Thankyou's DTC Transformation: Empowering impact through every purchase

Background

Convert Digital recently helped Thankyou launch their new ecommerce site, powered by Shopify Plus. The result is a sleek, customer-centric website reflecting Thankyou’s mission to end extreme poverty while delivering a seamless, top-quality shopping experience.

View the site here.

The Vision

Thankyou is a social enterprise committed to creating a world where no one lives in extreme poverty. Their product range, from body wash and baby wipes to natural deodorant and universal cleaner, is designed to be kind to humans and the planet. Every cent left after costs goes towards ending extreme poverty.

In 2023, Thankyou set out to rebrand and launch a new online store to better connect with its customers and further its mission. They brought in Pattern to help plan the launch strategy and support their growth through ongoing management of their D2C channel.

Before this transformation, Thankyou’s website only sold their book, Chapter One. With the rebrand, Thankyou sought to launch a fully-fledged ecommerce experience to sell all its products directly to consumers. Their existing platform wasn’t equipped for this shift, and they needed a website that could scale with their vision.

Pattern introduced their long-time partner, Convert Digital, to lead the technical build of their new website with best-in-class ecommerce capability, while retaining the power of Thankyou’s brand storytelling.

"When we met Convert Digital, the brief was simple: we need to win in ecommerce."

Daniel Flynn (Founder, Thankyou)

Key Focus Areas

Building a Best-in-Class Experience: Convert Digital led the technical design and build of Thankyou’s new Shopify Plus website, balancing ecommerce best practices with the brand’s storytelling focus. The chosen tech stack included: Shopify Plus, Yopto, Klaviyo and Zendesk.

Website Redesign: In partnership with Pattern and Thankyou’s design agency Marx Design, Convert Digital redesigned the Shopify website, focusing on incorporating best-in-class ecommerce functionality as the top priority. This included optimising the site for performance, seamless navigation, and improving the checkout process. Storytelling remained a secondary but important element, communicating the brand’s mission effectively.

Custom Product Selection Tool: To further personalise the shopping experience, the team developed a custom product selection tool. This feature allowed users to tailor their purchases, improving flexibility and engagement. It was central to improving the customer journey and encouraging product discovery.

Pay-What-You-Want Campaigns: Convert Digital solved technical challenges in expanding the pay-what-you-want model, previously used only for the ‘Chapter One’ book. This was expanded to products like the glass forever bottles, requiring dynamic pricing and inventory management.

Checkout Upsell: The upsell feature at checkout for the ‘Chapter One’ book was integrated to encourage additional purchases during the shopping experience.

Future-Proofing for Global Expansion: One of the main goals was to ensure the site was built for international scalability. The transition to Shopify Plus enabled Thankyou to benefit from Shopify’s continuous innovations and prepared the brand for growth beyond the Australian market.

Impact

The launch of Thankyou’s new Shopify Plus-powered platform exceeded expectations, delivering an ecommerce experience tailored to both commercial goals and mission-driven storytelling.

Key outcomes included:

• Above-forecast conversion rates: Outperforming initial forecast based on benchmark retail conversion rates.

• Increased customer engagement: With the addition of features like the build-your-own subscription tool and the pay-what-you-want upsell, customers could interact with the brand in new ways, furthering their connection to Thankyou’s mission.

• Building a direct relationship with customers: Before the platform launch, Thankyou had little data on who their customers were due to their reliance on grocery store sales. Now, with a transactional website, they have gained direct access to valuable customer insights.

The project's success was measured not only by the numbers but also by the seamless collaboration between the teams at Convert Digital and Pattern.

"It was a match made in ecommerce heaven, a partnership between Pattern and Convert that brought Thankyou’s dream to life. Together, we created a platform built for growth and social impact." – Kathryn Coleman (Head of Customer Marketing at Pattern)

"Achieving the balance between brand and ecommerce best practice principles—while the brand side is a softer measure— is still crucial. Dan (Founder of Thankyou) is happy with the result, and that’s a win. The conversion rates exceeded our forecast based on benchmark retail conversion rates." (Tania Knight, Director of Ecommerce at Pattern)

"It was quite an ambitious launch, but I’m proud of everyone’s work. I’m excited for the future."

Daniel Flynn (Founder, Thankyou)

Future Plans

With the support of Convert Digital and Pattern, Thankyou is focused on continuously improving its website and the customer experience, aiming to change the game for its customers and impact partners.

“We're interested in websites that convey the heartbeat of a brand. And so we still think from a storytelling perspective and that sense of movement and momentum, there's a bit more to be added in." – Daniel Flynn (Founder, Thankyou)