Hush hits record £1m sales in one day with new mobile-first e-commerce platform

British women's fashion and lifestyle brand Hush hit a record £1m sales in one day just a month after it developed a new mobile-first e-commerce platform with Astound Commerce UK.

Founded in 2003, Hush began as a homeward brand and has gone on to develop a fully fledged fashion and lifestyle offer sold via its own online channel, via a pop-up shops and concessions in John Lewis. It is run by founder Mandy Watkins and her husband Richard Youngman and it recently secured backing from retail-specialist private equity house True.

With mobile traffic and transactions in the UK predicted to continue growing at a rate of 16% annually, eventually overtaking desktop sales by 2023, according to Worldpay, Hush wanted to build a seamless mobile-first e-commerce experience that offered a frictionless purchasing journey while also allowing customers to immerse themselves in the brand via its editorial content.

Additionally, Hush wanted to create a stand-alone international site to improve accessibility to the global market while providing a personalised customer experience (CX) for international customers.

Hush selected the Salesforce Commerce Cloud (SFCC) platform and hired Astound Commerce to implement the platform and maximise its performance, following a five-way pitch. Astound Commerce designed and delivered the solution, configuring and integrating both SFCC and multiple third-party applications across both sites, to provide improved online experiences for shoppers.

The resulting site was designed "with the handheld user in mind" making the site six-times faster for those browsing via mobile, and Hush has also introduced digital payment and wallet service Apple Pay for increased IOS convenience.

Astound Commerce worked closely with the cross-border selling specialist vendor, Global-e, on the development of the stand-alone international site which allows shoppers across the world to pay in local currency and use local delivery services for fulfilment.

The two sites went live in June and despite the pandemic, sales hit record levels. Hush managing director said: "Astound Commerce are a trusted partner who deliver best-in-breed solutions while also being a pleasure to work with. Despite the challenges of delivering the final stages of the project during lockdown the Astound team worked tirelessly to minimise delays while providing the highest levels of consultancy and technical expertise.

“To see such impressive returns on our investment so quickly, with record daily sales exceeding £1m, just one month on from going live, is testament to the importance of working with an expert digital partner, such as Astound, to ensure the long-term success of our business,” Youngman added.

Astound Commerce will manage support and upgrades moving forward with planning for the second phase of the project, the integration of a new ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system, already underway.

Astound Commerce UK MD, Terry Hunter, commented: “We are delighted to be working with the team at Hush to help guide and shape their ongoing digital transformation. This is a brand that has intuitively and organically nurtured a dedicated and loyal customer base, while at the same time recognising the need to address the rapidly evolving digital demands of the consumer and hard-bake these into their digital strategy for long-term success.”