Case Study: Southern Swim achieves a successful e-commerce launch and rapid brand growth with Shopify

Southern Swim - Customer Case Study

Southern Swim is a Fayetteville, Arkansas–based online retailer founded in 2013 that curates designer swimwear for the Southern lifestyle. As a self-funded startup launching its Shopify store in December 2013, the team faced a crowded market skewed toward beach/surf marketing, a conservative Southern audience, limited marketing budget and the challenge of growing during the off-season and a cold winter.

They built the brand first using Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, local events and a lifestyle blog to validate their voice and connect with customers, while using Shopify to keep costs and features manageable. That strategy grew social followings quickly (about 30,000 Facebook and 5,000 Instagram), validated product and marketing ideas, kept customer acquisition costs down, and delivered early e-commerce success—positioning Southern Swim to scale marketing and ramp up for the swim season.

Southern Swim