Case study

Shopify as the hub for four marketplaces, plus a quiz that finds the right brace.

Brace Direct is a US DTC orthopedic brace brand selling proprietary and clinical braces across Amazon, Walmart, eBay, and Shopify. Muscled built the Shopify storefront on an Empire base, a custom ChannelAdvisor integration that keeps all four channels in sync with field-mapping and fallback logic, and a symptom-check quiz system reviewed for medical accuracy that guides shoppers through a hundreds-deep catalog.

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By the numbers

The numbers speak for themselves

Vault-backed numbers. No presentation-grade estimates. Each one is reconcilable to the founder's own reporting.

Marketplaces unified via Shopify as central hub
4

Shopify store became the central hub managing sales across Amazon, Walmart, eBay, and Shopify itself, all kept in sync via the custom ChannelAdvisor integration with field-mapping and fallback logic.

SRC: Vault notes.md, Figma case study verbatim, 2026-05-21

Customer engagement via guided product quizzes
Higher

Interactive symptom-check quizzes guided customers through body part, condition, and size questions to the most appropriate brace. Client reported improved engagement and conversion rates (specific percentage unverified).

SRC: Vault notes.md, Figma case study verbatim, 2026-05-21

GitHub commits across the Shopify theme build
2,399

2,399 commits across the brace-direct-empire repository over the Dec 2023 to May 2024 engagement, covering custom homepage sections, PDP, Boost PFS templates, quiz system, meganav, and SEO-ready blog layouts on the Empire v9.1.1 base.

SRC: Vault projects/1-shopify-theme-channeladvisor-integration.yaml, 2026-05-21

Brace Direct monthly revenue

Post-rebuild growth
Desktop & Mobile

The full homepage, shown two ways

Two side-by-side screenshots of the long homepage. Hover the desktop card to slowly scroll the screenshot top to bottom, so visitors see the entire page without leaving this one.

  • Desktop · full homepage after rebuild
    4
    Marketplaces unified via Shopify (652 mo)
    /mo at peak
  • Mobile-first after rebuild
    Mobile traffic share
    652 mo
    Engagement length
The work

How the engagement unfolded

  1. Shopify theme build on Empire base

    Dec 2023 — May 2024

    Full custom Shopify theme built on Empire v9.1.1 for an orthopedic medical brace DTC brand. Mobile-first, conversion-oriented UX appropriate to a medical category. Custom homepage sections (hero, featured collections, promotional grids, testimonials, blog posts), custom PDP with compare section, FAQ accordion, wholesale banner, and a purchase-through-insurance CTA. CMS-friendly section blocks and metafields so the team can update content, quizzes, and banners without developer involvement.

    • Empire v9.1.1 base
    • Custom homepage sections
    • Custom PDP
    • Wholesale banner + insurance CTA
    • CMS-friendly architecture

  2. ChannelAdvisor integration — custom API connectors

    Engagement core deliverable

    Built custom API connectors and a synchronization pipeline between Shopify and ChannelAdvisor (multichannel e-commerce management platform, now also branded as Rithum). Real-time sync of product listings, inventory levels, images, product content, and order details across Amazon, Walmart, eBay, and Shopify. Includes a field-mapping layer to reconcile data model differences between Shopify and ChannelAdvisor, plus fallback logic and explicit error handling so failures degrade gracefully rather than leaving data in a broken state. Shopify became the central operational hub.

    • Custom API connectors
    • Sync pipeline
    • Field-mapping layer
    • Fallback logic + error handling
    • Amazon · Walmart · eBay · Shopify

  3. Custom product-recommendation quiz system

    Quiz-Integration branch

    Designed and implemented interactive symptom-check quizzes that walk shoppers through body part, condition type, size, and activity level to surface the most appropriate brace from a catalog spanning hundreds of products. Built on a custom multistep-cards.liquid section. Quiz logic reviewed with Brace Direct's team to ensure medical accuracy before launch — wrong recommendations carry real liability risk. Questions and answers are fully manageable through Shopify's admin after handoff.

    • multistep-cards.liquid
    • Symptom-check flow
    • Medical accuracy review
    • Catalog-aware recommendations
    • Client-editable in admin

  4. Search, filter, and SEO-ready blog templates

    Boost-Collection-Integration branch

    Boost PFS (Product Filter & Search) wired in with custom collection and search templates for both desktop and mobile, plus a wider instant-search sidebar. Meganav system with image blocks, promo panels, and subcollection architecture. SEO-ready blog templates (blog list + blog detail) with on-page optimization for orthopedic niche keywords. Additional sections built: dynamic countdown timers, promo grids, custom hero banners with overlay text, brand/mission content blocks, and a custom featured-product showcase.

    • Boost PFS templates
    • Custom meganav + subcollections
    • Instant search sidebar
    • SEO blog templates
    • Countdown timer + promo grid sections
Project overview

What we built

Brace Direct is a US direct-to-consumer orthopedic brace retailer headquartered in Hixson, Tennessee. The brand sells across back, knee, ankle, wrist, elbow, cervical, and cam-walker categories under both the proprietary Brace Direct line and clinical brands such as Breg, Aspen, and SoftPro. It also runs a Wholesale Discount Program for practitioners and an Affiliates program alongside direct retail.

