Half Sumo is an independent clothing brand founded by Luigi Scarcella and Alberto Mancini, built around bold illustration, character-driven artwork, and a strong creative identity.
My relationship with Half Sumo started before the brand existed. I first worked with Luigi on a client website, where he led the visual design and I handled the development. That project became the beginning of a long-running creative partnership. At the time, Luigi was designing websites, but his real strength was always his illustration work. When he and Alberto later turned that creative direction into a clothing line, I helped bring the brand online.
In 2019, I built the original Half Sumo Shopify store, set up the e-commerce structure, and added the first round of products. The goal was to create a store that could support the practical needs of selling online while giving the artwork and products enough room to carry the experience.
Since launch, I’ve continued to support the site through multiple stages of growth. As Shopify moved from Online Store 1.0 to Online Store 2.0, I handled the theme migration, updating the technical foundation of the store while preserving the custom details and visual character that made the site feel specific to Half Sumo.
I’ve also worked on conversion-focused improvements throughout the buying journey. On product pages, I added stock-based messaging to create urgency in a clear and natural way. When fewer than 10 items are left, the page shows a low-stock notice. As stock gets lower, the message becomes more prominent, changing colour when fewer than 5 items remain and again when fewer than 3 are left.
For sold-out products, I adjusted the experience so the page does not simply become a dead end. Instead of only telling customers that an item is unavailable, the site invites them to join the newsletter and be notified when it comes back in stock. That gives Half Sumo a way to keep interested customers connected, even when a sale cannot happen immediately.
I also added a free-shipping progress bar to the cart. As customers shop, they can see how close they are to reaching the free-shipping threshold. It is a small but useful feature that makes the cart feel more interactive and gives customers a reason to continue browsing.
Half Sumo has been more than a one-off Shopify build. It has been an ongoing collaboration across development, platform updates, product launches, and conversion improvements. My role has been to give the brand a reliable technical foundation, then continue refining the site as the business grows.
