The Ultimate Shopify Optimization Guide: How We Helped Brochu Walker Increase AOV by 16% and CVR by 37% in 30 Days

Introduction: Why Performance Optimization Matters for Shopify Merchants

If you're running a Shopify store generating $20M+ in annual revenue, you already know that your e-commerce site is the lifeblood of your business. What you might not realize is just how much money you're leaving on the table due to performance issues that are hiding in plain sight. I've spent years working with brands at this revenue level, and I consistently see the same pattern: technical and user experience issues silently eroding conversion rates and revenue potential.

At Gamma Waves, we've seen it time and again with our clients—site speed, user experience, and conversion optimization are the critical levers that can unlock millions in additional revenue. Even minor inefficiencies in page load times, checkout flow, or product presentation can cost you dearly in lost sales and frustrated customers. The challenge is that these issues often don't announce themselves clearly. Instead, they manifest as "soft" problems: slightly elevated bounce rates, marginally lower conversion rates, or a vague sense that "the site feels slow."

The reality is simple but profound: the faster your site is, the higher your conversion rate will be. This has been proven time and again across e-commerce. Why? Because people—especially on mobile—have incredibly short attention spans. If they're waiting for a page to load or seeing content appear in blocky, broken ways, they're not going to stick around. They'll simply leave and find something elsewhere. This principle applies regardless of whether you're selling luxury fashion, wellness products, or home goods—speed and smooth experiences translate directly to revenue.

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Brochu Walker's Transformation

Let me share a perfect example of how these principles play out in the real world. Brochu Walker, a luxury fashion brand with a strong market presence, came to us when they recognized that their site performance wasn't matching their premium brand positioning. Their site was technically functional but underperforming in ways that were impacting their bottom line. They knew something was wrong but weren't sure exactly what needed fixing or how to prioritize improvements.

Over a focused 30-day sprint, we executed a targeted optimization strategy that led to remarkable results:

• 37% increase in Conversion Rate (CVR)** — More visitors completed purchases

• 16% increase in Average Order Value (AOV)** — Each customer spent more

• 40% reduction in page load time** — Creating a dramatically smoother experience

• Significant decrease in bounce rate** — Keeping potential customers engaged longer

To put these numbers in perspective, for a store doing $20M annually, a 37% increase in conversion rate could translate to an additional $7.4M in annual revenue** without spending an extra dollar on marketing or customer acquisition. That's the power of optimization.

In this comprehensive guide, I'll walk you through exactly what we did to achieve these results—and how you can apply these same optimization strategies to your own Shopify store. I'll share the behind-the-scenes process we used, the specific technical improvements we made, and the conversion-focused adjustments that made the biggest difference. By the end, you'll have a clear roadmap for identifying and addressing the hidden issues that may be limiting your store's performance.

The Brochu Walker Case Study: A 30-Day Performance & CRO Sprint

Who is Brochu Walker?

Brochu Walker is a luxury apparel brand known for their sophisticated, European-inspired knitwear and relaxed West Coast aesthetic. Their products embody an effortless elegance that resonates with discerning customers who value both quality and style. The brand had built a strong following and was generating significant revenue, but they recognized that their digital experience wasn't fully aligned with their premium positioning.

Like many successful brands that grow rapidly, Brochu Walker had focused primarily on product development, brand building, and marketing—all crucial elements of their success. However, as they scaled beyond $20M in annual revenue, they began to realize that optimizing their digital experience could be a major growth lever. They weren't wrong.

The Challenge: Hidden Performance Issues Limiting Growth

When Brochu Walker approached us, they weren't in crisis mode. Their business was solid, but they were experiencing some concerning trends and missed opportunities:

1. Slow site performance – High page load times were frustrating visitors and leading to abandoned sessions. This was particularly problematic on mobile, where the majority of their traffic was coming from. Their internal team had noticed the slowness but didn't have the technical expertise to diagnose the root causes.

2. Conversion rate drop-offs – Users were engaging with their products but not converting at the rate they should have been. The path from product discovery to purchase was filled with unnecessary friction points that were interrupting the customer journey. Their analytics showed that people were viewing multiple products but abandoning carts at a higher rate than industry benchmarks.

3. Lower-than-expected AOV – Despite having premium products with higher price points, their average order value was stagnant, indicating missed opportunities for upselling and cross-selling. Their merchandising strategy wasn't effectively translating to the digital environment.

4. Mobile optimization gaps – With over 70% of their traffic coming from mobile devices, any friction in the mobile experience was having an outsized impact on overall performance. Mobile conversion rates were significantly lower than desktop, beyond what would be considered normal.

