JB Hi-Fi

Migrating Australia’s largest electronics retailer to unlock $1 billion in online revenue

Shopify Migration,
Codebase Modernisation,
Checkout Optimisation,
Customer Experience Strategy

Website

jbhifi.com.au

JB Hi-Fi stands as Australia's largest and most successful electronics retailer, with annual revenue exceeding $6.5 billion across more than 200 stores in Australia and New Zealand. As their online channel grew rapidly, the limitations of their legacy eCommerce platform became impossible to ignore. The retailer had invested heavily in rearchitecting their systems with a consistent API framework to support their future growth, but their existing platform couldn't keep pace.

During BFCM 2018, the stakes became clear: a checkout locking issue meant that very few customers could complete purchases online for a two-hour period during the retailer's busiest weekend of the year. With online growth accelerating and platform instability threatening their most critical trading periods, JB Hi-Fi needed a commerce foundation that could scale with their ambitions.

Moving to Shopify Plus was never going to be straightforward given the complexity of their operations, and JB Hi-Fi engaged The Working Party to work alongside their existing teams, prove the platform could handle their enterprise-scale requirements, and deliver a world-leading eCommerce experience that aligned with their API-first architecture.

Two people looking at a product box with a colorful background in a JB Hi-Fi store

JB Hi-Fi website homepage with promotional banner for Samsung TVs and product listings.

From BFCM failure to sustained growth at scale

The contrast between BFCM 2018 and BFCM 2019 tells the story of the migration's impact. In 2018, checkout locking issues during peak traffic meant the retailer lost sales during their most important weekend — customers ready to buy simply couldn't complete transactions. One year later, after migrating to Shopify Plus, JB Hi-Fi recorded their best-ever Black Friday and Cyber Monday performance, handling nearly twice the previous year's traffic with ease. The platform stability eliminated the anxiety that had previously accompanied peak trading periods, with the site remaining operational throughout high-volume events that would have overwhelmed the legacy system.

Beyond immediate BFCM validation, the technical foundation we built enabled sustained growth at a scale that would have been impossible on the previous platform. Site performance improved significantly, with average page load times decreasing by more than 15% in the first year. Most notably, JB Hi-Fi's annual online sales revenue grew from approximately $200 million to more than $1 billion, a fivefold increase, whilst online sales expanded from 5% to 15% of total business revenue. The migration to Shopify Plus didn't just solve an immediate stability problem; it unlocked years of continued growth.

Screenshot of JB Hi-Fi's mobile checkout

Customer interacting with a staff member at JB Hi-Fi store with promotional signs in the background.

Proving platform capability for enterprise-scale complexity

The core challenge wasn't simply moving JB Hi-Fi to a new platform, it was proving that Shopify Plus could handle requirements that many internal stakeholders initially doubted were achievable.

With over 200 dispatch locations requiring seamless management of pricing, promotions and product information across all channels, the technical complexity was substantial. JB Hi-Fi had invested heavily in developing an API-first architecture to connect their business systems, and the new platform needed to integrate with this framework in a pattern-driven way rather than disrupting it.

We worked quickly to demonstrate that Shopify Plus would not only meet their complex array of requirements but would also accelerate their time to market compared to the legacy system. This meant solving shopping cart hurdles, integrating with their intricate product system and ensuring that core customer experiences like 1-hour click and collect would function seamlessly across hundreds of dispatch points. Shopify's API architecture proved well-suited to JB Hi-Fi's needs, allowing us to compartmentalise different business functions, from pricing to fulfilment, while maintaining the seamless integration that customers expected across all channels.

Team integration and technical execution

The Working Party's approach centred on integrating deeply with JB Hi-Fi's existing teams rather than operating separately. We rapidly upskilled their internal teams in Shopify development, design, UX and front-end engineering, building capability that would serve them long after launch.

This collaborative model allowed us to deliver complex user interface components that aligned precisely with JB Hi-Fi's preferred customer journey whilst ensuring their team could maintain and evolve the platform independently. We refactored design elements to simplify the experience and provide consistency across the site, reducing checkout from three clicks to two and streamlining the path to purchase.

The technical foundation we built together wasn't designed just to solve immediate migration requirements, it was architected to support ongoing iteration and internal efficiency as JB Hi-Fi's needs continued to evolve. By working alongside their engineering teams throughout the project, we transferred knowledge continuously, ensuring that the capability to innovate on Shopify Plus lived within JB Hi-Fi's organisation rather than depending on external partners for every future enhancement.

We engaged The Working Party to support our Shopify Plus implementation, with one of the most ambitious sets of objectives globally. They rose to the challenge—embedding seamlessly with our team, thinking deeply about our internal processes, and offering thoughtful, creative ways to push the platform forward without compromising a high-quality, maintainable codebase. They are now an integral part of our Shopify journey, and we look forward to continuing to partner with them as we deliver even more compelling customer experiences.

Richard Murray

CEO, JB Hi-Fi

Services

Technology and Performance