Playceholdr is a New Zealand ecommerce agency specialising in Shopify, Shopify Plus and BigCommerce.
We work with growing and established brands across ecommerce strategy, UX and UI, development, B2B, platform migrations, integrations and ongoing support.
Some businesses need a better storefront. Others need to rethink the platform, connect ecommerce with an ERP, bring wholesale online or solve something more complicated behind the scenes.
Our job is to understand what the business actually needs, then design and build around it.
Shopify is one of the platforms we know best.
Our work ranges from custom storefronts and theme development through to Shopify Plus, B2B ecommerce, migrations, integrations and more involved custom functionality.
For some businesses, the right solution is a well-designed standard Shopify store that gives the internal team more control and removes unnecessary complexity.
For others, the requirements extend into Shopify Plus, wholesale, international ecommerce or integrations with the systems managing products, customers, inventory and orders. The platform should follow those requirements rather than dictate them.
Our Shopify Development work covers custom Shopify implementation in more depth, while Shopify Plus Development is focused on businesses with more complex ecommerce and operational requirements.
For businesses moving from another platform, our Shopify Migration Services cover the wider replatforming process including data, integrations, URLs and SEO.
A strong ecommerce experience has to work commercially, visually and technically.
Customers need to understand the product, find what they are looking for, compare options and move through the store without unnecessary friction. At the same time, the people operating the store need a platform they can actually manage.
Our design work covers UX, UI, information architecture, customer journeys and the visual systems behind the ecommerce experience.
Development sits alongside that process rather than being handed off once the designs are finished. That means technical constraints, platform decisions and operational requirements can be considered while the experience is still being shaped.
Our Ecommerce Website Design service covers that work in more detail.
For more complex businesses, the storefront is often only one part of the project.
B2B customers may require their own accounts, catalogues, pricing, payment terms and ordering workflows. An ERP may own inventory or product information. Orders may need to move between ecommerce, fulfilment, accounting and customer systems.
We work across these requirements on both Shopify and BigCommerce. That can include:
Our B2B Ecommerce service covers wholesale and trade requirements in more depth.
For businesses still working through the right platform or architecture, Ecommerce Strategy & Consulting can sit in front of the implementation.
We do not think every ecommerce problem should automatically lead to the same platform.
Shopify has a large ecosystem and can support everything from straightforward DTC ecommerce through to more complex Shopify Plus operations.
Our Shopify Development work covers the equivalent Shopify side.
BigCommerce can be a strong fit where catalogue structure, B2B, pricing or integration requirements call for a different approach.
Our BigCommerce Development work includes custom storefronts, APIs, integrations and more involved commerce requirements.
We develop on both. Where the answer is not obvious, we work through the business requirements before recommending either.
Our New Zealand work spans different industries, locations and types of ecommerce problem.
AucklandMother Made is an Auckland-based New Zealand wellness brand. Playceholdr worked across discovery, ecommerce UX and UI, visual identity and development to create a new Shopify experience for the brand.
ChristchurchChristchurch-based Yes Mila has worked with Playceholdr since before launch. We built the brand’s ecommerce foundation on Shopify Plus, covering storefront design and development, ERP integration, fulfilment and inventory workflows, loyalty and wider ecommerce systems.
WellingtonFor Wellington-based Micro Scooters, Playceholdr replatformed the business to Shopify Plus and brought its B2B and B2C ecommerce into a single solution. The project included migration work, Shopify B2B and a NetSuite integration syncing products, inventory, customers and orders.
It is a good example of the point where ecommerce development becomes as much about operational architecture as website development.
Custom Shopify storefronts, themes, integrations and functionality built around how the business needs to operate.
Shopify Plus for businesses with more involved B2B, integration, international and operational requirements.
Ecommerce UX, UI, information architecture, customer journeys and design systems.
Custom BigCommerce development, APIs, B2B and systems integration.
Wholesale and trade ecommerce across Shopify and BigCommerce.
Replatforming from Magento, WooCommerce, BigCommerce and other ecommerce platforms into Shopify.
Platform selection, audits, requirements, scoping, replatforming strategy and ecommerce roadmaps.
Continued development, maintenance and improvement for Shopify and BigCommerce stores.
We are not a general web agency that occasionally builds an online store. Ecommerce is the core of the work.
That means we think about more than the page the customer sees. We consider the catalogue, merchandising, integrations, customer data, internal workflows and the people responsible for operating the store after launch.
Our design and development teams work closely together, and we can work across an entire ecommerce project or join an existing team for a particular part of it.
The solution does not need to be complicated simply because the problem is. But when the requirements genuinely are complicated, that is usually where we are most useful.
If it’s difficult, we’re interested.
Yes. Shopify and Shopify Plus are major parts of our ecommerce work. Our Shopify experience includes custom development, ecommerce design, B2B, platform migrations, integrations and ongoing development for established New Zealand brands.
No. We specialise in both Shopify and BigCommerce and recommend the platform based on the requirements of the business rather than assuming one platform suits every project.
Yes. Our public work includes businesses in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, along with clients elsewhere in New Zealand and Australia. Mother Made is based in Auckland, Micro Scooters in Wellington and Yes Mila in Christchurch.
Yes. Not every engagement is a new build. We redesign existing stores, develop new functionality, solve integration issues, migrate businesses between platforms and provide Ongoing Ecommerce Support for stores built by other teams. For businesses specifically looking for an ecommerce partner in Auckland, see our Auckland ecommerce agency page.
Yes. Platform selection is part of our Ecommerce Strategy & Consulting work. We look at areas such as catalogue structure, B2B, integrations, internal workflows and what the team needs to manage before recommending a platform.
It depends on the scope. A straightforward implementation is materially different from a bespoke design and development project involving migration, B2B, ERP integration or custom functionality. We scope around the actual requirements rather than applying the same package to every ecommerce business.
You might be planning a new Shopify build, replacing a platform that has become difficult to manage, improving an existing ecommerce experience or dealing with something more involved across B2B, integrations or operations.
You do not need to know exactly which service or platform you need before speaking with us. Tell us what you are trying to solve. We can work out the right starting point from there.
