Building a Bespoke Shopify Experience for Insect Lore
A feature-rich Shopify build for a beloved educational toy brand, complete with a bespoke voucher system, scheduled caterpillar delivery, visual search,
Introducing
Insect Lore
Industry
Educational Toys
Services
Shopify Design & Development
Website
insectlore.co.ukA Shopify store as unique as the products it sells
Insect Lore is a much-loved educational toy brand built around the wonder of nature, selling butterfly and caterpillar kits that bring science to life for children. Their new Shopify store needed to reflect that magic while handling a genuinely complex set of ecommerce requirements. We built a bespoke voucher system, a scheduled live delivery tool, visual search, and a global currency switcher, giving customers a seamless experience whether they are buying a gift or planning ahead for a classroom.
A bespoke voucher system built around live delivery
Insect Lore's products are unlike anything else in ecommerce. Live caterpillars that need to arrive at exactly the right time. We built a bespoke voucher system that gives customers two options: purchase a voucher to gift now and redeem later, or schedule a specific delivery date for when they want their caterpillars to arrive. The system handles the complexity behind the scenes, giving customers a simple and reassuring experience at the point of purchase.
Letting customers choose exactly when their caterpillars arrive
The scheduled delivery feature solves one of the most important problems in Insect Lore's customer journey. Whether a parent is buying for a school holiday project or a teacher is timing a classroom activity, customers can pick the date that works for them. The custom Shopify app integrates directly with the checkout and order management flow, ensuring fulfilment is handled accurately without any manual intervention from the team.
Finding the right kit in seconds
With a catalogue spanning butterfly kits, accessories, refills, and educational products, helping customers find what they need quickly is essential. We implemented visual search across the store, allowing shoppers to browse by image and discover relevant products without knowing exactly what to type. The result is a more intuitive browsing experience that reduces drop-off and surfaces products customers might otherwise have missed.
A global store built for international customers
Insect Lore sells to customers across multiple markets, so the experience needed to feel local wherever shoppers are browsing from. We integrated a currency switcher that automatically displays prices in the customer's preferred currency, removing friction for international buyers and reducing cart abandonment at the point where it matters most. The switcher works seamlessly across the full catalogue and at checkout.
