Sleefs is a South Florida-based sportswear brand, selling equipment and apparel for football, basketball, baseball, soccer and more.
Florida-based Shopify brand Sleefs had a mobile app built and managed through a popular Shopify app builder. Their customers had no problems with the app, but operationally, it was becoming a pain for their small team to manage.
When the platform they used announced they were changing their pricing model, they decided it was time to move their app to a new platform, one that would be cheaper and easier to manage.
We talked to Jamie, the company’s CEO, about their story and why MobiLoud proved to be a better option.
About Sleefs
Sleefs is a brand that specializes in sportswear, for Football, Basketball, Baseball, Lacrosse, Soccer and more.
They started exclusively selling arm sleeves, and now stock a range of products including headbands, visors, leg sleeves, socks, mouthguards, compression tights, sports underwear and jewelry.
One of the brand’s co-founders came from a graphic design background. This shows in their website’s UI, which is unique, visually striking and really stands out from the average Shopify brand.
Unfortunately, this was difficult to recreate with an app builder. Though they were able to build an app that worked alright for their customers, operationally it was a mess.
It took double the effort any time they needed to make changes, because they had to make these changes twice; once for the website, then again for the app.
“We don’t want to have to manage two different UX, UIs. It's just a pain to have to basically have to manage two different sites.”
The Challenge
Duplication of effort had been a pain point for Jamie and the Sleefs team for a while. When the app builder they were using announced pricing changes, which included them charging a percentage of all in-app sales, they decided the time was right to move.
Jamie did briefly consider doing a custom app, but as with most ecommerce brands, the benefits they would get did not make up for the extra expense and hassle that came along with it.
“We did consider building a custom app. But we don't have a developer we're comfortable with, and having to go through iterations and then parts not working… and as a small business, it's just not worth it.”
If they were going to use another app builder or website-to-app solution, however, they needed something where they would only manage one code base, and ideally one that would let them replicate their custom-designed UI in the app.
The Solution
MobiLoud came along as the perfect solution for all of Sleefs’ pain points with their app.
The key element we were able to offer them was a way to maintain their app and website at the same time, with no duplication of effort.
Each time they make a change to the website, the app updates automatically. Their workload has been cut in half.
In addition, we let them take their website’s UI and fully translate it to the app, without the sacrifices they had to make with their previous app provider.
"There is a design factor, with our original app we were a little bit limited. We worked with what we had, but being able to replicate our design is part of the reason why we're with you guys.”
This included some advanced features, such as a custom product configurator they have for certain products on their site.
They used an app to build this feature, which most app builders don’t integrate with. MobiLoud was the only solution that allows this feature to work in the app, the same as it does on the Sleefs website.
Results
"Every time we had a promotion or we had, you know, to change the design, or the new collection or whatever, we had to maintain two different sites, and we're a small company. So the more time that we can save, the better".
"The advantage is that they're seeing the site as it is. They don't feel a difference whether on their app or the site. And we have seen no comments of the change in the app, no complaints, or people saying that it's better, that it's worse. People are using it. They're buying. So, if it seems like a seamless transition, then all the better".
Results have been consistent since migrating their app, which is a big win considering the reduced overhead.
It adds up more if you take the price changes into account from their previous app provider. They would have been paying a success fee (a percentage of their in-app sales), alongside the labor cost of managing two separate platforms.
Now they manage only one codebase, they don’t pay more for sales they get through the app, and the app experience is incrementally better and more consistent with their brilliant web UI.
Why MobiLoud is the Best Way for Ecommerce Brands to Launch Apps
MobiLoud lets Shopify stores (and stores on any other platform, including custom-built sites like Tobi), fully convert their store to mobile apps, keeping all their features, UI, UX and everything that makes their website great.
This comes with minimal effort, and best of all, very low overhead after launching. You don’t need to manage two separate platforms, and our team is on hand to handle the technical app maintenance and updates.
We don’t take a percentage of your app’s revenue either. It’s simple, cost-effective, and the best way to have an app if you’re an ecommerce company.
You can find more stories about ecommerce brands that used MobiLoud to build successful, revenue-generating apps here, including rue21, Rainbow Shops, John Varvatos and more.
If you’re ready to see how MobiLoud can help you grow your business without needless complexity, schedule a consultation now and talk with one of our team of app experts.
Sleefs is a South Florida-based sportswear brand, selling equipment and apparel for football, basketball, baseball, soccer and more.
