E-COMMERCE · 2026 - ONGOING
the
LemonTree
A much-loved gift store that nobody could find online. So we rebuilt it around the way people actually shop: for gifts.
A boutique gift and homewares store in Dunsborough, filled with beautiful things and loved by locals for over 20 years, with an online store that did none of it justice. This is the story of a full Shopify rebuild, and the gifting-led strategy that turned a product catalogue into a place to find the perfect gift.
ENGAGEMENT
Strategy + Rebuild + Ongoing
PLATFORM
Shopify
ROLE
Strategy · UX · Design · Build · SEO · Email · Ads
TIMELINE
2026 · Ongoing
SECTOR
Retail Gifting & Homewares
01 Background
The LemonTree has been part of Dunsborough for over 20 years, a gift and homewares store that locals know is the place to find something special.
Ceramics, glassware, candles, kitchenware and beautiful things for the home, curated by owner Karen and her team from brands like Maxwell & Williams, Glasshouse and Le Creuset. The kind of store where you walk in for a birthday present and leave with something for yourself too. In-store, it works. People browse, they touch, they ask the team for gift ideas, and they rarely leave empty-handed.
Online was a different story. The store had a website, but it was doing almost none of the work. Traffic was low, there was little reason to trust or linger, and the products were presented as a catalogue to scroll rather than a place to find a gift. In a full year, it sold just 28 products. The LemonTree, one of Dunsborough's best-loved stores, was practically invisible online.
02 Our Approach
The strategy came before the design.
Three decisions did the most to define what got built.
01
Positioning
Sell gifts, not categories.
The data told a clear story: customers weren't coming online to browse homewares, they were coming to find a gift. That insight reframed everything. The LemonTree was positioned as a gifting destination first and a category store second, with the entire site built around the question a customer actually arrives with: "what do I get them?"
02
Architecture
Build navigation around the shopper, not the stockroom.
The navigation was restructured from the ground up: gift collections led by price (Under $50, Under $100, Most Gifted) and occasion (weddings, new babies, teacher gifts, Christmas), alongside clean product categories for those who know what they're after. Every collection was mapped against personas and real shopping behaviour before a single page was designed.
03
Product Data
Give every product a reason to be found.
With over 450 products, curation only works if the data behind it does. Every product was enriched with structured gifting metadata, who it suits, what occasions it fits, what makes it special, powering filtering, cross-sells and gift discovery across the site. The result is a catalogue that behaves like the in-store experience: you describe the person, and the right gift finds you.
03 How We Delivered It
Launched June 2026, with every product accounted for.
At a glance
450+ products migrated and enriched via bulk import tooling
Custom sibling product system linking related pieces
Gifting metadata powering filters, cross-sells and discovery
POS integration keeping in-store and online stock in sync
The new store was built on Shopify's Pipeline theme, chosen for its retail-first design and strong collection browsing. Over 450 products were migrated using bulk import tooling, each enriched with structured gifting metadata: who it suits, what occasions it fits, and what people love about it. Custom development included a sibling product system that links related pieces, so customers can move between colours and styles without leaving the page.
The wider stack came across too. The store's point of sale system was integrated with Shopify so in-store and online stock stay in sync automatically, product catalogues were connected to Google and Meta for future advertising, and automations handle new arrivals and sold-out products behind the scenes. Site review was managed through Markup rather than long email chains, so feedback stayed pinned to the exact element it referred to. The site went live in May 2026.
BEFORE · 2025
AFTER · 2026
From catalogue to gift store. The old WooCommerce site listed products but gave customers no way to shop the way they actually do: by occasion, by person, by price. The rebuild preserved 20 years of local reputation and finally gave it an online home to match.
Wow, what a ride! We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the support, wisdom and commitment you shared with us. We have learned so much. Looking forward to seeing how our baby grows now that she is out in the world.
— Karen & Susie · the LemonTree
04 What is produced
The foundations are in, and they're already working.
From the product data work
Every gift can now be found.
Over 450 products enriched with structured gifting data, who it suits, what occasion it fits, what people love about it. That data powers the filters, cross-sells and gift discovery across the whole store.
From the architecture work
The site shops the way customers think.
Navigation rebuilt around the question people actually arrive with: "what do I get them?" Gifts by price, by occasion, by person, with clean categories for shoppers who know what they're after.
From the search work
Dunsborough can find it again.
The store is searchable again, with every product and collection carrying the SEO groundwork for the local searches that matter.
Launched May 2026. Results get added to this page as the data matures, not before. That's how measurement works here.
MEASURED, THEN PUBLISHED
Looking for a more considered approach to your website? If you value clear thinking, thoughtful design, and a site that reflects the professionalism of your business, you should get in touch.
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