$1.5B Enterprise Retailer buybuy BABY Launches on Shopify in Record Time

“With Anatta's extensive experience in omnichannel platform technologies and Shopify's robust platform, we were able to rethink the transformation playbook entirely.”

Amit Malhotra

CTO, buybuy BABY

Impact

Moonshot Data Transfer in Record Time

Migrated 30,000+ SKUs and 8.3 million customer records from Oracle ATG to Shopify Plus in just 31 days.

Integrations Are Go

Implemented 14 key integration points, including ERP, OMS, Marketplace, and Shopify POS, with rewards, fraud protection, reviews, and fulfillment functional from launch.

Getting Back to Retail, Fast

buybuy BABY reopened 4 retail stores before the 2023 holiday season, with 6 more opening in the 6 months following the relaunch of buybuybaby.com.

The Challenge

With $1.5B Sales at Risk, buybuy BABY Charts a Daring 31-Day eCommerce Modernization

When Dream On Me acquired buybuy BABY (BBB) in 2023 amid Bed Bath & Beyond’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy, they faced an enormous challenge. BBB’s 130+ stores had shuttered, and its eCommerce site had gone offline. With $1.5B in projected sales for the fiscal year, a fast relaunch was everything.

After meeting with several major platform players, Dream On Me began talks with Shopify to decide whether Shopify Plus could serve as BBB’s new eCommerce solution. But Dream On Me came with an ambitious goal: launch BBB’s new Shopify experience and reopen 4 storefronts in just 31 days, before the critical 2023 holiday shopping period.

The scale of the buybuy BABY project was staggering:

Migrate 30,000+ SKUs and millions of customer records from its legacy platform
Design and develop a branded, optimized Shopify Plus store with omnichannel capabilities
Integrate a 3PL provider and map out fulfillment flows, including a separate OMS for omnichannel
Implement a new checkout experience with third-party payment options, customer rewards, and product review functionality
Integrate with an ERP out of the gate to ensure proper accounting and financial reporting
Integrate security measures, fraud protection, Marketplace, and additional third-party applications
Integrate Shopify POS and be ready for the reopening of the first 4 and future buybuy BABY stores
Ensure the new website could handle BBB’s projected $1.5B in annual sales

Six months to a year. That’s how long a modernization project like the one BBB was proposing usually takes. Updating the digital storefront and integrating POS for the first 4 stores added another layer of complexity.

With no margin for error and every second counting, buybuy BABY needed a partner who could turn their moonshot into reality.

The Solution

Anatta's Modernization Framework, Developed Over 8 Years Leading Enterprise Shopify Implementations

After talking with BBB, Shopify turned to Shopify Platinum Partner Anatta. Shopify recognized that Anatta’s expertise and flexible operating model were key to buybuy BABY’s high-stakes project. Anatta understood the timeline was risky, and from the moment Anatta agreed, Anatta accepted responsibility for the near-impossible project and its outcome.

Informed by eight-plus years of enterprise Shopify work, Anatta’s approach was innovative and pragmatic. Anatta established an agile framework that supported rapid iteration and baked in processes for fast, steady stakeholder alignment. Three rules governed it.

“Default to Default”

Neither time nor energy could be spared for customization or scope creep. The new buybuybaby.com would be built by sticking to native Shopify. Anatta hand-selected the Shopify theme and solutions best suited to buybuy BABY’s use case.

“Deliberate the Difficult”

Choices with large downstream impacts, like selecting a 3PL provider, cannot be changed quickly. One wrong decision would immediately delay the project and the 31-day goal would be missed. Anatta led recurring syncs with both BBB and Shopify to create space for thoughtful deliberation on hard decisions without losing momentum.

“Make ALL Other Decisions Very Fast”

buybuy BABY’s 31-day moonshot left no room for stakeholder misalignment. Anatta established a frequent cadence between stakeholders and the sprint team to remove roadblocks fast.

Throughout the intense sprint, Anatta’s agile framework supported quick pivots, addressing risks and challenges as quickly as they came up. Anatta also worked closely with Shopify to overcome technical challenges, including modifying Matrixify API constraints to speed up the large data transfer.

The Results

buybuy BABY Achieves Its Retail Moonshot

On September 1st, 2023, buybuy BABY's CTO, Amit Malhotra, showcased the new buybuy BABY website to Dream On Me investors and Anatta. Malhotra navigated the site, chatted with customer support, and then successfully placed the first customer order since buybuy BABY went offline. The call erupted in cheers.

Back in Business in 31 Days: Against all odds, buybuy BABY was trading again 31 days after the project began. The full public launch of buybuybaby.com followed shortly after.
A Moonshot Data Transfer: 30,000+ SKUs and 8.3 million customer records moved from Oracle ATG to Shopify Plus inside the same window.
Fourteen Integrations Live at Launch: ERP, OMS, Marketplace, and Shopify POS, alongside customer rewards, fraud protection, product reviews, and fulfillment.
Stores Reopened Before the Holidays: With Anatta’s Shopify POS integration, the first 4 buybuy BABY locations opened with enhanced interoperability and the brand’s classic membership experience. Six more opened in the following six months.
A Registry, Rebuilt: Following the launch, buybuy BABY leaned on Anatta to design and launch a new baby registry feature.

Looking Forward

The relaunch marked more than a technical achievement — it signaled the brand's resurgence in digital retail and beyond. The new Shopify store lets buybuy BABY reconnect with its loyal customer base across channels, and the brand continues its next chapter well-positioned to grow, innovate, and carry its legacy as a trusted name in children's retail.

The quality and efficiency of the all-new buybuybaby.com, along with mobile apps, retail store locations, and a registry solution, was a masterful collaboration. The result is an unprecedented launch timeline in the retail industry.