Everything Summer Camp

When Everything Summer Camp came to Command C, they wanted to keep the look of their site, however, it needed a renovation on the backend. From the onset, Command C developed a pattern library to make sure we maintained the site’s appearance. The pattern library established uniformity for all the site’s elements, such as font and word spacing, button styles, etc. We cross-referenced our work with the pattern library throughout the project to ensure that we were crafting a consistent user experience (UX).

Create Custom Shopping Lists

Challenge: Allow customers to shop by camp code to access camp-specific packing lists and discounts

Solution: Command C employed a combination of custom code and Shopify scripts to host 1000+ camp codes

Every summer camp has its own spirit, activities, and list of recommended items to bring. Now it is super easy for parents to purchase from a camp-specific packing list on Everything Summer Camp. At the top of every page on the site, parents can enter their child’s camp code. Additionally, they can search by camp name and locate the code. Both of these search options are persistent at the top of each page of the site, no matter how the shopper navigates.

By entering a camp code, the shopper gains access to the camp’s recommended packing list, as well as product discounts. To achieve this, Command C wrote custom code and integrated it with Shopify scripts. Command C’s custom solution helps parents choose which camp list they need, applies discounts where appropriate, and lets Everything Summer Camp manage the lists. This solution works for approximately 1,000 – and counting! – camp lists.

Product Personalization

Challenge: Give campers the opportunity to customize products, e.g. name tags, camping trunks, and more

Solution: Integration of a product configurator into Shopify

Young campers love to personalize their gear. For instance, if a child gets a camping trunk with ten side panels, she may want every panel to be a different color. To facilitate this customization, Command C worked with Doogma, a product configurator. Our team took all of the options that the user picks inside the Doogma widget and translated them into line item properties. The line item properties then became a part of the product structure. Now that the options are part of the product structure, customers can place custom orders, and all of the data gets transferred through the entire Shopify product checkout system.

Additionally, we built admin tools that empower Everything Summer Camp to add new configurators in the future. The tools are now in place for the configurator to work within Shopify Plus without needing additional development work from us. Their marketing team can dream up new products, depending on summer trends, for example, and they can easily be added to the site.

Product Bundling

Challenge: Craft a simple customer experience (CX) for buying products with corresponding accessories

Solution: Develop custom tool to bundle products 

Let’s say parents buy a camp trunk, and it doesn’t come with wheels. But they want wheels, so a wheel kit is necessary. Prior to Command C’s work, the manufacturing team didn’t have a way to know which wheel kit corresponded to which trunk. Yet they needed to know, as they were tasked with pre-assembling customer orders.

To solve for this, Command C built a custom tool that lets the Everything Summer Camp manufacturing team associate accessories with products. Through this tool, the accessories are shown to the customer on the product page and can be added on the product page. The accessory then shows up in the cart as being related to the main product. Our solution enabled products to be bundled together on both the frontend and backend, so customers and manufacturers alike can easily match products with the right accessories.

Communicate Shipping and Delivery

Challenge: Clearly communicate product delivery in time for first day of camp

Solution: Develop a custom application for displaying estimated shipping and delivery time

For all the cool camp products available on Everything Summer Camp, one thing is certain: they can not arrive the day after a child leaves for camp. Shipping and delivery timing is essential. To help communicate this process, Command C built a custom application for displaying estimated ship and delivery time.

A critical factor in this is determining when an order will leave the warehouse. For instance, if a parent orders a custom 10-panel trunk with a wheel kit, it might take three days to build it in the warehouse. Otherwise, an off-the-shelf trunk could ship out the next day. The app allows Everything Summer Camp to review incoming orders and adjust the stated delivery times based on what the warehouse can handle.

Regarding shipping, the app looks at the estimated ship time as it comes from the carrier. It also adds days to the shipping time as appropriate based on the product data, as well as the day of the week. For example, it’s smart enough to know that Christmas Day is not a shipping day. Or unless a customer chooses a Saturday delivery, Saturday is not a shipping day. It then calculates accordingly to give customers realistic shipping and delivery times.

Outcomes and Benefits

As a result of Command C’s work, Everything Summer Camp’s extensive inventory feels personalized to each unique shopper. This begins with the ability to shop by camp code from anywhere on the site. It continues through the opportunity to customize one’s own camp trunk, name tag, and more. These tools create a user experience that is fun for kids and blissfully easy for parents.

Our work also streamlined the company’s internal operations. Through the features for product bundling and ship and delivery timing, the manufacturing team now gets the information they need to fulfill orders and communicate timelines to customers. We were able to resolve many UX and operations issues for Everything Summer Camp. And the experience of working with their great team made us happy campers.