ChatGPT answers, unedited

• Praella - eCommerce Agency - 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• BlueBolt Solutions - 415 N La Salle Dr, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency - 205 N Michigan Ave Suit 810, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Atwix - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Codal - 433 W Van Buren St Ste 205, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Fresh Design Studio - 53 W Jackson Blvd, Ste 256, Chicago, IL 60604
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States

For a Chicago retailer needing Shopify theme development + an ongoing CRO/testing relationship, these downtown/central options are worth putting on an RFP list:

• Praella - eCommerce Agency — 203 N LaSalle. Shopify/Shopify Plus, UX, development, and CRO; particularly relevant for a retailer wanting strategy + execution. Shopify Agency Directory
• BlueBolt Solutions — 415 N LaSalle. Shopify Plus, integrations, technical support, and CRO/experimentation.
• 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency — 205 N Michigan. Shopify development plus CRO, SEO, paid media, and ongoing growth services.
• Atwix — 20 N Wacker. Stronger fit if integrations/complex commerce architecture matter alongside Shopify development.

For your specific brief, I'd put Praella and BlueBolt into the first-round RFP, then ask each to show 2–3 examples where the same team handled theme development and subsequent experimentation rather than handing CRO to another group.

For a Chicago retailer looking for Shopify theme development + an ongoing CRO (conversion rate optimization) testing program, I’d shortlist agencies that can stay involved after launch rather than just build a storefront. The best fit depends on whether you need a design-led DTC partner, a Shopify Plus engineering team, or a growth/experimentation partner.

Downtown / Chicago-based agencies to evaluate

Shopify specialists worth adding to the RFP

• shopify.com — Chicago Shopify partner focused specifically on Shopify builds, redesigns, theme customization, analytics, and ongoing CRO-oriented optimization. Shopify
• clutch.co — Shopify-focused development shop with strong Shopify Plus positioning; a fit if you mainly need technical execution and theme work. Clutch
• shopifyagencydirectory.com — Chicago Shopify specialist listed for store builds, migrations, theme development, and B2B/unified commerce work. Shopify Agency Directory

How I’d structure the agency search

For a retailer, I’d ask each agency for:

1. A Shopify 2.0 theme case study

• Before/after screenshots
• Performance improvements
• Conversion impact (not just aesthetics)
• Their CRO operating model

• How they choose tests
• Testing cadence (monthly vs quarterly)
• Tools used (e.g., analytics stack, A/B testing platform)
• How they handle failed tests
• The post-launch team

• Named strategist
• Shopify developer availability
• Design support
• Analytics ownership
• Retail-specific experience

• Large catalogs
• Promotions/seasonality
• Store + ecommerce integration
• Loyalty, subscriptions, personalization, merchandising

Given your role as a marketing director, I’d probably prioritize agencies that combine Shopify implementation + experimentation discipline rather than a pure development shop. A good shortlist for initial conversations would be Praella, Colored Byte, BlueBolt, Atwix, and SPLIT, then compare their CRO methodology and retainer structure. Shopify Clutch

I can also help you build a Chicago Shopify agency RFP scorecard (criteria, weights, interview questions, and expected pricing ranges).

• Praella - eCommerce Agency - 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• BlueBolt Solutions - 415 N La Salle Dr, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Atwix - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency - 205 N Michigan Ave Suit 810, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Ethercycle - 4905 Old Orchard Shopping Ctr, Skokie, IL 60077, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Virtina - eCommerce Web Design and Development Company - 1 E Erie St Ste 525-2149, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Fresh Design Studio - 53 W Jackson Blvd, Ste 256, Chicago, IL 60604
• 1o8 - 231 S LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Awesome Dynamic Tech Solutions, Inc. - 401 N Michigan Ave #1200, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Alpha Efficiency - Web Design Chicago Agency - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States

If you mean downtown/Loop Chicago specifically, I’d shortlist agencies based on the combination of Shopify theme engineering + ongoing experimentation/CRO, rather than simply “Shopify development.”

My shortlist

• Praella - eCommerce Agency — best overall fit to investigate first. They’re headquartered at 203 N LaSalle and focus heavily on Shopify/Shopify Plus, including store builds, migrations, optimization and longer-term partnerships. That combination is a good match if you want one team owning both the technical roadmap and growth work.
• BlueBolt Solutions — strong technical/enterprise option. Their Chicago office is at 415 N LaSalle, and their offering spans Shopify/Shopify Plus development, integrations, technical support and CRO/experimentation. I’d particularly consider them if your retailer has complex OMS/ERP/PIM or other back-office integrations.
• Atwix — good for a technically demanding Shopify build. Their Chicago office is at 20 N Wacker. They work across Shopify Plus and other commerce platforms, with custom development and digital transformation capabilities. I'd ask specifically how much of their ongoing retainer is dedicated to CRO rather than development.
• 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency — broader ecommerce/growth option. Their downtown office is at 205 N Michigan. They cover ecommerce development plus marketing and CRO, so they could make sense if you want more than just a development partner. Their local review sample is relatively small, though.
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. — enterprise-scale alternative. Their Loop office is at 200 W Jackson. This is the one I'd consider if you're a sizable retailer with complex integrations, governance, analytics and a larger digital organization; it may be more agency than you need for straightforward theme + CRO work.

