Artifice & SoftServe: Elevating Cost Plus to World-Class E-commerce Standards

Artifice and SoftServe will seamlessly manage all digital, e-commerce, and marketing efforts for Cost Plus, ensuring every facet aligns with global best practices. This includes handling design, brand identity, marketing materials, image production, and video content creation. Our goal is to position Cost Plus as a competitive force on par with industry leaders like Amazon and Takealot, delivering an exceptional user experience (UX) and intuitive user interface (UI) powered by Shopify.

Key Features of the New Cost Plus Platform:

  1. Comprehensive E-commerce Platform:

    • Supports approximately 2,000 SKUs, ensuring a vast product range is readily available.

    • Products are accessible to both individual customers and businesses, providing a dual-market focus.

  2. Dual-Layered Accessibility:

    • Retail Customers: Individuals can easily navigate, browse, and purchase items for personal use.

    • Business Customers: A dedicated wholesale login (similar to Makro) directs businesses to a secondary portal tailored for B2B needs, including bulk purchasing options, pricing transparency, and account management tools.

  3. B2B and B2C Integration:

    • A unified website caters to both segments while maintaining clear pathways for retail and wholesale customers.

    • Personalized experiences ensure the platform meets the unique requirements of each audience.

  4. Promotional Gifts & Clothing:

    • Potentially a standalone category within Cost Plus, showcasing customized gifting and apparel options.

    • Includes dedicated tools for personalization, bulk order management, and tailored designs for businesses.

E-commerce Excellence with Shopify:

  • Scalable Infrastructure: Shopify’s robust platform ensures scalability as SKUs and customer demands grow.

  • Modern Design: Sleek, intuitive UX/UI mirroring global e-commerce giants for easy navigation and high engagement.

  • Streamlined Checkout: Simplified purchasing for both individuals and businesses, enhancing convenience and conversion rates.

  • Mobile-First Optimization: Ensuring seamless access across all devices for today’s mobile-centric users.

Marketing & Brand Positioning:

  • Content Creation: High-quality images, videos, and materials that elevate brand identity and product appeal.

  • Data-Driven Campaigns: Tailored marketing strategies to target B2B and B2C audiences effectively.

  • SEO & Performance Marketing: Driving organic traffic while optimizing paid campaigns for maximum ROI.

With Artifice & SoftServe leading these initiatives, Cost Plus will set a new benchmark for e-commerce in South Africa, combining innovation, accessibility, and world-class service. The result is a seamless, scalable, and sophisticated platform designed to grow with the business and serve diverse customer needs.

Please see below some tests and presentation content we have done by being inspired by this brands potential re-launch.

Transforming still images from Cost Plus’s corporate clothing section into Hollywood-quality visuals and videos.

Elevating still images from Cost Plus’s product pages into Hollywood-caliber visuals and videos.

Commercial ideas for the Branded Clothing

Commercial ideas for the Branded Clothing

Some Ideas for Marketing Material for Cost Plus

Deluxed Brand ID concepts

Key Details:

  1. Shopify Setup & Payment:

    • The final decision on Shopify setup will be made by Cost Plus. Currently we have been chatting to SoftServe. See their current quote below and info as this is rough until we all have a brief. Keep in mind I am speaking to some other Shopify companies for quotes.

  2. Artifice’s Role:

    • Artifice will focus on developing high-quality brand content tailored for the website, ensuring a visually compelling and engaging online presence.

  3. Marketing Strategy Post-Shopify Implementation:

    • Marketing will be divided into two primary channels:

      1. Paid Marketing: Leveraging Meta (Facebook/Instagram) and Google Ads to drive immediate traffic and conversions.

      2. Organic Marketing: Building a strong SEO foundation and creating valuable content for sustainable, long-term growth.

  4. Content Development for the Website:

    • A one-time content creation initiative to gather all necessary visuals, text, and other assets for the website. This effort will likely require myself and one other teammate, with a one-off fee to cover these efforts.

  5. Ongoing Marketing Management:

    • Artifice can handle both Paid and Organic marketing on a monthly basis, ensuring continuous optimization, campaign management, and content updates.

This plan ensures a seamless and high-quality website setup while laying the groundwork for both immediate and sustained marketing success. Let me know if further refinements or additions are needed!

Below is a preliminary budget for Shopify setup, SEO integration, and necessary integrations from Softserve. We are in the process of gathering additional Shopify quotes over the coming days. The priority will be the quality and reputation of the company rather than selecting the lowest-priced option.

Step 1: Shopify Build and Data Migration - Estimated cost: R120,000 – R150,000

 This phase includes:

  • Strategy: Mapping out the goals, structure, and requirements.

  • Design: Creating a user-friendly, visually appealing Shopify store.

  • Build: Developing and implementing the Shopify site.

  • SEO and Optimization: Ensuring the site is fully optimized for search engines.

  • Data Migration: Transferring existing data into the new Shopify system.

 

Step 2: Cin7 Integration

 This phase focuses on integrating Cin7 with the Shopify site.

  • Basic Cin7 integration: R30,000.

  • If required, a custom bridge for advanced integration: Up to R90,000.

  • We won’t be certain if the custom bridge is necessary until we conduct a thorough needs analysis (discovery phase).

Data migration may also tie into this phase and could potentially be included within the Cin7 build or the Shopify site development, depending on the requirements.

If you choose to move forward with Softserve, we’ll start with a discovery phase to unpack your exact needs and confirm the requirements for each phase. This will ensure accurate costing and a seamless execution.