How FRANKIE4 Boosted Site Visits 170% and Cut Returns with Shopify

How FRANKIE4 Transformed Its Online and In-Store Experience

FRANKIE4 set out to change how women experience shoes worldwide with its Sole Hero® Footbed insole. From day one online sales were key but the original system was clunky. Frequent crashes and slow loads during big events cost them customers. Each minor update required 150 developer hours at AU$200 an hour, which ate into budgets and blocked quick tests. Content edits, new product uploads and theme tweaks all depended on external teams, creating a backlog that held marketing opportunities hostage.

Unifying Sales Channels

Alongside digital issues the brand was opening more physical locations. Tracking stock across warehouses, the website and retail spaces was a headache. Without real-time integration between the ERP, warehouse and POS orders were marked sold out when they weren’t and vice versa. Staff spent hours manually checking inventory on spreadsheets, and customers sometimes found their carts empty at checkout. That friction was undermining the brand promise of comfort and convenience.

Moving to Shopify and POS

When FRANKIE4 migrated in 2018 they gained a platform built to scale. Peak traffic no longer toppled the site. The intuitive admin dashboard meant any team member could add a product or change page layout in minutes. In 2020 integrating Shopify POS unified online and in-store sales. Real-time stock sync eliminated overselling and allowed the brand to offer ship-to-customer from any location. Transition costs dropped dramatically and the in-house developer could handle new features solo.

Automating Key Workflows

Shopify Flow has become the operations backbone. FRANKIE4 created custom workflows that hide products when stock dips below a threshold, trigger fraud alerts on suspicious orders and send automatic restock messages to stores. These automations replaced manual tasks and ensured consistency across channels. Instead of waiting for inventory updates or manually sending emails, the system handles it all. The ops team now focuses on strategy rather than tedious processes.

Add Smart Tools

FRANKIE4 uses specialized apps sourced from the Shopify App Store to tune every step of the journey. A third-party AI tool offers size guidance with 90% accuracy, reducing guesswork and returns. Tolstoy’s video shopping widget lets shoppers click through product links during guided demos. Klaviyo sends behavior-driven emails, and Yotpo collects thousands of five-star reviews to display social proof. Each integration installed and configured in hours rather than days, keeping dev overhead low.

Launchpad for Flash Sales

To tackle major sales events the team relies on Shopify Launchpad. They can schedule multi-day flash sales, change pricing in bulk and roll out theme updates automatically. During one warehouse sale the team created a dedicated expansion store in days, imported products through Matrixify and let customers scan QR codes to pay at the pop-up. Sales associates used POS handheld devices to ring up orders in under a minute.

Results and Growth

With these changes FRANKIE4 saw a 170% jump in site visits, cut return rates by 25% over five years and doubled its retail footprint from four stores to ten. Shop Pay accounted for 30% of orders in February 2025, and the unified commerce model has put the brand in control of its growth trajectory. Staff morale soared now that site ownership was back in-house.

What’s Next

Looking ahead FRANKIE4 plans to refine search and browsing experiences, reduce checkout steps and add self-service features like automated exchanges. US expansion with partners like Nordstrom and Dillard’s will test new market waters. The brand’s focus on iterative improvement means each cycle yields a smoother, faster experience for shoppers and staff alike.