Cloud platform and navigated complex development systems. Bytelion accomplished significant strides in software development that has transformed the UX and contributed to increasing eCommerce revenue at Pier 1. The Bytelion team developed on the frontend and backend, automated quality assurance (QA) testing, and implemented best technical and organizational practices across the project.

The platform is hosted and deployed in Salesforce Commerce Cloud. The backend is a combination of Javascript and Demandware script (Salesforce’s version of Javascript). The frontend is a combination of JavaScript and an ISML language. This setup required the team to juggle and maintain multiple dependencies on the front end. They leveraged a continuous integration/deployment solution to maintain a rolling release schedule. Bytelion optimized solutions within broad generic framework and tech stack, working around issues such as legacy integrations, technical debt, and loose conventions.

Featured Work

• Added dynamic promotional prices display on the grid and product details page (PDP) by working across multiple ISML templates, calling to the pricing engine in real-time and connecting to the promotion engine. Bytelion also extended Pier 1’s Business Manager that enables the Pier 1 marketing staff to update promotions more easily.
• Implemented greenfield development to create a custom merchant tool as a Business Manager module within Pier 1’s Business Manager by leveraging Riot.js, jQuery and ISML. This enables a hover-to-zoom animation that Pier 1 vendors can customize for every product they list on the website.
• Achieved an improved user experience within the platform’s checkout section using a persistent login feature.  Now logged-in users have a more streamlined experience while interacting with their basket, as well as their saved items.
• Elegantly integrated A/B tests into all released increments using Monetate where needed.
• The team mitigated many of the inevitable communication challenges that come with working in a large, dispersed team of remote stakeholders by being highly proactive and frequently coordinating their work with everyone involved.

• Platform & UX Design
• Web App