Case study
Automotive vertical product lead
BigCommerce programs for wheels, powersports, and complex catalogs
IntuitSolutions (Elite BigCommerce partner)
- BigCommerce
- Stencil
- Automotive ecommerce
- B2B
- PIM
- Product
Summary
Role
Product Lead: automotive and powersports; add-ons, apps, and integration support.
Timeline
Multi-year agency tenure (focus on automotive portfolio).
Team
Design, engineering, solutions architects, QA, merchants, and third-party app partners.
Domain
Automotive and powersports on BigCommerce; also supported large regulated programs outside automotive.
Metrics moved
Per-merchant conversion, migration parity, launch stability (revenue figures client-confidential). Strong theme reuse and reliable integrations.
Key constraints
Third-party apps outside agency control; Blueprint debt; fitment accuracy; SEO on migrations; B2B pricing edge cases.
Systems involved
Stencil on shared Base Theme; Search Spring; SureDone PIM for YMM; Yotpo and financing; B2B Edition and bundles; select NetSuite and data partners.
Stack
Tech stack
Stencil on shared Base Theme; automotive catalog patterns; vendor-heavy surface held together by QA discipline.
BigCommerce & theme
- Stencil
- ITS Base Theme (Cornerstone-derived)
- ThemeBridge staging
Search, fitment & catalog
- Search Spring
- SureDone PIM
- Year / Make / Model UX
Merchant stack (typical)
- Yotpo
- Financing integrations
- B2B Edition & bundles
- Frequently Bought Together (custom add-on)
Delivery model
Agency + merchant + third-party pods.
- Multi-vendor smoke paths
- Migration & ERP-adjacent handoffs
- Drupal → BC programs
How automotive programs shipped on Stencil
Theme reuse, vendor pods, acceptance criteria that survived real catalog edge cases.
Base theme as contract
ITS Base Theme (Cornerstone-derived): predictable upgrades; customize only where differentiation pays.
Fitment and search as one thread
SureDone MMY + Search Spring + PDP templates tested together—search never ahead of what the PIM can defend.
Third-party apps with explicit seams
Yotpo, financing, B2B touchpoints: written acceptance and rollback paths—agency does not control vendor clocks.
Merchant-by-merchant cutover
Blueprint→Stencil and migrations: redirects, ThemeBridge staging, QA lists owned by solutions + engineering.
Client work
Three automotive and powersports merchants on BigCommerce Stencil, each with different catalog complexity, integrations, and UX goals. Jump to a client or scroll through in sequence.
Tires, wheels & accessories · Albany, MN
BB Wheels
- Blueprint → Stencil
- Search Spring MMY + quick search
- Custom navigation & PDP
Their story
BB Wheels scaled online tire and wheel volume. Blueprint limits, bulk category maintenance, and integrations (Search Spring, fulfillment-adjacent apps) converged—they needed Stencil migration without breaking search, merchandising, or ops.
Product problem
Blueprint could not deliver responsive, SEO-forward patterns the ecosystem was moving toward. Migration framed as a program: inventory depth, Search Spring dependencies, and third-party behaviors had to pass regression as Stencil shipped—not a reskin.
What shipped
Custom Stencil: upgraded YMM entry points (multiple search modes, consistent visual language), Search Spring quick search on-brand, hierarchy-first nav, PDP upgrades (larger imagery, tabs, Yotpo with shopper photos, trust badges). Vendor test plans and comms rhythm cut “works in staging, fails on vendor script” risk.
Aftermarket parts & accessories · family-owned
MAD Powersports
- Blueprint → Stencil
- ITS Base Theme + ThemeBridge
- SureDone Year / Make / Model
- Visual category CTAs
- Enhanced mega menu
- Post-launch optimization plan
Their story
Family-owned aftermarket parts/accessories across powersports categories; service and guidance part of the brand. Partnered with IntuitSolutions for a redesign that matched in-store expertise: fast, intentional, easier to run daily.
Challenge
Already on BigCommerce—needed stronger design, data discipline, and navigation through a huge catalog. Sister-site alignment as shared tokens and nav patterns, not blind template cloning where catalogs diverged.
Solution
Base Theme (Stencil) + ThemeBridge: SEO-friendly structure, mobile-first browsing, flexible merchandising modules. Bold homepage category visual CTAs; enhanced mega menu with scroll for deep taxonomies; SureDone-backed YMM so fitment stays accurate as feeds and inventory change.