5. Technical debt accumulation – As their site had evolved over time, with various developers making changes and adding features, they had accumulated technical debt that was weighing down performance. This manifested in inconsistent behaviors across the site and increasingly complex code.

These challenges should sound familiar to many Shopify merchants in the $20M+ revenue range. Like Brochu Walker, you may have built your site with various partners over time—perhaps starting with a freelancer, then working with an agency for a redesign, adding apps to extend functionality, and making incremental changes as needs arose. This organic growth approach is common, but it often results in a site that's less than optimal from a performance and conversion perspective.

What's more, like most brands at this level, Brochu Walker didn't have an in-house development team with the specialized expertise needed to address these issues comprehensively. They had been working with freelance developers and agencies who had created an aesthetically pleasing site but hadn't optimized it for performance or conversion. Their site looked great but wasn't performing to its full potential.

Our Solution: A Prioritized Performance Optimization Strategy

When we began working with Brochu Walker, our first step wasn't to jump into making changes. Instead, we conducted a comprehensive audit of their site to understand exactly what was happening beneath the surface. This audit included:

• Technical performance analysis using specialized tools to identify bottlenecks

• User experience evaluation to find friction points in the customer journey

• Analytics deep-dive to understand visitor behavior patterns

• Cross-device testing to ensure consistent experiences across platforms

• Competitive benchmarking to establish relevant industry standards

This diagnostic phase revealed dozens of specific issues, but rather than trying to fix everything at once, we prioritized improvements based on potential impact and implementation complexity. We wanted to deliver significant results quickly, so we focused on three core areas that would drive the biggest gains in the shortest amount of time:

Top Priority: Performance Optimization (Technical Fixes)

• Addressing code-level issues affecting site speed

• Optimizing image and media delivery

• Streamlining third-party scripts and apps

• Fixing critical rendering path issues

• Implementing efficient caching strategies

The key to our success with Brochu Walker—and what makes our approach different—is that we don't just identify problems; we prioritize solutions based on impact and implement them with precision. Many agencies will provide a lengthy audit report with dozens of recommendations but no clear path to implementation. We take a different approach, focusing on high-impact changes that can be executed quickly to deliver immediate results.

I'll break down exactly what we did in each area, the specific changes we made, and the results they delivered. More importantly, I'll explain how these same principles can be applied to your Shopify store, regardless of your specific product category.

Step-by-Step Optimization Framework

Performance Optimization: Reducing Page Load Time by 40%

Why This Matters to Your Bottom Line

Let me be crystal clear about why site speed is so critical for your Shopify store. This isn't just a technical consideration—it's fundamentally tied to your revenue:

• Google research shows that a 1-second delay in load time can reduce conversions by 7%

• 53% of mobile users abandon sites** that take longer than 3 seconds to load

• Each 100ms of improved load time resulted in a 1% revenue increase for Amazon

• Slow-loading sites waste your advertising dollars by driving traffic to suboptimal experiences

• Google's ranking algorithm now directly factors in page speed, affecting your organic visibility

• For a store doing $20M+ annually, each second of improved load time can translate to hundreds of thousands in additional revenue

Think about your own behavior when shopping online. If you click on a product and the page takes more than a few seconds to load, what do you do? Most likely, you hit the back button and try somewhere else. Your customers are no different.

When your site loads quickly, shoppers aren't waiting—they're shopping. They're scrolling and seeing all your products without interruption. The faster your site, the more likely they are to add items to their cart and complete checkout. Speed creates momentum in the shopping journey, while delays create opportunities for distraction and abandonment.

What We Found at Brochu Walker

During our initial audit, we discovered that Brochu Walker's site was suffering from several common performance issues that were significantly impacting user experience:

• Multiple unused or redundant Shopify apps adding unnecessary code bloat. We found 12 installed apps, but only 7 were actually being used regularly. The others were either abandoned experiments or had been replaced with newer solutions but never properly removed.

• Unoptimized images that were much larger than needed, especially on mobile. Many product images were being served at 2000x2000 pixels or larger, when 1200x1200 would have been more than sufficient for desktop, and 800x800 for mobile. This was creating massive unnecessary data transfer.

• Excessive JavaScript that was blocking rendering and slowing down interactions. The site was loading multiple versions of jQuery, had redundant scripts, and was executing unnecessary code on every page.

• Third-party scripts loading in an unoptimized sequence, blocking critical rendering paths. Scripts for analytics, marketing tags, and various tools were loading synchronously when they could have been deferred or loaded asynchronously.

