Case Study: Engineering Scale and Revenue Growth for a £200m E-commerce Healthcare Leader

Executive Summary: Technical Architecture for UK E-commerce at Scale

Pharmacy2U required a high-performance, scalable solution to manage the complexities of a £200,000,000 turnover digital pharmacy. The project involved displacing inherited inefficiencies with a modern, senior-engineered stack designed for high-volume transactions and rigorous clinical security standards. By integrating BigCommerce with advanced data tools, Softy delivered a platform that prioritised both operational stability and revenue growth through hyper-personalised customer experiences.

The Challenge: Scaling a High-Velocity National E-Retailer

Pharmacy2U, the UK’s largest digital pharmacy and a world-leading provider of digital healthcare, face the complexities of managing a high-turnover (£200,000,000) B2C operation. Operating in a highly regulated clinical sector, they required software that was not only scalable but also secure and bug-free.

Their growth strategy, driven by mergers and acquisitions, required the seamless integration of existing software systems within a fast-paced corporate environment where multiple high-stakes projects ran simultaneously. Beyond mere stability, the brand needed to maximise customer lifetime value through more sophisticated promotional and recommendation engines.

The Softy Intervention: Senior-Led Architectural Excellence

Rather than delivering a "black box" solution, Softy worked side-by-side with Pharmacy2U’s internal developers. We translated their complex requirements into a state-of-the-art e-commerce store built on a robust, modern tech stack.

• 1Architecting for Massive Scale

  Using Azure, NextJs, React, and TypeScript, we designed a system built for long-term longevity. The architecture was specifically engineered to handle high volumes of visitors and transactions, ensuring that future growth would not be hindered by technical bottlenecks

• 2Driving Revenue via Hyper-Segmentation

  To maximise revenue per transaction, we facilitated a third-party data integration with Nosto. This allowed for personalised product recommendations based on hyper-segmented user behaviour, turning the storefront into a powerful cross-selling engine

• 3Advanced Promotional Engineering

  We integrated the BigCommerce promotion and coupon engine to support complex up-selling strategies. This enabled the brand to deploy sophisticated offers, including 3-for-2 deals, BOGOF, and free gifts, with total reliability

• 4Collaborative Quality Assurance

  To mitigate the risk of bugs in a regulated sector, Softy integrated directly into the client’s established QA procedures. By following Pharmacy2U’s rigorous coding standards, we ensured the final product met the highest expectations for clinical safety and reliability

The Result: Commercial Precision and 100% IP Control

The partnership delivered a high-performance digital asset that protected Pharmacy2U’s reputation and revenue

• Increased Lifetime Value

  Enhanced cross-sell and up-sell capabilities led to higher revenue per transaction and increased customer lifetime value

• Reduced Revenue Leakage

  More reliable code and a superior user experience resulted in fewer bugs and a significant decrease in user drop-off

• Full Asset Ownership

  All work was carried out directly within the client’s codebase under a strict NDA, ensuring Pharmacy2U retained 100% control and ownership of their intellectual property at all .

• Operational Agility

  By providing regular updates and working closely with product owners, we ensured full transparency and hit critical delivery milestones

The Founder's Perspective

"In a £200m e-commerce environment, there is no room for 'brittle' code. We provided Pharmacy2U with the senior engineering capacity to integrate complex systems and drive revenue, all while ensuring they maintained total ownership of their technical assets."

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