PLATATAC - Shopify Migration

About the client

PLATATAC is an Australian tactical equipment manufacturer with over 35 years of operational experience, trusted by military, special forces, tactical law enforcement, and outdoor professionals worldwide.

They supply the Australian Defence Force with all combat boots, the Royal Australian Navy and Air Force with jackets, and the New Zealand Defence Force with bivvy bags, sleeping systems, and cold-weather jackets, as well as thousands of other pieces of mission-critical gear to militaries, law enforcement and emergency services units all around the world. From tactical pouches, load carriage, and chest rigs to plate carriers, uniforms, and specialised field equipment, our range is recognised for its rugged reliability and mission-focused design.

Every product is developed in close consultation with real-world operators, then proven through rigorous field and combat testing. This operator-led approach has made PLATATAC equipment world-renowned for its durability, functionality, and performance in the harshest environments.

Challenges

PLATATAC, working with HubSpot integrator Unific, was looking for a partner with deep knowledge of both Magento and Shopify to support their store migration. As a long-time Unific partner with proven experience in complex ecommerce projects, Hatimeria was recommended to take on the challenge.

Challenges With Magento 2 & Impact on Business

Their previous Magento 2 solution was cumbersome, costly, and a significant drain on resources. It lacked flexibility, was far from user-friendly, and the mobile customer experience, especially checkout, left a lot to be desired. Search functionality was poor, and frequent sync failures between Magento and our outdated ERP/inventory system meant we were constantly firefighting.

Almost 70% of one full-time resource’s workload was spent on reactive admin, chasing errors, fixing integrations, and trying to keep the system running. This was time that could have been invested in merchandising, design, and optimization. The operational drag directly impacted customer experience, slowed our ability to adapt, and ultimately cost us sales.

Our Actions - Migrating 22,000 SKUs: PLATATAC’s Shift from Magento to Shopify

PLATATAC chose Shopify for its fast, scalable platform, easy checkout, strong SEO, and great user experience.

The migration involved:

• Migrating 22,000 SKUs, 40,000 customer profiles, and 100,000 historic orders securely

• Custom migration tool using Magento + Shopify APIs (with phone/province data cleaning & passwordless login)

• Catalog cleanup: 22,000 → 6,000 active SKUs synced with Cin7 and Shopify

• AI-based rewriting of product descriptions into structured sections

• Customised Alchemy (Sharp) Shopify theme with brand tweaks and enhanced UX (filters, size guides in popups, collection layouts, improved checkout)

• Multithreaded migration handling over 100,000 orders within Shopify’s API limits

• Full integration with Cin7 for real-time stock and product data

Results

With Hatimeria’s support, PLATATAC successfully migrated to a modern ecommerce platform, unlocking measurable business improvements:

From 1 June 2025 to 14 August 2025 compared to 2 June 2025 to 15 Aug 2025:

- Sales up 54%

- Orders up 39%

- Average Order Value up 16%

- Conversion rate up 57%

• Significant hosting & infrastructure savings (from AWS & Magento 2 maintenance)

• Global visibility boosted through Meta Commerce Manager and Google Merchant Centre integration

Site Speed & User Experience Improvements

Thanks to backend and frontend optimizations, the new PLATATAC website became significantly faster and more stable. All performance indicators moved into the optimal range, delivering real value:

• Pages load almost instantly

• Buttons and links respond immediately

• No sudden layout shifts or glitches

• Content appears quickly and clearly

• SEO visibility improved due to higher performance scores

As a result, customers spend more time on the site, shop with greater confidence, and are less likely to abandon their carts - directly increasing sales and satisfaction.

Streamlined Operations & Real Business Impact

Operational improvements:

• Real-time product and stock updates (Cin7 integration)

• Faster, more accurate order processing

• Easier checkout and better order tracking

• Automated redirects to protect SEO

• Freed up nearly 1 FTE from Magento firefighting to value-added work

Strategic business benefits:

• Scalable, modern ecommerce setup ready for growth

• Lower operational costs and complexity

• Faster rollout of new features and international expansion

• Better integration with marketing tools and omnichannel sales

PLATATAC is now equipped with a faster, simpler, and future-ready ecommerce platform delivered by Hatimeria.