Gibraltar Hardware Shopify Redesign Case Study

+170%

Online Orders

+184%

Online Revenue

+5%

Average Order Value

Drummer seen from behind playing on a lit stage

Drummer performing on an outdoor festival stage

Drummer lying on a stage floor among drum hardware

Music Equipment

Gibraltar Hardware makes thrones, racks, stands, pedals and accessories for drummers around the world. Long focused on B2B distribution, the brand was building out its direct-to-consumer channel on Shopify.

Electric Eye redesigned the store with clearer navigation for a deep catalog, a home for sponsored artists and the tools to grow DTC. In the year after launch, online orders grew 170%.

+170%

12 months after launch vs. beforeOnline Orders

+184%

12 months after launch vs. beforeOnline Revenue

+5%

12 months after launch vs. beforeAverage Order Value

Client

Gibraltar Hardware

Industry

Music Equipment

Timeline

Website project, Ongoing

Services

Design & Development

Optimization

Platform

Shopify

Key Technologies

Development, User Behavior, and Bundles, Upsells, & Cross-sells

The Challenge

Gibraltar's DTC site was built on Shopify's Dawn theme with minimal customization, and it wasn't keeping up:

It couldn't support the brand's complex product taxonomy
There was no structured way to feature sponsored artists
Content was fragmented, and the site struggled to educate shoppers and convert them

The team wanted to go further than competitors who assume drummers already know what they need, and guide new and experienced players through every step.

Summary

Electric Eye redesigned Gibraltar Hardware's Shopify store on a Shopify 2.0 theme, customizing the key templates and rebuilding navigation, taxonomy and user flows around how drummers shop for hardware.

The new site added:

A design system built to grow with the brand
Custom artist page templates
Blog articles that merchandise products
Loyalty and upsell features
B2B capabilities

After launch, Gibraltar moved onto a retainer that now also covers fellow Reliance Musical brand Rogers Drums.

Problem

The site's conversion rate sat at 0.42%, well below the 1.5% to 2.5% typical for established DTC brands on Shopify. More paid traffic would only have widened that gap.

Underneath it:

Navigation and taxonomy made a large hardware catalog hard to browse
Sponsored artists had nowhere to live on the site
A small internal team didn't have the bandwidth for content and ongoing development

Solution

What we built:

A branding process to solidify the visual identity
Customized key templates with improved navigation, taxonomy and user flows
Custom templates to feature sponsored artists
Blog articles with product merchandising
Loyalty and upsell features
New B2B capabilities
Shop Pay Installments messaging

Project Objectives

Clarify the Catalog

Rebuild navigation, taxonomy and user flows so drummers can find the right hardware fast.

Show Off the Artists

Give sponsored artists a dedicated home on custom templates.

Guide, Don't Assume

Explain the role of every product so new and experienced drummers can shop with confidence.

Open Up B2B

Add B2B capabilities alongside the direct-to-consumer store.

Our Strategy

Phase 1

Discovery & Branding

A branding process to solidify the visual identity, plus a deep look at the catalog, taxonomy and how drummers shop.

Phase 2

Design

A future-proof design system and custom templates, including artist pages, built for a large product mix.

Phase 3

Build

Customized key templates, rebuilt navigation and taxonomy, blog merchandising, loyalty and B2B capabilities.

Phase 4

Launch & Retainer

Launch, then an ongoing retainer for new features and optimization that now also covers Rogers Drums.

Key Test Wins

Screenshot of a Gibraltar product page with hardware diagrams

Navigation & Taxonomy

Catalog Rebuilt for Drummers

Navigation, taxonomy and user flows rebuilt so racks, thrones, stands, pedals and parts are easy to find.

Result:

Online orders up 170% in the year after launch

Screenshot of a Gibraltar page with artist and product photography

Artists

Guides That Lead to the Right Part

Drum parts guides pair a numbered diagram with links to the matching collection for each part, so a drummer learning what a throw-off is can shop for one in the next tap.

Result:

Education and shopping in one place

The Results

Online Orders Up 170% in the Year After Launch

Comparing the 12 months after launch to the 12 months before, online orders grew 170% and online revenue grew 184%.

Average order value rose 5% over the same period.

+170% Online Orders

12 months after launch vs. before

+184% Online Revenue

12 months after launch vs. before

+5% Average Order Value

12 months after launch vs. before

Technology & Tools Used

Development

Shopify Liquid, custom JavaScript, Shogun page builder

User Behavior

Heatmap, UserTesting

Bundles, Upsells, & Cross-sells

Bundles, upsells, and cross-sells that raise average order value

"Electric Eye helped us completely rethink how our website supports the custom drum buying journey. We focused on converting more of the existing traffic into leads, streamlining getting those leads quotes, and following up with a modern sales stack. We're excited to continue to work together on UX in the near future."

Key Learnings & Takeaways

Build a Site Worth Sending Traffic To

At a 0.42% conversion rate, more ad spend would have meant more waste. With the new site in place, the traffic that followed turned into 170% more orders.

Teach, Then Sell

Drum hardware is technical. Clear taxonomy and product context help shoppers buy with confidence.

One Foundation, Two Brands

The finished Gibraltar theme became the starting point for Rogers Drums, saving build time.

Explore More Work

Our Core Services

Optimization
Design & Development
Migrations to Shopify

Our Optimization Process

Data Collection
Assessment & Prioritization
Planning & Phase Gating
Design & Implementation
Testing & Learning
Decision & Execution
Analysis & Iteration