Muscled built the Shopify store from scratch on the Empire theme base. The two standout engineering deliverables were a custom ChannelAdvisor integration that turned Shopify into the authoritative hub for Amazon, Walmart, eBay, and Shopify itself, and a custom product-recommendation quiz system reviewed for medical accuracy that guides shoppers through hundreds of orthopedic products by body part, condition, size, and activity level.

In their own words

(Testimonial TBD. Vault contact_name is open; Figma case study notes positive feedback without an attributed verbatim quote.)

Brace Direct is a US direct-to-consumer orthopedic brace retailer headquartered in Hixson, Tennessee with a distribution center in Soddy-Daisy, TN. The catalog covers back braces (LSO, thoracic, TLSO), knee braces (OA, stabilizers, unloaders), ankle braces, wrist splints, elbow straps, cervical collars, cam walker boots, and more, across the proprietary Brace Direct line and third-party clinical brands like Breg, Aspen, and SoftPro. The brand also runs a Wholesale Discount Program for practitioners and an Affiliates program.

Brace Direct teamOperations / leadership
The challenge

What was holding them back?

A medical DTC brand selling on four marketplaces needs more than a clean storefront. Product data, images, and inventory had to stay in sync across Amazon, Walmart, eBay, and Shopify; shoppers had to be guided through a hundreds-deep catalog without exposing them to the wrong brace; and the in-house team had to be able to manage content, quizzes, and blog posts without developer support after handoff.

  1. 01

    Product data and inventory were drifting across four marketplaces

    Brace Direct sells on Amazon, Walmart, eBay, and Shopify simultaneously. Without a reliable sync layer, product listings, inventory counts, images, and content drift between channels, ops teams end up manually reconciling, and customers see mismatched stock and pricing. They needed Shopify to act as the authoritative hub for all four channels through ChannelAdvisor.

  2. 02

    Hundreds of orthopedic products with no guided discovery

    The catalog spans every body part and condition (back, knee, ankle, wrist, elbow, cervical collars, cam walker boots, and more) with proprietary and third-party clinical brands. Without a guided discovery experience, shoppers struggled to identify the right brace for their symptom, which suppressed conversion and increased return rates.

  3. 03

    Medical-grade trust required without operational drag

    A direct-to-consumer medical brand can not present a generic e-commerce experience: shoppers need clear product information, size guides, insurance context, and a quiz flow vetted for medical accuracy. At the same time the in-house team is small (11-50 employees) and can not depend on developers to update copy, blog content, or quiz questions after launch.

  4. 04

    Wholesale, affiliates, and B2C all had to live on one storefront

    Brace Direct runs a Wholesale Discount Program for practitioners and an Affiliates program alongside direct retail. The storefront had to surface dedicated Wholesale, Affiliates, and Fitting destinations from the navigation without compromising the B2C shopping flow, and the meganav had to scale across the catalog with image-led subcollection routing.

Before / After

Before and after

Before

After

Funnel collapse: we removed a full page from the path to purchase.

Solutions

What we built to fix it

Each fix maps to a specific lift in the funnel.

  • Custom ChannelAdvisor integration with field-mapping and fallback logic

    Built custom API connectors and a synchronization pipeline between Shopify and ChannelAdvisor. Real-time sync of product listings, inventory levels, images, content, and order details across Amazon, Walmart, eBay, and Shopify. Mapping layer reconciles data model differences between the two systems. Explicit fallback logic and error handling so failed syncs degrade gracefully instead of corrupting product data. Shopify becomes the authoritative source of truth for the multichannel operation.

  • Custom product-recommendation quiz built for medical accuracy

    Designed and implemented interactive symptom-check quizzes on a custom multistep-cards.liquid section: shoppers answer questions about body part, condition type, size, and activity level, and the quiz returns the most appropriate brace from the catalog. Quiz logic reviewed with Brace Direct's team for medical accuracy before launch. Questions, answers, and recommendation routing are managed by the client in the Shopify admin without developer involvement after handoff.

  • Empire-based theme with CMS-friendly architecture and SEO-ready blog

    Full custom theme on Empire v9.1.1: custom homepage sections, PDP with compare section and FAQ accordion, wholesale banner with insurance CTA, custom hero with overlay text, and brand/mission content blocks. CMS-friendly section blocks and metafields let the team update content, banners, and quizzes without developer support. SEO-ready blog templates with on-page optimization improved organic visibility for orthopedic niche keywords. Sections also include dynamic countdown timer, promo grid, image-with-text, accordion, testimonials, and an HTML injection block.

  • Boost PFS search and meganav for catalog navigation

    Boost PFS Product Filter & Search wired in with custom collection and search templates for both desktop and mobile, plus a wider custom instant-search sidebar. Meganav system with image blocks, promotional panels, and a subcollection architecture for parent-to-sub navigation by body part. Dedicated Wholesale, Affiliates, and Fitting routes exposed from the nav so the B2B and affiliate programs share the storefront cleanly with the B2C flow.

