Dippin’ Dots Grows its Direct-to-Consumer Business Online with BigCommerce

Discover how customisable, cost-effective and reliable BigCommerce is and why we built it that way.

https://images.ctfassets.net/wowgx05xsdrr/6LzKaXB9mayhosvKYBJHdX/4a610038ec528af0dd922d9e3eba3403/case-study-device-laptop-dippin-dots.png

66%

increase in revenue

78%

increase in transactions

38%

increase in conversions

Performance metrics compare April 2023 over April 2022.

30 Years of Creating Fun

If you’ve ever been to a mall, amusement park, or baseball game on a hot summer day, you’ve likely experienced the joy and nostalgia of Dippin’ Dots, “America’s number one beaded ice cream brand.” Since microbiologist Curt Jones invented the concept of beaded ice cream in 1988, Dippin’ Dots quickly became a staple of American culture and soon made its way to ice cream fans across the globe.

But Dippin’ Dots’ spirit of innovation and imagination hasn’t stopped at its revolutionary ice cream products — the brand also strives to bring the fun to its direct-to-consumer (DTC) ecommerce presence, too. In hopes of capturing its brand identity online, Dippin’ Dots turned to BigCommerce and Groove Commerce to optimise its checkout experience and sweeten its online store.

CHALLENGE

Updating an outdated ecommerce experience.

Before making the switch to BigCommerce, Dippin’ Dots’ site originally launched on Magnolia in 2009. However, after a number of issues with editing content as well as shipping and fulfillment challenges, Dippin’ Dots approached Groove Commerce to help facilitate its full migration onto BigCommerce.

“Dippin’ Dots was really ready to move into the next phase and get those issues resolved. They looked at it as an opportunity to update the entire site as a part of that process,” explained Drew Blais, Creative Director at Groove Commerce.

As the original beaded ice cream brand, Dippin’ Dots has been intentional about displaying its identity across its physical locations. Just take a look at a Dippin’ Dots stand, truck or freezer, and you’ll undoubtedly find vibrant colors, playful fonts and unique designs that echo the same delight as the products it sells. Thus, when Dippin’ Dots decided it was time to upgrade its website, the team wanted to ensure that its brand identity was accurately portrayed across its online experience.

Furthermore, Dippin’ Dots faced some logistical challenges when it came to selling its ice cream online. In addition to the typical challenges associated with selling perishable products online, Dippin’ Dots products must be stored in frigid temperatures (below what a standard home freezer can reach) and therefore must be packaged and shipped with frozen carbon dioxide, aka dry ice.

Not only does this hike up shipping costs for single-serving orders, but also, this packaging can only keep the ice cream frozen for up to a few days — which means shipping and delivery dates are absolutely crucial, and customers must have a way to anticipate when their order will arrive.

SOLUTION

Customising the checkout to streamline shipping and fulfillment.

With the support of US-based design, development and marketing agency Groove Commerce, Dippin’ Dots has been able to elevate its online presence and capture the spirit of its brand online.

To address the challenges of shipping and fulfillment, Groove Commerce created a customised shipping calendar and date picker, which is integrated into BigCommerce’s Optimised One-Page Checkout. Leveraging BigCommerce’s checkout and Advanced Shipping Manager’s API, Groove Commerce’s back-end development team was able to build this custom development solution, which allows customers to select specific delivery dates, view blackout dates, corresponding shipping methods and costs prior to selecting their delivery date. This way, customers can know exactly when their package will arrive and enjoy their favourite frozen treat without worrying about the product melting in transit.

“We wanted to make sure that we could leverage BigCommerce's existing One-Page Checkout as much as possible, and we were able to use Advanced Shipping Manager’s API to create something that was then inserted into the actual one-page checkout interface without disrupting that process,” explained Blais.

In addition, Groove Commerce also implemented a visual delivery date selection calendar, making it intuitive for customers to select the ideal delivery date.

“Instead of picking from some type of list or typing in a date, the visual delivery date selection calendar looks great, it matches with Dippin dots’ branding and you can see the blackout dates — it all makes sense,” explained Spencer Flaherty, Internal Marketing Manager at Groove Commerce. “It really streamlines the whole process and gives a visual understanding to the end user.”

Increasing efficiency with a simplified tech stack.

As a brand that runs frequent promotions and site changes, Dippin’ Dots needed a tech stack that would allow its team to easily innovate on the fly.

“From the beginning, we approached the design process knowing that it needed to be something flexible, and we needed to build it for them to work best for their workflow,” explained Blais.

