Adobe Commerce
Shopify
Dermalogica is one of the world’s most respected professional skincare brands, with a strong direct-to-consumer presence in Australia. As their digital ambitions grew, the brand needed a senior Shopify partner who could stabilise the platform, restore confidence, and deliver the kind of customer experience innovation that matches a category-leading skincare brand.
When Acidgreen came on board, Dermalogica was getting poor service from their previous agency, slow delivery, limited visibility over their own platform, and a lack of technical confidence that was holding back both day-to-day operations and bigger initiatives.
Acidgreen ran a full onboarding and remediation program, implemented Searchspring and product recommendation tools, and built a mobile-first “face scan → skincare regimen” feature getting the platform back on track and setting it up as a genuine engine for customer experience innovation.
What We Did
Tools & Technologies
How does a global skincare brand get back in control of its Shopify platform, fix what's broken, and shift from constant firefighting to actually moving forward?
- Take over the Shopify platform from the previous agency in a clean, safe way
- Run a remediation program to get the platform stable and working properly again
- Implement Searchspring for better on-site search and merchandising
- Set up product recommendation tools to improve discovery and sales
- Build a mobile-first "face scan → skincare regimen" experience that reflects the brand's expertise
The Problem
Regaining Control and Getting Back to Innovation
When Acidgreen first got involved, Dermalogica was dealing with a familiar situation, a strong brand and a clear digital roadmap being held back by an underperforming agency.
The main pain points were:
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Poor support from the previous agency slow to respond, no proactive ownership, and a transactional attitude rather than a genuine partnership.
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Slow delivery making it hard to ship improvements, respond to business priorities, or try new things.
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Limited platform visibility Dermalogica’s internal team didn’t have the access or control they needed over their own Shopify store.
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Low technical confidence slowing both everyday operations and any bigger innovation work.
How We Approached It
Acidgreen used its proven partner-takeover and remediation approach, designed to move clients from “fed up with the old agency” to “confident in a new long-term team”:
- Discovery & full Shopify audit A thorough review of the existing theme, customisations, apps, performance, integrations, and operational pain points. This produced a clear, prioritised plan for what to fix and what to build.
- Structured onboarding A clean handover from the previous agency, covering documentation, access controls, codebase review, and risk assessment, keeping the business running without disruption.
- Remediation Targeted fixes to stabilise the platform, tidy up the codebase, and address the most important technical and UX issues.
- Restoring platform control Cleaning up admin permissions, theme structure, and operational documentation so Dermalogica’s internal team could run their own platform confidently.
- Search & merchandising Implementing and tuning Searchspring to deliver better on-site search, filtering, and merchandising suited to the skincare category.
- Personalisation & recommendations Setting up recommendation engines to help customers find the right products, improving the shopping journey and average order value.
- Mobile-first innovation Designing and building a face scan → skincare regimen experience, built mobile-first, that connects a customer’s skin concerns to a personalised Dermalogica routine.
- Long-term partnership Ongoing support, optimisation, and improvements as a trusted Shopify partner.
What We Built and Delivered
A clean, structured takeover of the Shopify platform, covering codebase review, documentation, access management, and risk control, without disrupting the business.
Targeted fixes across the theme, customisations, and configurations to get the platform back to a healthy, stable state.
Cleaned up admin access, theme structure, and operational tooling, giving Dermalogica’s internal team full visibility and confidence in their own platform.
Searchspring deployed for smarter on-site search, filtering, and merchandising, tailored to how skincare shoppers actually search, whether by skin concern, ingredient, or routine.
Recommendation tools set up across product pages, collections, the homepage, and cart, helping customers discover the right products and increasing average order value.
A custom, mobile-first feature that lets customers start with a face scan and get guided towards a personalised Dermalogica skincare routine, bringing professional skincare advice into the digital experience.
Ongoing attention to UX, site speed, technical SEO, and general site health, keeping the platform fast, clean, and ready for whatever comes next.
A senior team working as an extension of Dermalogica’s own team, bringing strategic thinking, technical depth, and reliable delivery.
The Outcome
From Stalled to Moving Forward
Through onboarding, remediation, and a series of focused projects, Acidgreen helped Dermalogica turn a frustrating, low-confidence Shopify environment into a healthy, well-run platform ready for ongoing innovation.
The brand has gone from waiting on an agency to fix things, to actively driving its own roadmap — with a senior partner that understands skincare, Shopify, and the realities of modern beauty retail.
The mobile-first face scan → skincare regimen experience is a good example of where this new dynamic leads: an innovation that genuinely reflects what Dermalogica is about — professional skin guidance, delivered through a seamless digital experience.
Results at a Glance
Platform Stability
A stable Shopify environment, free of the issues and slow delivery that defined the previous agency relationship
Innovation
A standout mobile-first face scan → skincare regimen experience, backed by Searchspring and recommendation tools
Control & Confidence
Dermalogica’s internal team has full platform control and a senior partner they can rely on
Better Customer Experience
A more relevant, more personalised shopping journey that matches the brand’s professional skincare positioning
Why Run a Remediation Program Rather Than Starting Over?
When a Shopify platform has been poorly built or badly supported, the temptation is to rebuild from scratch. But a structured remediation program is often the smarter move:
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Faster recovery Critical issues get fixed first, restoring stability within weeks rather than months
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Lower risk The existing platform is improved progressively, without disrupting daily trade
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Protects your investment Apps, integrations, content, and SEO are preserved and improved, not thrown away
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Sets you up for innovation Once the platform is healthy, the same team can take you from stabilisation through to genuinely new features, as Dermalogica’s face-scan experience shows
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A partner you can trust A long-term Shopify partner who treats your platform like their own
Stuck With the Wrong Shopify Agency?
If your current Shopify partner is slow, unresponsive, or just not keeping up with your ambitions, Acidgreen can help you make a clean switch, get the platform sorted, and start moving forward, just like we did for Dermalogica.
