Carriage Trade

Too Glam To Stay Basic

As Toronto’s destination for refined womenswear, Carriage Trade brings together leading fashion designers with premium service that includes private styling sessions and exclusive client events.


Their earlier transition from Squarespace to Shopify in 2019 supported only the most essential online shopping features. As the brand expanded, the existing site began to show its limitations. Merchandising lacked flexibility, appointments relied on separate tools, and the mobile experience felt outdated when compared to other premium fashion retailers.

The team needed a complete rebuild using Shopify’s latest capabilities to achieve greater speed, creative freedom, and a digital experience that reflects the boutique’s elevated reputation.

Main Stack

The Brand

Carriage Trade is a Toronto-based luxury womenswear boutique offering a refined mix of modern and classic fashion. Known for its sharp curation, the boutique features elevated pieces that balance sophistication with style-forward appeal. From tailored essentials to statement silhouettes, Carriage Trade reflects decades of industry insight and a deep connection to its clientele. The experience is personal, the selection intentional, and the focus always on quality and longevity.

The Challenge

1. Disconnected Touchpoints

   Clients had to use different tools to shop, book styling sessions, and RSVP for events, making the process more time consuming and less convenient.

2. Mobile Friction

   Key navigation elements only appeared on hover, which didn’t translate well to touchscreens. Combined with cramped product pages, the mobile experience felt disconnected and was hard to use.

3. Underleveraged Checkout Flow

   Without personalized cross sells, added perks, or clear incentives like free shipping or gift wrap, valuable opportunities to increase order size and enhance the customer experience were missed.

All Function, No Fuss

Concierge Grade Stylist Appointment Builder

Challenge

Booking a styling session meant calling the store or filling out a separate form, which made it harder for clients to stay engaged online.

Solution

A calendar style pop up, built using Shopify Metafields and Functions, lets clients choose a date, stylist, and time in just a couple of taps. The appointment is added as a zero dollar product directly to the cart.

Benefit

Clients can book an appointment, explore lookbooks, and continue shopping all in one place. The checkout confirms both the purchase and the appointment in a single step.

Results

Styling appointments booked online tripled. Forty percent of bookings included merchandise in the same order.

Quick Shop + Variant Hover Selector

Challenge

With up to 15 size and color options per item, clients had to load full product pages just to view variants. This slowed down browsing and made it harder to explore collections.

Solution

We added size swatches and a quick shop modal that shows product images, available variants, and wishlist options right from the collection page.

Benefit

Clients can add to cart or save items without leaving the collection, making it easier to keep shopping without losing their place.

Results

Cart adds from collection pages increased by 18%, and bounce backs to category pages dropped by 9%.

Intelligent Cart Drawer & Incentive Engine

Challenge

The previous cart was just a static list of items with no added value, no upsell opportunities, and nothing that reflected the boutique shopping experience.

Solution

We added a dynamic cart drawer featuring a live free shipping tracker, personalized product recommendations, and easy access to premium add on’s like gift wrap and styling upgrades, all designed to elevate the checkout experience and increase order value.

Benefit

Encourages higher spend in a natural way while highlighting premium services.

Results

Average order value rose by 22%, and checkouts initiated increased by 26%.

PDP Local Pickup Availability

Challenge

Shoppers weren’t sure whether an item could be picked up in-store the same day, which led to hesitation on time-sensitive purchases and extra “is this available for pickup?” calls.

Solution

We implemented Shopify’s native Pickup Availability on the PDP (and Quick View), tied to the selected variant and store location. An inline status (“Available to pick up at store”) opens a lightweight Details modal with the store address, typical readiness time, and clear next steps.

Benefit

Local customers get instant clarity—no guessing, no phone calls—so last-minute gifts and try-on visits move forward with confidence.

Results

Fewer support requests about pickup timing and a noticeable lift in PDP-to-cart adds from nearby shoppers.

Website Redesign

The updated design brings shopping, booking, and storytelling into one streamlined Shopify 2.0 theme. Mobile navigation is built for ease, with tap friendly controls, variant previews on hover, and rich galleries that make the site feel like a high end catalog. Load times stay fast, even on mobile.

Business Impact:

The team saves time each week with automated appointment syncing and smart shipping rules. On the sales side, the site converts 23 percent more mobile visitors and boosts high margin baskets through targeted incentives. Better experience, stronger loyalty, and higher average order value, all with less support effort.

The Result? Pure Carriage

The Carriage Trade rebuild shows that boutique luxury and high performing UX can go hand in hand. By combining appointment booking, smart merchandising, and a thoughtfully designed cart, we created a storefront that feels like a personal shopper, both online and in store.