Expectations on e-commerce systems have risen sharply over the last decade, with customers wanting faster digital experiences, advanced search, seamless checkout and a consistent experience across online and physical stores. Mountain Warehouse's previous platform was becoming increasingly difficult to scale, absorbing significant resources simply to maintain ageing infrastructure.

The retailer needed a platform capable of adapting quickly to changing customer behaviour and emerging trends such as GEO and AI-driven optimisation, while supporting the scale of a business spanning over 400 stores worldwide. With BigCommerce, the team can now innovate faster and integrate best-of-breed technologies rather than maintaining core infrastructure themselves.

For Biddlecombe, the real test of a vendor is whether they strike the right balance between flexibility and control. Mountain Warehouse wanted a platform that allowed it to customise the parts of the experience that genuinely matter to its customers while accelerating innovation across global e-commerce operations, without adding unnecessary operational complexity.

Partnering with BigCommerce lets the team take this flexible approach across payments, search, content and marketing automation, helping implement new features faster while improving security, reliability and compliance.

Algolia gives Mountain Warehouse a better understanding of customer intent in real time. Previously, a search for "waterproof jacket" would have returned a static set of results based purely on the search term itself.

Now, if that same customer filters by kids' sizes, checks local store stock and browses insulated products, the platform can recognise they are likely shopping for a warm, waterproof children's jacket with local availability, surfacing far more relevant results in the moment.

With more than 400 physical stores, Mountain Warehouse wants its online experience to feel as personalised as interacting with a store colleague. The BigCommerce rollout included click-and-collect functionality, more flexible checkout with multiple payment methods and gift cards, and more advanced order handling.

On Gen AI, Biddlecombe is clear the focus is practical: customer service, product discovery and AI-assisted content are all areas of interest, particularly useful in outdoor retail where clearer, tailored guidance on size, fit, colour and activity adds real value. The API-first foundation gives the business flexibility to connect AI tools into the right parts of the operation without locking into one fixed approach.

Key Takeaways

• →Mountain Warehouse replaced a 10-year-old custom-built platform with an API-first architecture on BigCommerce to support 400+ stores worldwide.
• →The right vendor test balances flexibility and control, letting teams customise what matters without adding operational complexity.
• →A core success metric is delivering new features 50% faster than under the legacy platform.
• →Algolia enables real-time interpretation of customer signals, surfacing more relevant results than static keyword search ever could.
• →Click-and-collect, flexible checkout and advanced order handling are helping bridge the gap between online and in-store shopping.
• →Gen AI is being approached practically, focused on customer service, product discovery and content rather than as a standalone project.