We Helped a Grocery Chain Slash E-Commerce Costs by 49%—Here’s How We Did It

When does it make sense to ditch your pricey, overbuilt e-commerce platform and find something that fits like a glove? For one prominent Canadian grocery retailer, the time was now. Faced with soaring overhead and a clunky user experience, they turned to Hop Skip Marketing for an agile, cost-friendly, and streamlined solution. By focusing on the real humans behind the scenes and their day-to-day needs, we charted a path that, in three years, would save approximately 49% in software costs, and position them better for future growth.

Our approach always begins with the root problems and goals 

Our client was juggling a complex system that no longer matched their evolving goals. This grocery retailer had recently overhauled its e-commerce strategy, passing core online operations to a specialized partner. What remained? Specialized offerings like catering, in-store pickups, and creative storytelling that needed a nimble, scalable platform. In short, they wanted to stop paying for features they didn’t need and start investing in an online solution that truly aligned with their fresh direction.

A look at the human-centered approach we use 

At Hop Skip Marketing, we don’t believe in slapping a Band-Aid on tech issues. Instead, we dive deep with a “double-diamond” human-centered design approach. By hosting interactive workshops and empathy-driven stakeholder interviews, we uncovered the real pain points and ideal outcomes straight from the people who would use the new platform every day.

• Inclusive Workshops: We engaged teams from IT, Marketing, and Executive Management to voice their detailed requirements and their “jobs to be done.”
• Empathy-Driven Insight: We listened closely to learn the exact frustrations users had with their old platform, as well as their top priorities for the future.

By putting people first, we ensured our recommendations didn’t just look good on paper—they were rooted in the realities of everyday work.

How our workshops achieve aligned decision-making

These carefully designed sessions were more than just team-building exercises. They were the foundation of our entire analysis. In these workshops:

• Key stakeholders shared their needs: From IT concerns about integrations to Marketing’s desire for storytelling capabilities, nothing was off-limits.
• Collaborative brainstorming: Teams explored potential solutions together, getting everyone on the same page early in the process.

That sense of shared ownership paid off in spades—because when people feel heard, they’re more invested in the final outcome.

What is strategic platform analysis

We also performed a sweeping assessment of potential e-commerce platforms and picked the top nine platforms. Our mission? Zero in on solutions that checked the right boxes for functionality, cost-effectiveness, and future scalability. Targeted Demos: We facilitated direct demos with the shortlisted vendors, ensuring decision-makers saw exactly how each option would perform in real-world scenarios, saving the client’s team countless hours of research.

This selective approach meant the client stayed focused on daily business, confident that the best contenders were the only ones on the table.

How we facilitated cross-functional collaboration

A platform change touches every corner of an organization, so we made sure everyone was on board and informed. By acting as an interdepartmental liaison, Hop Skip Marketing:

• Translated Tech Talk: We bridged the gap between platform providers and non-technical stakeholders so no one felt left in the dark.
• Unified Teams: Our role as facilitators built a sense of momentum, ensuring that every department understood how their input mattered.

This collaborative environment laid the groundwork for a smooth implementation and helped avoid any last-minute surprises.

How we used a multi-criteria decision matrix to assess the technology need from all angles

With insights from our empathy workshops in hand, we created a multi-criteria decision matrix built around ten critical areas, ranging from cost and scalability to vendor support and user experience. Each platform got the same level of scrutiny, revealing hidden pitfalls like volatile currency exchange rates and surprise third-party fees.

Transparency was king! Our matrix enabled us and the client to see exactly how each platform stacked up. This was the key to making a confident, data-driven choice rather than a leap of faith.

What was the outcome for this grocery brand?

Our step-by-step process made the final verdict clear: we found a platform that perfectly matched the client’s operational demands—both now and for the future state. Best of all, switching to this e-commerce platform would save them 49% compared to continuing with their legacy system.

Conclusion: Why pick Hop Skip for your marketing consulting in Toronto?

There are many options for “marketing consultants” if you are in Toronto, from the “big 4” to individuals. The reasons to pick us are our B2B expertise, our emphasis on practical work (we don’t spend time fluffing up decks; rather, we get right down to business and focus on the must-haves and must-knows to make a sound decision). At the same time, we have a team of seasoned marketers who collaborate on your project, leveraging experience and perspectives for a richer result than working with a single person.

For marketing-technology projects, working with a consulting team is worth every penny. While it may seem easy to compare a few software brands and pick one, going that route usually leads to gaps. In other words, it seemed better on paper. In comparison, our approach delivers good outcomes every time. How? It ensures:

1. We’ve understood the needs of each user
2. Decisions are made collaboratively and facilitated without bias
3. The features and benefits are analyzed using robust analytical methods.

The result for this client? Actionable insights, six-figure cost savings, and technology that works for the folks who use it most. And because we work with these tools day in and day out as marketers ourselves, our perspective is anything but theoretical—you get real-world expertise that drives real results.

If you’re ready to stop wrestling with bloated systems or a mar-tech purchasing decision, we’re here to help. Let’s transform your challenges into opportunities and make sure every dollar you invest pays off in growth, efficiency, and happier teams.