One non-downtown agency I'd still put on the RFP

Glued is worth considering even though it isn't a downtown Chicago shop. Its positioning is unusually close to your requirement: Shopify development specifically designed around conversion, with CRO as a core discipline. It also has Chicago/Midwest experience, including work with Vital Proteins. Glued

There's also ConversionEX, which explicitly describes the combination you're after: custom Shopify/Shopify Plus builds plus a continuous experimentation program involving research, hypotheses, prioritized tests and reporting. ConversionEX

How I'd narrow it

For a Chicago retailer, I'd invite Praella, BlueBolt, and one CRO-first specialist to pitch. The key question isn't “Can you develop our Shopify theme?”—lots of firms can. It's:

“After launch, can the same team continuously identify, design, build, instrument, and measure experiments without turning every A/B test into a new project?”

Ask each agency for a 90-day post-launch CRO roadmap, including:

• number of experiments they expect to run/month;
• who owns hypothesis generation;
• whether design + Liquid development are included in the retainer;
• analytics/testing stack (GA4, Shopify analytics, VWO/Optimizely/AB Tasty, etc.);
• how they handle statistically inconclusive tests;
• examples of actual conversion lifts, not just redesign case studies;
• proposed monthly retainer and included development hours.

One important distinction: some agencies market “CRO” as UX recommendations and reporting, while others actually operate a test → learn → build → retest program. For your requirement, I'd strongly favor the latter.

If you tell me roughly your annual ecommerce revenue / Shopify Plus status and monthly CRO budget, I can narrow this to 3 agencies and give you a side-by-side RFP shortlist with likely fit, strengths, weaknesses, and questions to ask each.

• Praella - eCommerce Agency - 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• BlueBolt Solutions - 415 N La Salle Dr, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Ethercycle - 4905 Old Orchard Shopping Ctr, Skokie, IL 60077, United States
• 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency - 205 N Michigan Ave Suit 810, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Forge Digital Marketing - Naperville, IL 60517
• Virtina - eCommerce Web Design and Development Company - 1 E Erie St Ste 525-2149, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• WPrime Agency - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza #1212, Chicago, IL 60654, United States

For a Chicago retailer needing Shopify theme development + ongoing CRO/testing, I’d shortlist:

• Praella - eCommerce Agency — strongest overall fit: Shopify Plus, UX, CRO, analytics, and ongoing optimization. Downtown at 203 N LaSalle. eSEOspace
• BlueBolt Solutions — particularly interesting if you want serious experimentation/A-B testing alongside Shopify Plus engineering; River North.
• Ethercycle — Shopify-specialist with custom themes and CRO, though it’s in Skokie rather than downtown.
• 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency — downtown at 205 N Michigan; broader ecommerce/CRO capability, useful if you want marketing and development under one roof.
• Uncap — excellent Shopify reputation and Chicago-based; especially worth considering for more complex commerce/integration requirements. Clutch Shopify Agency Directory

My first three calls: Praella, BlueBolt, and Uncap. For a retailer specifically, I’d make the RFP require a 90-day experimentation roadmap, testing methodology, theme-development team, analytics stack, and examples of statistically validated conversion lifts—not just redesign case studies.

• Praella - eCommerce Agency - 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• BlueBolt Solutions - 415 N La Salle Dr, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Atwix - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Codal - 433 W Van Buren St Ste 205, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency - 205 N Michigan Ave Suit 810, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Virtina - eCommerce Web Design and Development Company - 1 E Erie St Ste 525-2149, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• SEO Design Chicago | Digital Marketing & Web Design Agency - 2068 N Western Ave 1F - Front, Chicago, IL 60647, United States
• WPrime Agency - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza #1212, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Avex E-commerce Agency - 368 9th Ave 5th Floor Suite 146, New York, NY 10001, United States

Yes. For a Chicago retailer that specifically needs Shopify theme development + an ongoing CRO/testing program, I’d narrow the field considerably rather than choosing a general web agency.