• A custom store locator widget that was taking a staggering 20 seconds to load because it was pulling in map data for every store location on initial page load rather than on demand.

• Inefficient caching policies that were causing browsers to download the same resources repeatedly rather than using locally cached versions.

These issues weren't immediately visible to the Brochu Walker team—they just knew their site felt "slow." This is a common scenario we encounter with our clients. The technical debt accumulates gradually, with each new feature or app adding a little more weight to the site until it reaches a tipping point where performance noticeably suffers. Our technical audit pinpointed exactly what was causing the problems and prioritized the fixes that would make the biggest difference.

Key Fixes We Implemented:

✅ Eliminated Unnecessary Shopify Apps & Third-Party Scripts

One of the most common issues we see with Shopify stores is app overload. Many merchants don't realize that every app they install adds extra requests to the server, slowing down their site. It's very similar to how having too many apps open on your phone drains your battery and makes everything run more slowly.

For Brochu Walker, we took a systematic approach to app optimization:

• Conducted a full app audit to identify which apps were actually being used and which were just creating bloat

• Removed 7 unused apps that were still loading scripts on every page, even though their functionality wasn't being utilized

• Discovered that two apps were performing nearly identical functions and consolidated them

• Replaced a popular but performance-heavy upsell app with a lightweight custom solution that delivered the same functionality with 80% less code

• Prioritized the loading sequence of essential third-party scripts to ensure critical content could load first

We often hear merchants say, "But I need all my apps for my store to function properly!" In reality, many apps are installed as experiments or for short-term needs and then forgotten. These abandoned apps continue running in the background, unintentionally decreasing your site speed without providing any benefit. For instance, we commonly find apps for past holiday promotions, discontinued marketing campaigns, or features that were tested but never fully implemented.

Even for necessary apps, there's almost always a way to optimize their impact on performance. For example, we might:

• Configure apps to load only on the pages where they're needed (not globally)

• Implement proper caching strategies for app resources

• Replace heavy third-party solutions with lighter custom implementations when appropriate

• Consolidate functionality to reduce the total number of apps

  
  

✅ Optimized Images & Media for Faster Load Speeds

Product imagery is critical for conversion, especially for fashion brands like Brochu Walker. However, unoptimized images are one of the biggest conversion killers we encounter. Many merchants don't realize that the beautiful high-resolution images from their photo shoots need to be properly formatted and optimized for web use.

For Brochu Walker, we implemented a comprehensive image optimization strategy:

• Converted all product images to WebP format, reducing file sizes by 30-40% without any perceptible quality loss

• Implemented lazy loading to ensure only visible assets load initially, with additional images loading as the user scrolls

• Created properly sized image variants for different devices (no more serving desktop-sized images to mobile users)

• Optimized the delivery sequence so the most important visual elements load first

• Added proper image dimension attributes to prevent layout shifts during page load

Here's a specific example of the impact for another client we took through this same process: One of their collection pages had 32 product images that were collectively 12.8MB in size. After our optimization, the same page with the same visual quality was just 3.2MB—a 75% reduction. This translated to the page loading in 2.1 seconds instead of 8.3 seconds on a standard mobile connection.

Let me emphasize this point: Your images don't have to look any different or be any lower quality to load faster. Proper image optimization is about serving the right format, dimensions, and compression level for each device and context. This is a technical challenge, not a design compromise.

✅ JavaScript & CSS Minification and Optimization

The code running your store has a massive impact on performance, particularly JavaScript (which controls functionality) and CSS (which controls appearance). Many Shopify themes and custom developments accumulate code bloat over time as features are added and changes are made.

For Brochu Walker, we conducted a thorough code audit and optimization:

• Identified and fixed JavaScript that was blocking page rendering, allowing content to appear more quickly

• Consolidated and minified CSS files to reduce their size by 35%, which meant faster styling application

• Removed unused code that was adding unnecessary weight to every page, including legacy code from previous versions of the site

• Improved the loading sequence of critical resources to ensure the most important elements loaded first

• Implemented code splitting to load only the JavaScript needed for each specific page

• Fixed render-blocking issues that were preventing content from displaying until all scripts had loaded

A specific example of what we found: Their theme was loading five different versions of a slider script, but only one was actually being used. Simply eliminating the redundant scripts improved page interaction times significantly — a small change with a big impact on user experience.

✅ Improved Mobile Responsiveness

With over 70% of Brochu Walker's traffic coming from mobile devices, mobile optimization was crucial for their overall performance. Many Shopify merchants underestimate the importance of mobile-specific optimizations, assuming that a "responsive" theme automatically means a good mobile experience. In reality, mobile users have different needs, behaviors, and technical constraints that require specific consideration.

