How OutThere USA Sold Out Their Backpacks in One Year with Jolly Web

From Great Gear to Sold-Out Shelves

OutThere USA builds purpose-driven, American-made backpacks for serious adventurers — from ultra-marathoners to backcountry skiers. Their gear is designed for performance, durability, and a no-BS approach to outdoor life. But despite their product quality and loyal customer base, they came to Jolly Web Consulting with a problem that plagues a lot of growing gear brands: they weren’t seeing the sales results they knew they were capable of.

Their goals were simple but ambitious:

• Make it easier for customers to buy
• Stand out in a crowded outdoor gear market
• And ultimately, sell more backpacks

But the road to higher sales wasn’t as simple as redesigning a website or launching a few ads. Instead, it required a deep dive into their systems, customer journeys, and backend logistics — all to build something that actually worked for how their team operated and how their customers shop.

The Challenge: Great Backpacks, But Growing Pains

OutThere USA had a product people loved — but behind the scenes, they were fighting an uphill battle with:

• Inventory confusion: Stockouts and overstock issues plagued their supply chain.
• Outdated systems: Legacy platforms made it difficult to track accurate inventory and sync with their e-commerce store.
• Low visibility on bestsellers: They didn’t have clear insight into which products were gaining traction and why.
• Inconsistent customer experience: Customers didn’t always know what was available or when it would be restocked.

Their website was built on Magento 2, which gave backend control but wasn’t friendly for day-to-day use. Updates were technical and time-consuming, marketing integrations were limited, and the storefront felt clunky to visitors. It wasn’t scalable — and it definitely wasn’t easy to use.

The Solution: Smart Systems, Streamlined Sales

To truly help OutThere USA hit their goal of selling out — without overloading their team or overpromising on inventory — we broke our solution into three key parts:

1. Platform Migration from Magento to Shopify

We moved OutThere USA off Magento and onto Shopify, a platform better suited to their team’s skill level and growth goals. Shopify allowed for:

• A cleaner, more modern storefront
• Easier product updates and content changes
• More robust marketing and analytics integrations

This gave their team control over their site — and gave customers a much smoother buying experience.

2. Custom API Development for Real-Time Inventory

One of the biggest roadblocks was inaccurate inventory syncing. Their warehouse management system and e-commerce platform didn’t talk to each other, which meant:

• Frequent stockouts on bestsellers
• Overstock on less popular models
• Manual reports and inaccurate forecasting

We built a custom API to sync inventory in real time between their warehouse and Shopify. This made sure customers only saw what was actually available, while the OutThere team got live reporting they could actually use.

3. Lean, Targeted Marketing

Instead of trying to outspend bigger competitors, we launched small, scrappy, and well-timed marketing efforts:

• SEO and content updates to drive organic traffic
• Funny, brand-aligned display ads (including one with a skier wiping out)
• Email campaigns built to educate, segment, and convert

A Year of Layered Growth

This wasn’t a quick flip. It was a carefully executed, gradual rollout across 12 months — each phase laying the foundation for the next.

Q1: SEO Foundation

We kicked things off with technical and on-page SEO:

• Optimized all product and collection pages for target keywords
• Built a blog content strategy based on outdoor gear searches
• Improved page speed, mobile performance, and internal linking

This gave us early wins in traffic without any ad spend — and started building real visibility for products like their 15L backpack.

Q2: Display Ads and DOOH Exposure

Once SEO brought consistent traffic, we added a few low-budget paid efforts:

• Retargeting ads for visitors who didn’t convert
• A funny ad with a skier crashing, with the tagline:
  “Our packs hold up. Even when you don’t.”
• A Digital Out-Of-Home (DOOH) campaign for local awareness

These efforts built credibility and reinforced visibility without blowing their budget.

Q3–Q4: Email That Converts

The final push came from email. We launched segmented campaigns that included:

• Restock alerts tied to inventory via the new API
• Educational flows that explained the difference between backpack models
• Seasonal promotions tailored to specific gear types and buyer personas

Because of the site improvements and inventory syncing, these emails could confidently drive traffic — and sales — without disappointment.

The Results: OutThere’s Backpack Sellout

By the end of the year, here’s what this multi-phase approach delivered:

🧭 Sold out of all backpacks

They literally couldn’t keep them in stock. The visibility, SEO traffic, and emails worked — and the new systems helped them manage the rush.

📈 56% increase in total sales

No gimmicks, just cleaner UX, more visibility, and consistent buyer engagement.

🚀 300% increase in traffic to the 15L Backpack page

Thanks to a combo of organic search, email, and retargeting ads, the 15L became the best-selling product in their line.

🔄 Streamlined operations and forecasting

With Shopify and custom APIs, their team could finally plan, restock, and fulfill with confidence.

“I need to order more packs!”
That was the message from the founder when he realized they were about to sell out faster than expected — and weren’t sure if restocks would arrive in time.

Key Lessons and Takeaways

What made this success possible? A few simple truths that apply to any product brand:

• If customers can’t trust what’s in stock, they won’t buy.
• If your team can’t update your site quickly, it will hurt growth.
• You don’t need a massive budget. Just smart moves and solid foundations.

Want Results Like These?

We help small product brands scale like OutThere — especially in outdoor gear, apparel, and ecommerce.

👉 Explore our Shopify website design services
👉 Check out our SEO packages
👉 Book a free strategy call

Let’s help your customers find you, trust you, and buy from you — without the guesswork.

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