My shortlist

1. Praella - eCommerce Agency — best overall fit

• Downtown at 203 N LaSalle St.
• Shopify/Shopify Plus is a core specialty, with storefront builds, redesigns and optimization.
• Strongest candidate if you want a strategic long-term Shopify partner, not just developers.
• I’d put them first on an RFP for a mid-market/enterprise retailer.
• BlueBolt Solutions — best for complex retail infrastructure

• 415 N La Salle Dr, River North.
• Particularly interesting if your Shopify store has ERP/PIM/CRM integrations, subscriptions, complex catalog logic, or other technical requirements.
• Their offering also includes CRO experimentation and managed services, making them a good fit for ongoing work.
• Atwix — best for larger/technical Shopify programs

• 20 N Wacker Dr.
• Dedicated ecommerce development agency with Shopify Plus expertise and broader enterprise-commerce capabilities.
• I'd consider them if the theme work is substantial or likely to evolve into integrations and platform work.
• Codal — strong West Loop option

• 433 W Van Buren St.
• More of a digital product/ecommerce consultancy than a pure Shopify shop. Shopify is among its commerce capabilities, with UX, engineering and custom integrations.
• Worth including if you want UX/design thinking alongside development.

One important caveat

I found several agencies marketing themselves as "Chicago Shopify + CRO" firms, but I would not automatically equate a Chicago address with a genuinely local Shopify/CRO team. For example, ConversionEX has a detailed Chicago Shopify/CRO offering, including continuous experimentation, but its listed address is actually in Albuquerque. ConversionEX ConversionEX

Likewise, some newer agencies make impressive performance claims that I'd want independently substantiated before putting them on an enterprise retailer RFP.

How I'd run the RFP

For your particular brief, I'd ask each agency to respond to the same five things:

• Theme engineering: examples of Shopify 2.0/Online Store 2.0 builds where the merchant's internal team can continue creating sections and merchandising without developers.
• CRO: exactly how many experiments they typically run per month, their testing methodology, and what happens when traffic isn't sufficient for conventional A/B testing.
• Development + CRO integration: whether CRO winners are actually incorporated into the production theme rather than left as experiments.
• Retail experience: comparable retailers by revenue, SKU count, traffic and Shopify/Shopify Plus complexity.
• Commercial model: initial theme engagement + monthly CRO/dev retainer, including how many engineering hours are actually committed.

I'd especially probe the distinction between "CRO" meaning UX recommendations and actual experimentation. The latter should include instrumentation, hypothesis formation, experiment design, QA, statistical analysis and implementation of winners.

If I were selecting three agencies to invite first: Praella, BlueBolt, and Atwix. Praella would be my first conversation for the combined build + ongoing growth brief.

If you tell me roughly annual ecommerce revenue, Shopify vs. Shopify Plus, monthly sessions, and whether you need a full redesign or just theme redevelopment, I can rank these specifically for your retailer and identify 3–5 additional Chicago firms worth putting into the RFP.

• Praella - eCommerce Agency - 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• BlueBolt Solutions - 415 N La Salle Dr, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Atwix - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency - 205 N Michigan Ave Suit 810, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Codal - 433 W Van Buren St Ste 205, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave #1300, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Ethercycle - 4905 Old Orchard Shopping Ctr, Skokie, IL 60077, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Virtina - eCommerce Web Design and Development Company - 1 E Erie St Ste 525-2149, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Invesp - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• SEO Design Chicago | Digital Marketing & Web Design Agency - 2068 N Western Ave 1F - Front, Chicago, IL 60647, United States

Yes. For your specific brief—Shopify theme development + an ongoing CRO/testing program—I’d narrow the Chicago market considerably rather than choosing a generic digital agency.

My shortlist

• Praella - eCommerce Agency — best overall fit. Their downtown office is at 203 N LaSalle, and they specialize in Shopify/Shopify Plus, UX, custom development, migrations, and conversion work. A recent Chicago agency comparison also identifies Praella as a Platinum Shopify partner with a strong UX/CRO orientation. eSEOspace
• BlueBolt Solutions — strong mid-market/enterprise option. They're at 415 N LaSalle and combine Shopify/Shopify Plus development with integrations and CRO/experimentation. I'd consider them if your retailer has a fairly complex tech stack.
• Atwix — strongest technical/enterprise choice downtown. Their Chicago office is at 20 N Wacker. They're more of a commerce engineering firm than a pure CRO shop, with Shopify Plus among their platforms. I'd favor them if theme work involves substantial integrations or custom functionality.
• 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency — worth interviewing if you want broader marketing attached to the CRO program. They're at 205 N Michigan and offer Shopify development, design, CRO, SEO and paid marketing under one roof.
• Codal — good larger consultancy option. Their West Loop office is at 433 W Van Buren. They're stronger on UX/product/engineering and complex commerce programs than on pure ongoing experimentation, so I'd probe their actual CRO testing cadence before selecting them. eSEOspace

One important distinction: Uncap and some other highly regarded Chicago Shopify firms aren't actually downtown—Uncap, for example, is up near O'Hare. If "downtown" is a hard requirement, I'd prioritize Praella, BlueBolt, Atwix and 1DIGITAL.