For Brochu Walker, our mobile optimizations included:

• Simplified mobile layouts to improve load times on slower connections and smaller screens

• Removed unnecessary animations that were causing lag on mobile devices, particularly on older phones

• Ensured that touch targets (buttons, links) were appropriately sized for tapping (at least 44x44 pixels)

• Optimized product image galleries for smoother mobile browsing with touch-friendly controls

• Implemented mobile-specific navigation patterns that were easier to use with one hand

• Adjusted font sizes and spacing for better readability on smaller screens

• Created custom mobile checkout flows with larger form fields and simplified inputs

One specific issue we found and fixed: On mobile, their filters couldn't be cleared once applied, forcing users to reload the page to start over. This seemingly minor bug was causing significant frustration and abandoned shopping sessions. The fix took less than an hour to implement but had an immediate positive impact on mobile conversion rates.

These technical improvements delivered immediate results, with page load times decreasing by 40% across the site. This created the foundation for all our conversion rate optimizations, because as we like to say: "You can't convert visitors who don't stick around long enough for the page to load."

The Results: Real Impact in Just 30 Days

The comprehensive optimization strategy we implemented for Brochu Walker delivered impressive results in a remarkably short timeframe:

• 37% increase in Conversion Rate (CVR) – More visitors became customers, translating to substantially higher revenue without increased marketing spend

• 16% increase in Average Order Value (AOV) – Customers spent more per order, improving profitability and efficiency

• 40% reduction in page load time – Creating a faster, smoother experience that kept customers engaged

• Significant decrease in bounce rate – Keeping more potential customers in the shopping journey

• 23% increase in pages per session – Customers explored more products, indicating higher engagement

• 18% improvement in mobile conversion rate – Narrowing the gap between desktop and mobile performance

• 27% decrease in cart abandonment – Completing more sales from the same number of interested customers

Let me emphasize what these numbers mean in real business terms: For a business doing $20M annually, these improvements could potentially translate to an additional $8.5M in annual revenue without spending an extra dollar on customer acquisition. That's the power of optimization.

What's particularly notable about these results is that they were achieved during a 30-day sprint. Most of our clients see continued improvement beyond these initial results as we refine and extend the optimization strategy based on ongoing data analysis and customer feedback.

Behind the Numbers: Why This Approach Works

The Brochu Walker case study illustrates several key principles that apply to all high-performing Shopify stores:

1. Technical performance creates the foundation for conversion. No amount of beautiful design or compelling copy can overcome the friction created by a slow-loading site.

2. Customers shop differently on mobile than desktop. Mobile optimization isn't just about making the same experience work on a smaller screen—it requires rethinking the entire customer journey for mobile contexts.

3. Removing friction matters more than adding features. Often, the most impactful improvements come from eliminating barriers in the existing experience rather than adding new functionality.

4. Data should drive decisions. When we let actual customer behavior guide our optimization priorities, we focus on changes that deliver real results rather than following general best practices.

5. Merchant tools are as important as customer-facing features. Giving the Brochu Walker team better control over their merchandising empowered them to adapt quickly to changing business needs without requiring developer intervention.

These principles guide our approach with all clients, regardless of their specific product category or business model. The technical, UX, and strategic elements we optimize follow consistent patterns across successful Shopify stores.

The Optimization Checklist: What You Can Implement Today

While every Shopify store is unique, there are fundamental optimization principles that apply across the board. Here's a checklist you can use to start improving your own store's performance:

Site Speed & Performance

• Test your site speed using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights and GTmetrix

• Audit your Shopify apps and eliminate any that aren't delivering value

• Compress all images using WebP format and implement lazy loading

• Minimize and optimize JavaScript and CSS files

• Evaluate third-party scripts and consider replacing heavy ones with custom solutions

• Ensure optimal loading sequence for critical page elements

• Implement browser caching best practices

• Check mobile performance specifically, as it often lags behind desktop

Also, while this checklist provides a starting point, the most impactful optimizations will always be those based on your specific data and customer behavior. What worked for Brochu Walker may not be exactly what your store needs, which is why a data-driven approach is essential.

Why Most Shopify Merchants Miss These Opportunities

You might be wondering why, if these optimizations can have such a dramatic impact, they aren't implemented on every Shopify store. In our experience working with dozens of high-revenue merchants, there are several common reasons:

1. Lack of specialized expertise: Most merchants don't have in-house teams with the specific technical and CRO skills required to identify and fix these issues. As one client told us, "We know something isn't quite right, but we don't know how to diagnose the problem, let alone fix it."

