Case Study: How Strategic “Subtraction” is Doubling Sales for Gaku

The Client: Gaku

The Goal: Scale from 10k to 20k sales.

The Challenge: High traffic (20k monthly hits), but stagnant AOV and high friction.

The Problem: The “High Traffic, Low Value” Trap

Gaku came to us with a common “Creator Brand” problem. Thanks to a massive following on YouTube and Instagram, the store was getting 20,000 monthly hits. However, the revenue didn’t reflect that scale.

The Average Order Value (AOV) was low, and the site was cluttered with “Best Practice” apps that distracted customers from the finish line. To hit the 20k sales milestone, we didn’t need more traffic; we needed a Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) Overhaul.

The Strategy: Optimization through Subtraction

After a thorough investigation of product-based sales, traffic, and user behavior, rather than adding more “salesy” features, we implemented a “Tier-3 Architect” approach: removing the noise to let the products shine.

1. Personalizing the “Add-on” Experience

The Old Way: Generic apps suggesting random products.

The Fix: We stripped out the automated apps and built a manual, high-intent add-on system.

The Result: By suggesting products that actually complement the purchase (e.g., matching a PowerGrade with the exact LUTs needed), we made the upsell feel like a helpful recommendation rather than an annoying ad.

2. Restructuring the Discount Psychology

The Old Way: Store-wide “constant” discounts that devalued the brand.

The Fix: We moved to Strategic Bundling. Discounts are now reserved for high-volume purchases.

The ROI: This protects the premium price of individual items while giving customers a logical reason to spend more to “unlock” savings.

3. Checkout Friction Removal

The Old Way: Multiple conflicting discount codes causing “Search Abandonment.”

The Fix: We simplified the logic to a single, powerful “First Purchase” code.

The ROI: Fewer users leaving the checkout to hunt for codes on Google means more completed transactions.

The UX Refinement: Speed is the Ultimate Feature

A major part of the CRO audit was cleaning up the “Technical Debt” that was slowing down the user’s decision-making process.

• Removing “Heavy” UI: We identified that custom cursors and button animations were causing perceived lag. In e-commerce, Speed = Trust.
• Authentic Social Proof: We removed “fake” floating notifications. Instead, we leveraged the “Total Sold” metric already on the page. Real data is always more persuasive than a popup.

The Outcome

By focusing on Intent, Value, and Speed, we’ve built a foundation that doesn’t just look better—it performs better. We are currently on track to reach the 20k sales target by turning Gaku’s existing social traffic into a high-converting community.

The Architect’s Verdict:

If you want to scale, stop looking for the next “Magic App.” Start looking for the friction points in your customer’s journey.

Is your Shopify store ready to scale? If you’re seeing high traffic but low conversions, it’s time for a professional CRO Audit. Let’s discuss engineering your store for growth.