The stack

What it was built on

Tools picked for the job, not for the resume.

  • Shopify
    Platform
  • Empire v9.1.1 theme base
    Theme
  • Liquid + custom sections
    Templating
  • ChannelAdvisor (Rithum)
    Multichannel ERP
  • Boost PFS (Product Filter & Search)
    Search & filtering
  • Avada SEO
    SEO
  • Globo Form Builder
    Forms
  • KiwiSizing
    Size guides
How we engineer performance

Speed is a revenue lever, not a vanity score

Every Muscled build is engineered to the same standard. The numbers below are the published industry benchmarks we design against, not stand-ins for any one client's figures.

conversions per 0.1s of load-time improvement on ecommerce sites.

+8.4%

SRC: DELOITTE / GOOGLE

conversion rate for stores loading under 2s, vs the ~1.4% Shopify average.

2.4%

SRC: SHOPIFY PERFORMANCE DATA

conversion lift per 1s of mobile load-time gained, where 90% of traffic lives.

+10-20%

SRC: SHOPIFY MOBILE BENCHMARKS

// OUR PERFORMANCE GATE we don't ship unless field Core Web Vitals hold: LCP ≤ 2.5s · INP ≤ 200ms · CLS < 0.1 (p75, mobile)

Capability surface

The techniques behind a build like this

Multichannel ERP integration

  • ChannelAdvisor / Rithum
  • Custom API connectors
  • Shopify as central hub
  • Amazon · Walmart · eBay · Shopify
  • Product listings sync
  • Inventory levels sync
  • Images sync
  • Product content sync
  • Order details sync
  • Field-mapping layer
  • Fallback logic
  • Error handling
  • Reconciliation pipeline
  • Reusable for Linnworks / Cin7 / Brightpearl

Product-recommendation quiz system

  • Symptom-check flow
  • Medical accuracy review
  • Client-editable in admin
  • multistep-cards.liquid section
  • Body part question
  • Condition type question
  • Size question
  • Activity level question
  • Catalog-aware recommendation
  • Hundreds of SKUs covered
  • Reduces decision paralysis
  • Reduces return risk

Custom theme on Empire base

  • Empire v9.1.1
  • CMS-friendly sections
  • Mobile-first conversion UX
  • Custom homepage sections
  • Custom PDP compare
  • FAQ accordion
  • Wholesale banner
  • Purchase-through-insurance CTA
  • Custom hero overlay
  • Brand / mission blocks
  • Subcollections architecture
  • Dynamic countdown timer
  • Dynamic promo grid
  • Testimonials section
  • SEO-ready blog templates

Search, forms, and integrations

  • Boost PFS filters
  • Avada SEO
  • KiwiSizing size guides
  • Custom collection template (desktop)
  • Custom collection template (mobile)
  • Custom search template (desktop)
  • Custom search template (mobile)
  • Wider instant-search sidebar
  • Meganav with image blocks
  • Promo panels in nav
  • Globo Form Builder
  • Wholesale / Affiliates / Fitting routes
Storefronts

One build. Multiple markets.

Same theme code across markets, with localized pricing, currency, and region-specific content routed automatically.

  • United States

    Primary storefront / multichannel hub
    • Empire v9.1.1 theme
    • ChannelAdvisor sync
    • Symptom-check product quiz
    • Boost PFS filters
    • Custom meganav + subcollections
    • CMS-friendly sections
    • Wholesale + Affiliates + Fitting nav
    • SEO-ready blog templates
    United States screenshot
    Served from the same Shopify Markets build. Dedicated capture not included.
Full build · sections

Every section, built mobile-first

The full build is many numbered sections, each designed for the phone first. The rail below shows a sample. Scroll horizontally to step through.

The results

What the work delivered

Each number is reconcilable to the founder's own reporting.

Marketplaces unified via Shopify as central hub
4

Shopify store became the central hub managing sales across Amazon, Walmart, eBay, and Shopify itself, all kept in sync via the custom ChannelAdvisor integration with field-mapping and fallback logic.

SRC: Vault notes.md, Figma case study verbatim, 2026-05-21

Customer engagement via guided product quizzes
Higher

Interactive symptom-check quizzes guided customers through body part, condition, and size questions to the most appropriate brace. Client reported improved engagement and conversion rates (specific percentage unverified).

SRC: Vault notes.md, Figma case study verbatim, 2026-05-21

GitHub commits across the Shopify theme build
2,399

2,399 commits across the brace-direct-empire repository over the Dec 2023 to May 2024 engagement, covering custom homepage sections, PDP, Boost PFS templates, quiz system, meganav, and SEO-ready blog layouts on the Empire v9.1.1 base.

SRC: Vault projects/1-shopify-theme-channeladvisor-integration.yaml, 2026-05-21

Ready to ship yours?

Let's talk about what you want to ship.

A Shopify storefront built from scratch on Empire v9.1.1, a custom ChannelAdvisor integration unifying four marketplaces under Shopify as the central hub, a medically vetted product-recommendation quiz, and a CMS-friendly section architecture the team can run without developer support. 2,399 commits across the Dec 2023 to May 2024 engagement.

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