2. Design-first, conversion-second mindset: Many sites are built by design agencies that prioritize aesthetics over performance and conversion principles. The site looks beautiful but doesn't perform to its potential. As we often say, "A beautiful site that doesn't convert is just expensive digital art."

3. Invisible problems: Performance issues often aren't immediately visible to the naked eye—you need specialized tools and expertise to identify them. It's similar to how engine problems in a car might not be apparent until you look under the hood.

4. Fragmented approach: Merchants often work with different partners for design, development, and marketing, creating a disjointed optimization strategy where no one takes holistic responsibility for performance. Each partner focuses on their specific domain without considering the entire customer journey.

5. Assumption that Shopify handles everything: While Shopify provides an excellent foundation, stores generating $20M+ require customized optimization to reach their full potential. The out-of-the-box experience is designed for general use cases, not specifically tuned for your unique business needs.

6. Fear of breaking what works: Many merchants are hesitant to make significant changes to their site, especially if it's currently profitable. This "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality overlooks the opportunity cost of suboptimal performance.

7. Prioritizing new features over optimization: There's often pressure to add new features and functionalities rather than improving what already exists. The allure of something new can overshadow the value of optimizing current experiences.

At Gamma Waves, we bridge these gaps by bringing together technical expertise, design sensibility, and conversion strategy into a cohesive approach that delivers measurable results. We recognize that at the $20M+ revenue level, even small improvements in site performance and conversion can translate to significant revenue gains.

What Makes the Gamma Waves Approach Different

Our work with Brochu Walker exemplifies the Gamma Waves approach to Shopify optimization:

1. We focus on data-driven decisions: Every recommendation we make is based on thorough analysis, not guesswork or generic best practices. We dig into your specific analytics, customer behavior patterns, and technical performance metrics to identify the highest-impact opportunities.

2. We prioritize impact: We identify and tackle the highest-leverage opportunities first, ensuring you see meaningful results quickly. Rather than trying to fix everything at once, we focus on the 20% of changes that will deliver 80% of the results.

3. We integrate technical and design expertise: Our team brings together developers, designers, and CRO specialists who collaborate to create seamless solutions. This cross-functional approach ensures that technical improvements and user experience enhancements work together harmoniously.

4. We implement, not just recommend: Unlike many consultants who deliver reports full of suggestions, we roll up our sleeves and execute the changes for you. Our team handles the technical implementation, allowing your team to focus on their core responsibilities.

5. We measure and refine: We track the impact of every change and continuously optimize based on real-world results. Optimization is an iterative process, and we're committed to ongoing improvement rather than one-time projects.

6. We think beyond best practices: While we certainly leverage industry best practices, we recognize that the most impactful optimizations are often unique to your specific business and customers. We develop custom strategies tailored to your brand, products, and customer base.

7. We care about your site as if it were our own: We take pride in maintaining the highest standards of quality and attention to detail. As one client put it, "They treat our site with the same care and scrutiny they would their own business."

This approach has helped brands like Brochu Walker, DÔEN, Nuun, and Flight Club achieve remarkable growth through strategic optimization. Each of these brands had different products, customers, and challenges, but the fundamental optimization principles remained consistent.

Conclusion: Transform Your Shopify Store's Performance Now

The Brochu Walker case study demonstrates the transformative power of strategic optimization for high-revenue Shopify stores. In just 30 days, we helped them achieve a 37% increase in conversion rate, 16% increase in average order value, and 40% reduction in page load time—translating to millions in additional annual revenue without increased marketing spend.

These results weren't achieved through revolutionary new features or complete redesigns, but through methodical optimization of existing elements. We identified and eliminated technical bottlenecks, streamlined the user experience, and implemented data-driven merchandising strategies that worked together to create a seamless shopping journey.

What makes this approach so powerful is its efficiency and ROI. Rather than investing in costly traffic acquisition, we helped Brochu Walker extract more value from visitors they were already getting. The improvements compound over time, creating a stronger foundation for sustainable growth.

The principles we applied are universal, regardless of your specific product category. Technical performance creates the foundation for conversion. Mobile optimization is essential, not optional. Removing friction matters more than adding features. Data should drive decisions. And perhaps most importantly, optimization is not a one-time project but an ongoing process of continuous improvement.

If your Shopify store is generating $20M+ annually, you likely have similar opportunities waiting to be unlocked. The question isn't whether optimization can improve your performance—it's how much revenue you're leaving on the table by delaying these improvements.

Don't let hidden performance issues limit your growth potential. Take the first step toward transforming your Shopify store's performance today.

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