Regency Chess
Client Overview
The Regency Chess Company is one of the UK’s most respected chess retailers, known for sourcing and selling high-quality chess sets, boards and accessories to enthusiasts around the world. Their catalogue spans a wide range of styles, materials and price points, appealing to everyone from casual players to serious collectors.
As their reputation and product range grew, their website needed to better reflect both the quality of their offering and the expectations of a modern e-commerce experience.
Objectives & Opportunities
Despite an extensive product catalogue, the existing website made it difficult for customers to quickly find what they were looking for. Navigation was limited, filtering options were basic and key product differences were not always clear.
This created friction in the buying journey, particularly for new customers unfamiliar with chess terminology or product types. There was also a disconnect between the website and their internal systems, meaning stock levels and order data had to be managed separately – adding unnecessary complexity behind the scenes.
Discovery & Insights
We began by analysing user behaviour and engagement data to understand where customers were struggling or dropping off. This was supported by user testing, which highlighted how overwhelming the product range could feel without the right tools to navigate it.
Alongside this, we worked closely with the team to understand how they used the Brightpearl CRM in their day-to-day operations for stock management and order processing and fulfilment. This gave us a clear picture of both the customer-facing challenges and the operational inefficiencies that needed to be addressed.
Solution Strategy & Delivery
We designed and built a completely bespoke front end for their Zen Cart platform, tailored specifically to their product range and customers. The new interface introduced highly granular filtering, allowing users to refine products by material, size, style and more – making it far easier to find the right product.
We also reworked the checkout from the ground up, removing mandatory registration, simplifying each step and integrating Apple Pay, Google Pay and real-time address lookup to reduce user input. Behind the scenes, we connected the site directly with Brightpearl via API, ensuring live stock updates and instant order synchronisation.
Results & Impact
The transformation was immediate: the new site not only better reflects the quality of the brand, but makes browsing and purchasing feel straightforward and intuitive. Customers are spending more time exploring the catalogue and converting at a higher rate, thanks to the improved navigation and smoother checkout.
Internally, the integration with Brightpearl has removed manual processes and significantly sped up order handling. The result is a joined-up system that works just as well for the team behind the scenes as it does for customers on the front end.