How Nextbase Skyrocketed DTC Conversions 8× with BigCommerce

Introduction

Nextbase, recognized for equipping four out of five UK vehicles with its front and rear dashcams, faced a critical pivot when retailers closed during the pandemic. Determined to own the direct relationship with drivers, the team launched a DTC site on a basic CMS plugin. Yet technical debt and endless maintenance stood in the way of true growth.

The Challenge

Douglas de Santi, Global Head of Ecommerce at Nextbase, recalls spending 70% of his backlog on bug fixes and forced upgrades during a previous Magento 2 rollout. “Are we going to survive the next Black Friday?” haunted every sprint. Nextbase needed a platform that would free them from caching issues, server sizing headaches, and constant dev-ops firefighting—so they could launch features instead of chasing tech debt.

The Solution

BigCommerce’s low-code SaaS model emerged as the perfect choice, guaranteeing maximum uptime and effortless scaling. Integrations with Klaviyo, Shogun, and Weglot required no custom code—what would have taken months on Magento took hours. Douglas personally rolled out Klaviyo across five regions in under two hours. Content teams began publishing rich animations and videos directly, while Shogun’s Targeted Experiences tapped Klaviyo data to serve contextually relevant landing pages.

Personalization & Performance

Nextbase replaced static brochureware with dynamic, personalized content. Visitors who preferred night-vision features saw tailored callouts; long-distance drivers got different video highlights. This real-time segmentation, combined with lightning-fast page loads, turned browsing into buying at record pace.

International Expansion

Using the Weglot translation app in hybrid mode, Nextbase launched localized sites in 15 languages within weeks—sometimes a single week for new markets like Japan. Local teams fine-tune translations directly, ensuring brand consistency and accelerating time-to-market.

Results

Nextbase achieved an 8× improvement in baseline conversion rates: what once took a month now sells out in 48 hours. Personalized pages converted at 6.34% vs. 2.86% previously, while clickthroughs jumped 23%. During the latest holiday peaks, DTC sales eclipsed Amazon, underscoring the strategic value of a flexible, low-maintenance SaaS foundation.

Conclusion

With BigCommerce’s enterprise-grade reliability and an ecosystem of no-code integrations, Nextbase’s ecommerce team shifted focus from troubleshooting to innovation. Douglas can now drive traffic confidently—knowing the platform will handle every surge without a hitch.