Retail & ecommerce branding and web design agency.
Branding for retail brands
In retail, the first impression is the sale. We build retail and ecommerce brands and Shopify websites that make products easy to find, easy to love and easy to buy.
Brand before basket
Distinctive identity, packaging cues and tone of voice that stop shoppers scrolling and keep them coming back.
Stores built to convert
Fast, clear Shopify and ecommerce design with product pages, checkout flows and a CMS your team can run.
The detail
What shoppers check before they buy
Online shoppers make a quick series of small judgements: does this shop look legitimate, is this the right product, what will delivery cost and can I send it back. Retail sites underperform when any of those answers is hard to find, and the usual culprits are thin product pages, delivery costs that appear only at checkout and returns policies buried in the footer.
Retailers with shops as well as a website face a second problem. The store and the site often feel like two different businesses, and customers notice, which is why retail and ecommerce branding has to be planned as one system.
A retailer, not just a catalogue
When many retailers stock similar products, the brand is the reason to buy from you rather than the cheapest result on a marketplace. That reason might be curation, expertise, service, values or price, but it has to be chosen and then shown everywhere: identity, photography, product copy, packaging and the moment the parcel is opened.
We build retail identities that work on a shopfront, a carrier bag, a product tile and an email header. For own-label ranges, we develop packaging cues that sit alongside the retail brand without competing with it.
What a retail website needs
Navigation and collections built from how customers search and browse, planned before design starts.
Product pages with clear photography, specifications, stock status, delivery estimates and returns in plain view.
Search and filters that still return useful results for partial terms and common misspellings.
Delivery and returns pages in plain English, with costs stated up front.
Store pages with opening hours, click and collect and directions, for retailers with physical shops.
Email sign-up, customer accounts and quick reorder journeys that bring people back.
We design and build most retail stores on Shopify; see Shopify web design and ecommerce web design. If you are moving an established store, our website redesign process maps redirects so you keep the search rankings you have already earned.
The rules that shape an online shop
GOV.UK guidance on online and distance selling says that before an order is placed you must give your business name, contact details and address, a description of the goods, the price including all taxes, delivery arrangements and costs, and how the customer can cancel. Customers can cancel up to 14 days after delivery without giving a reason, and if you do not tell them about that right, they can cancel at any time in the following 12 months.
The CMA's price transparency guidance says mandatory delivery charges must be included in the invitation to purchase, so they should not appear for the first time at checkout. Optional upgrades such as next-day delivery can be shown separately.
Retargeting pixels and marketplace tags also need planning. According to the ICO's guidance on storage and access technologies, cookies used for online advertising always need consent, whereas cookies used only to produce statistics about your store can rely on an exception if shoppers get clear information and a free way to opt out. We set up the consent banner and tags so your ad platforms and analytics respect that split.
Winning retail search
Retail search is won at collection level as much as product level. A well-built collection for a search such as "men's waterproof walking boots", with useful intro copy, sensible filters and internal links, has a much better chance of ranking than a single product page. We plan collection structure, product titles, structured data and redirects before launch, and our SEO and growth team keeps it growing afterwards.
Relevant work
Citipost eCommerce is not a retailer: it is the eCommerce fulfilment side of Citipost, the logistics provider, and its customers are online brands. We designed and built its dedicated website to explain those fulfilment services clearly to fast-growing eCommerce brands, and added a suite of email marketing templates in Figma. The work gave us a close view of the operations that sit behind online retail.
How a retail project with The Think runs
Discovery covers your customers, your range, your margins and channels, and how your current store performs. We then set positioning and brand direction, plan the store structure, design the identity and site together, build on Shopify and test the full buying journey before launch.
Range size and any platform migration set the pace, and a focused identity or store typically takes 4 to 8 weeks. Retail brand identity starts from £4,000 and Shopify stores from £7,500. We agree a fixed price before the first workshop.
From first look to repeat order
Moving platform, opening online for the first time or refreshing a retailer customers already know? Tell us about your store and we will map out the work.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Do you design Shopify stores for retail brands?
Yes. We design and build Shopify stores, migrate from other platforms and optimise existing stores for conversion.
Can you rebrand an existing retail business?
Yes. We refresh identity, packaging cues and websites together so the new brand lands consistently online and in store.
Do you work with start-up retail brands?
Yes, from pre-launch labels to established retailers ready to grow.
What must an online shop show before someone orders?
GOV.UK guidance says that before an order is placed you must give your business details, a description of the goods, the price including all taxes, delivery arrangements and costs, and how the customer can cancel. Under the CMA's price transparency guidance, mandatory delivery charges should be shown up front rather than appearing for the first time at checkout.
Will we lose search rankings if we move platform?
Not if the move is planned. Our website redesign process maps redirects so you keep the rankings you have already earned, and we plan collection structure, product titles and structured data before launch.
How long does it take and what does it cost?
A focused identity or store typically takes 4 to 8 weeks, and larger Shopify builds or migrations can take up to 12 weeks. Retail brand identity starts from £4,000 and Shopify stores from £7,500, with a fixed price agreed before work starts.