On top of that, the Dippin’ Dots team is relatively lean, which meant that it was crucial for both technical and non-technical employees to be able to easily and quickly make edits to the site. Thus, when it came to building out its tech stack, Dippin’ Dots decided to utilise as much native functionality on BigCommerce as possible.

“The blog is on BigCommerce. Their content pages are using Page Builder. They're using native BigCommerce search. We were looking for ways to streamline the tech stack as much as possible,” said Blais.

From running donations and fundraising promotions to incorporating unique CSS animations, Dippin’ Dots has been able to leverage the native functionality of BigCommerce to build out the ideal customer experience for its site. Rather than having to pay for various apps and plug-ins, Dippin’ Dots found the out-of-box features it needed to simplify its tech stack and do more with less.

Bringing the brand to life online.

To help transfer its brand identity to its online store, Groove Commerce fully redesigned Dippin’ Dots’ website on BigCommerce from the ground up. Using a series of interactive elements, new graphic assets, pages and CSS animations, Groove Commerce revamped Dippin’ Dots’ website to help engage customers and bring the brand’s playful in-person experience to its ecommerce store.

“A big part of what customers love about Dippin’ Dots — in addition to our delicious ice cream — are the memories they experience while shopping at our physical locations or enjoying the sweet treat at their favorite entertainment venues,” said Dana Knudsen, Senior Director of Marketing at Dippin’ Dots. “These enhancements to our website will allow customers to create new memories by bringing the Dippin’ Dots experience home for parties, gifts and more.”

Needless to say, bringing the brand online — as well as its sister brand, Doc Popcorn — has been a game changer for Dippin’ Dots. With the logistical challenges of selling perishable products, the company has been primarily focused on the B2B side of its business, selling to convenience stores, and national food service venues across the country. However, with Groove Commerce’s delivery date selection calendar and BigCommerce’s powerful ecommerce engine, Dippin’ Dots has found the freedom to grow its DTC business online.

“There will be challenges that merchants have and they think, ‘Oh, it's too much of a hassle to start selling online,’” said Flaherty. “But the truth is if you implement one step along the way — like the delivery date selection calendar — you can actually solve, in one swoop, all those challenges that you think are unsolvable.”

Highlighted Applications:

Agency Partner: Groove Commerce

“We were able to use Advanced Shipping Manager’s API to create something that was then inserted into the actual one-page checkout interface without disrupting that process.”

Drew Blais  Creative Director, Groove Commerce

“The blog is on BigCommerce. Their content pages are using Page Builder. They're using native BigCommerce search. We were looking for ways to streamline the tech stack as much as possible.”

Drew Blais  Creative Director, Groove Commerce

“A big part of what customers love about Dippin’ Dots — in addition to our delicious ice cream — are the memories they experience while shopping at our physical locations or enjoying the sweet treat at their favorite entertainment venues. These enhancements to our website will allow customers to create new memories by bringing the Dippin’ Dots experience home for parties, gifts and more.”

Dana Knudsen,**Senior Director of Marketing, Dippin' Dots

Case study device tablet dippin dots

RESULTS

Innovating with ice cream and ecommerce.

Long known as the “Ice Cream of the Future,” Dippin’ Dots knew its web presence needed to match the innovation and creativity of its iconic brand. With the support of BigCommerce and Groove Commerce, Dippin’ Dots has completely transformed its online presence, delivering a customer experience that clearly expresses its brand identity and values.

“We really wanted to create a magical experience for customers that reflects the Dippin’ Dots brand,” said Ethan Giffin, CEO at Groove Commerce. “With a customised shipping calendar, bespoke CSS animation and in-depth product information, the new site is both fun to explore and highly user-friendly, whether the visitor is new to Dippin’ Dots or grew up with it.”

Since revamping its website on BigCommerce, Dippin’ Dots has experienced a 66% increase in revenue, a 78% increase in transactions and a 38% increase in conversions.

“With a customised shipping calendar, bespoke CSS animation and in-depth product information, the new site is both fun to explore and highly user-friendly, whether the visitor is new to Dippin’ Dots or grew up with it.”

Ethan Giffin  CEO, Groove Commerce

LOOKING AHEAD

Going above and beyond.

So what’s next for Dippin’ Dots?

According to Blais, “There are some exciting things that we're exploring with Dippin’ Dots, particularly around some newer functionality that BigCommerce has rolled out.”

But until then, Groove Commerce is committed to helping Dippin’ Dots add “as much value to their business as possible.” Whether it’s adding new ecommerce functionality, improving the customer experience or increasing efficiencies, Dippin’ Dots — in partnership with Groove Commerce and BigCommerce — is always looking for ways to go above and beyond.

Published: April 2023

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