Custom storefront capabilities
Mega menu, popup login, option grid, reorder, size guides, video thumbnails, swatches on category, thumbnail swap on PDP, horizontal category menus where scan speed mattered. Post-launch: optimization/support rhythm (maintenance, technical SEO, data cleanup) so performance did not regress after launch.
UX, fitment, and merchandising
Category storytelling, dense menu on tablet, mobile garage entry, PDP patterns, multi-device responsive story.
Screenshot 1 of 5
Drivetrain · veteran-owned · Drupal → BigCommerce
Revolution Gear & Axle
- Drupal migration
- ITS Base Theme
- SureDone MMY
- FBT add-on
- B2B Edition
Their story
Trusted brand in ring-and-pinion, axles, and drivetrain. Drupal storefront could not keep pace with merchandising, mobile performance, and integrations.
Product problem
Migration: preserve SEO intent, category discipline, and partner workflows. Fitment and bundles (including B2B) could not dump complexity on shoppers.
What shipped
BigCommerce on ITS Base Theme: B2B Edition, mega menu, homepage category CTAs, FBT add-on, SureDone MMY, blog redesign, coordinated partners (data cleanup, redirects, NetSuite). Clear ownership boundaries (schema, redirects, MMY sign-off) so launch did not become a blame loop.
Storefront & UX highlights
Responsive shells, nav density, category discovery, editorial surfaces, mobile fitment, PDP conversion adjacency.
Screenshot 1 of 7
Overview
Product lead for IntuitSolutions automotive and powersports on BigCommerce Stencil: fitment, search, category structure, B2B—plus program discipline from large regulated-style accounts. Merchant analytics, SEO migration risk, and conversion evidence drove Base Theme reuse vs custom merchandising.
Business context
Elite BigCommerce partner: custom Stencil, migrations, proprietary add-ons, long-running support. Automotive merchants share primitives but diverge on catalog shape (YMM, kits, bundles, dealer rules). Success = reuse ITS Base Theme while honoring per-merchant integration stacks.
Problem
Weak fitment/search loses shoppers; broken apps at launch lose merchants. Blueprint sunsets, Drupal exits, Search Spring/PIM dependencies each needed coordinated testing—not theme QA alone. Add-ons (e.g. FBT) needed definitions that generalized without blocking per-merchant tuning.
Constraints
Third-party scripts/APIs outside agency control; edge cases vendor-specific. SEO-sensitive migrations and B2B pricing competed with visual redesign scope.
Role & ownership
Vertical direction for prioritized automotive accounts: discovery, backlog, acceptance for theme and integrations. With eng: Base Theme gaps; with design: nav and PDP systems that scale; with solutions: vendor escalations. Add-ons: recurring support themes → reusable features with clear config contracts.
Goals & metrics
Launch stability (integration parity, checkout path), better mobile discovery, sustainable theme reuse, merchant satisfaction post-launch, ecommerce outcomes under merchant NDA.
Approach
Each engagement = program with explicit integration ownership—not a waterfall theme handoff. Shopped tasks (find by vehicle, validate fitment, trust PDP, checkout with financing) backward to partner contracts and theme modules.
Decisions & tradeoffs
Depth on integration QA over marginal cosmetic modules when launch risk was partner-dominated. Consistent YMM/search visuals across merchants where possible to cut support load; bespoke merchandising only where revenue evidence supported it.
Cross-functional leadership
Structured test matrices with vendors; written interfaces between merchant ops, agency eng, and partners on migrations. Shared Base Theme improvements so one merchant’s lesson lifted the next.
Execution
BB Wheels: Stencil migration + Search Spring + YMM UX. MAD: Blueprint→Stencil on Base Theme + SureDone YMM, visual homepage CTAs, enhanced mega menu, PDP/category modules, post-launch optimization plan. Revolution: Drupal→BC + SureDone MMY, B2B Edition, FBT, blog, multi-partner cutover. Per app: smoke paths, documented failure modes, feedback into add-on roadmaps.
Outcomes
Live automotive/powersports portfolio on modern Stencil; reusable theme and add-on leverage; merchants set up for SEO, B2B, and catalog iteration without replatforming from scratch.
What changed
Merchants off Blueprint/Drupal onto faster mobile shells, clearer hierarchy, better-aligned third-party surfaces. Internal playbooks for YMM, search, and bundles on BigCommerce.
Lessons learned
Automotive product lead = vendor diplomacy as much as UX; scheduling and evidence beat “should work.” Recurring Search Spring/PIM edge cases belong in docs, not tribal memory.