A Virtual Cuppa with…Charle Agency
Shopify is one of the most exciting and fast-moving platforms right now for e-commerce and we were super pleased to make friends with Charle Agency. Charle as making a name for themselves as a leading award-winning Shopify agency. Ann chatted with agency owner Nic Dunn to find out more.
Tell us a bit about your back story?
My background is a rather unique one, perhaps not what you'd expect from a Shopify agency founder! Prior to launching Charle Agency, I was actually a paramedic for the NHS and did this for a number of years before taking the plunge. When I was younger I actually taught myself front-end web development and became nifty with design too. This initial hobby led me to freelance for a variety of brands and industries. After a fair few years of shift work, I finally realised it was time for a new challenge and Charle was born!
Why did you set up Charle?
As a freelancer, I noticed that relationships between agencies and clients were quite often mixed. I saw a gap to deliver a service that would allow brands to build supportive and meaningful relationships with their expert team.
In addition to centralising working relationships at the heart of the Charle experience, we saw first hand the massive growth of e-commerce and direct-to-consumer global trends. This led us to explore the platforms available which landed us upon Shopify and Shopify Plus. Not only is Shopify one of the fastest-growing eCommerce platforms powered some of the worlds biggest brands, but we experienced first hand how amazing the platform truly is. The mission was formed - to create the biggest, most personable and skilled e-commerce agency from a diverse range of brands.
Who is it for?
Our agency is for brands and merchants who are selling on the Shopify and Shopify Plus platform. We help merchants to push the boundaries of possibility with their Shopify stores by offering cutting edge designs and the most advanced technology. We work with a large range of industries and don't specialise in one particular vertical - we do know Shopify as a technology inside out combined with design skills to engage visitors and convert customers! Whether you are brand new to the Shopify platform or an international brand with large annual revenue our team have experience across the board.
What are you most excited about in the Ecommerce space this year?
E-commerce is growing faster than ever. In January 2020, the UK retail spend online was around 20% - let's fast forward to October 2020 - retail spend peaked at 36%! I truly think that consumer habits are here to stay and businesses are wise to keep considering DTC as a core revenue stream.
How are you making a difference?
One of the biggest barriers to your maximizing a Shopify store is affordable access to an expert eCommerce team. Last year we launched memberships that start as little as £309/pm which gives flexible access to all of our team! Our memberships include all of our services from design, development, email marketing and SEO whilst throwing in some amazing perks such as day-to-day tech support/tech partner discounts. We want to question the standard development set up with expensive costs whilst building amazing relationships with our merchants.
What brands do you admire most right now?
It has been to both Gymshark and Huel, both of which absolutely smashing the user of Shopify to cater to huge international markets.
If you could have a virtual cuppa with anyone who would it be?
For me it has to be Elon Musk. Not only for becoming the richest man in the world but from a unique way of thinking.
If you are interested in finding out more about Shopify solutions for your business contact holly@charle.co.uk Charle Agency