Commerce Connections BCN: JD Outdoor shares its rapid Shopify transformation journey

Against the backdrop of The Barcelona EDITION rooftop during Shoptalk Europe, Commerce Connections BCN brought together retailers, technology partners and commerce leaders for an evening of networking and insight.

Hosted by Tryzens, in partnership with Shopify and ESW, the event featured a candid conversation with JD Outdoor, exploring how the retailer transformed its ecommerce operations, migrated multiple brands to Shopify, and modernised its omnichannel capabilities at speed.

Stephen Rogan, who leads Customer Success at Shopify EMEA, moderated the discussion, joined by Nichola Toner, Digital Director at JD Outdoor, Ashley Farr, Digital Trading Lead at Tiso, and Andy Burton, Executive Director at Tryzens.

What we heard at Shoptalk Europe 2026

While Commerce Connections BCN focused on bringing together retailers and commerce leaders for meaningful conversations, many of the themes discussed throughout Shoptalk Europe 2026 carried directly into the evening’s discussions.

One of the most consistent topics across the event was the continued pressure on retailers to balance rising operating costs with growing customer expectations. From inventory management and fulfilment to customer service and loyalty, brands are being challenged to do more with less while continuing to deliver seamless customer experiences.

Consumer trust also emerged as a critical focus area. Leaders from brands including L’Oréal and The Estée Lauder Companies highlighted the importance of maintaining strong customer relationships in an increasingly digital and automated retail environment. As customer journeys become more fragmented across channels, trust is becoming a key differentiator rather than simply a brand attribute.

Another recurring theme was the evolution of product discovery. Sessions also explored how shoppers are increasingly discovering products through visual content, communities and personalised experiences rather than traditional search-led journeys. For retailers, this presents both a challenge and an opportunity: ensuring products appear in the moments where customers are actively seeking inspiration rather than simply responding to demand.

Technology inevitably featured heavily throughout the event, but the conversation was notably more mature than in previous years. Rather than focusing on technology for technology’s sake, retailers were increasingly asking how innovation could solve practical business challenges, improve operational efficiency and create measurable value. As Zalando shared during the event, the focus has shifted from experimentation to execution and impact.

For attendees at Commerce Connections BCN, many of these themes resonated strongly with the JD Outdoor story that followed. Whether discussing fulfilment efficiency, omnichannel customer experiences, operational agility or the ability to innovate at speed, the challenges being addressed by retailers across Europe were reflected in the transformation journey shared by Nichola Toner and the JD Outdoor team.

From frustration to transformation

Reflecting on the starting point of JD Outdoor’s digital transformation, Nichola described a business constrained by legacy technology and slow innovation cycles.

“Life, a couple of years ago, was a bit rotten really,” Toner told attendees. “We had a stagnant platform, sales were going backwards, there was no innovation. Every time you asked for something new, it was going to take nine months and £120k minimum.”

Faced with growing frustration across the business, Toner was tasked with investigating why the organisation was struggling to innovate and improve customer experiences.

At the same time, Tiso’s acquisition by JD Sports introduced new operational challenges. Planned migrations threatened key customer-facing services, including click-and-collect and ship-from-store capabilities that represented significant portions of the retailer’s order volume.

When asked what she would do differently, Toner’s answer was straightforward: “I’d move to Shopify.”

Delivering five brand migrations under pressure

What began as an evaluation quickly evolved into an ambitious transformation programme.

Following a discovery process with Tryzens and Shopify, JD Outdoor launched its first Shopify site within months before migrating four additional brands in January.

The timeline became even more compressed when the retailer’s incumbent platform provider issued notice after learning of the planned migration.

“We got one site live and then we basically had three months to get the other four sites live,” said Toner. 

Ashley, Digital Trading Lead at Tiso, recalled the moment the team learned about the accelerated timeline.

“We need to replatform in three months,” she remembered being told. “Black Friday’s next month. Christmas is next. This is just not possible.”

Despite the challenge, the team focused on prioritisation, collaboration and pragmatism.

“We learned so much from Tryzens,” Ashley explained. “The team was brilliant. There was no bad question. They just broke everything down and helped us focus on what we really needed.”

Unlocking omnichannel growth

A major theme throughout the discussion was the role of unified inventory and omnichannel fulfilment in driving growth.

According to Toner, Go Outdoors increased ship-from-store fulfilment from 8% to 39% after the transformation program. 

“We’ve consolidated into one warehouse, we’re shipping more stock from stores, we’ve surfaced inventory that just wasn’t available before, and as a result we’ve had really good year-on-year growth since going live with Shopify,” she said.

Toner highlighted that collaboration with additional technology partners as well as Shopify has delivered a best-in-class combination and has been key to the level of success. 

For instance – The retailer also introduced click-and-collect capabilities across brands that had previously lacked the functionality.

Empowering teams through simplicity

The conversation also focused on how the new platform transformed day-to-day operations for trading teams.

Ashley described how even simple changes previously required developer intervention.

“Everything required a developer. Absolutely everything,” she said.

By contrast, Shopify has enabled teams to make changes independently, accelerate experimentation and launch new functionality quickly.

“I installed BNPL functionality within about five minutes,” Ashley said. “That was just not possible at all on our previous platform.”

The impact has extended beyond operational efficiency to measurable commercial performance.

“We’re seeing improvements daily,” she explained. “Conversion rate is improving, average transaction value is improving. It feels like, why did we not do this sooner?”

Customer service teams have also benefited from a more intuitive checkout experience, resulting in fewer customer queries and smoother purchasing journeys.

The human side of transformation

While technology played a central role, the panel agreed that people and organisational alignment were ultimately the biggest drivers of success.

Andy Burton, Executive Director at Tryzens, emphasised that successful transformation is rarely about technology alone.

“When you’re doing some kind of digital transformation, it’s not the technology that’s the issue,” Burton said. “The biggest challenge and change is always going to be people, clarity of purpose and alignment on objectives.”

Burton highlighted the importance of investing time in discovery, stakeholder engagement and defining success before execution begins.

“Discovery is absolutely critical,” he said. “Being clear and purposeful on what success actually looks like, and using that as the guideline throughout the process.”

Building a blueprint for the future

The transformation has not only delivered results for JD Outdoor but is now being used as a model for wider adoption across the business.

For Toner, the objective from the beginning was clear.

“The headline of the business case that I put forward was that we wanted a fit-for-future and fit-for-purpose tech stack,” she said.

That vision is now becoming reality beyond the UK.

“We are now being used as a template for the rest of the business,” Toner revealed. “They’re going to roll it out in Spain and they’re going to roll it out in Greece as well.”

As the session concluded, attendees left with a powerful reminder that successful digital transformation is not simply about replacing technology. It requires leadership, alignment, partnership and a relentless focus on customer outcomes.

Commerce Connections BCN demonstrated exactly what can happen when those elements come together.