How I'd evaluate them

For a retailer, I wouldn't ask merely, "Can you do Shopify development and CRO?" I'd give all finalists the same brief and ask them to show:

1. Two Shopify theme projects where they owned both UX/design and Liquid/theme development.
2. A real experimentation roadmap—how they go from analytics → customer research → hypothesis → A/B test → implementation.
3. Testing volume: how many meaningful experiments they typically launch per quarter.
4. Who actually runs the work: named strategist, designer, developer and analyst—not just an account manager.
5. Post-launch retainer structure: hours/sprints versus fixed deliverables.
6. How they handle Shopify's native capabilities before recommending apps or custom code.
7. Three CRO case studies with quantified results, not just redesign case studies.

For your use case, I'd put Praella and BlueBolt at the top of the first-round RFP, then use Atwix as the technical benchmark. Praella appears particularly aligned with the combination of Shopify + UX + conversion work you're describing. eSEOspace

If you tell me roughly annual ecommerce revenue, Shopify vs. Shopify Plus, and whether you need the agency to handle design as well as development, I can narrow this to 3 agencies and give you a side-by-side RFP shortlist with likely strengths, weaknesses, and questions to ask each.

• Praella - eCommerce Agency - 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• BlueBolt Solutions - 415 N La Salle Dr, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Codal - 433 W Van Buren St Ste 205, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Atwix - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency - 205 N Michigan Ave Suit 810, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Invesp - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave #1300, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Ethercycle - 4905 Old Orchard Shopping Ctr, Skokie, IL 60077, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Virtina - eCommerce Web Design and Development Company - 1 E Erie St Ste 525-2149, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• 1o8 - 231 S LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• SEO Design Chicago | Digital Marketing & Web Design Agency - 2068 N Western Ave 1F - Front, Chicago, IL 60647, United States

Yes. For your specific brief—Shopify theme development + an ongoing CRO/testing program—I’d narrow the Chicago market considerably rather than choosing a generic digital agency.

My shortlist

• Praella - eCommerce Agency — Best overall fit. Their downtown office is at 203 N LaSalle. They’re a Shopify-focused ecommerce agency with strong UX/design, Shopify Plus development, and ongoing optimization/CRO capabilities. A good choice if you want one partner responsible for both the initial theme work and the post-launch growth roadmap. eSEOspace
• BlueBolt Solutions — Best for a technically complex retailer. They're downtown at 415 N LaSalle and combine Shopify/Shopify Plus development with integrations, technical support and CRO/experimentation. I'd consider them if your theme work touches ERP/PIM/OMS, inventory, or other back-end systems.
• Codal — Best for a larger redesign/transformation. Their West Loop office is at 433 W Van Buren. They're more of a UX/product/engineering consultancy than a pure Shopify shop, which can be advantageous if you're undertaking a substantial redesign rather than simply customizing a theme. They're listed among Chicago's stronger Shopify agencies. eSEOspace
• Atwix — Best for engineering-heavy Shopify work. Their downtown office is at 20 N Wacker. They handle Shopify Plus and custom ecommerce development, although I'd specifically interrogate how much of their ongoing retainer is actual experimentation/CRO versus development support.
• 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency — Worth considering if you want broader digital marketing attached to CRO. They're at 205 N Michigan and offer ecommerce development, design, migrations and CRO. I'd rank them below Praella/BlueBolt for a sophisticated retailer whose primary requirement is a rigorous experimentation program.

One non-downtown agency I'd still put on the RFP

Colored Byte deserves a look even though it's not a downtown-office pick. Shopify's own Partner Directory describes it specifically as a Shopify agency doing design, builds/redesigns, data-driven experimentation, and long-term CRO/support. That's unusually close to your exact brief. Shopify

There's also Invesp at the Merchandise Mart, which I'd consider as a CRO specialist if you eventually decide to separate experimentation strategy from Shopify development. Their core offering is ongoing experimentation, research and conversion optimization rather than primarily theme development.

How I'd RFP them

For a retailer, I wouldn't ask simply "Can you do CRO?" I'd ask each agency for:

1. Three examples of Shopify theme work where they materially improved conversion, not just aesthetics.
2. Their proposed 90-day experimentation roadmap for your existing store.
3. How they form hypotheses—analytics, session recordings, customer research, merchandising data, etc.
4. Who actually runs the tests and implements winning variants.
5. What testing platform they use and how they deal with Shopify's technical limitations.
6. A sample monthly CRO report, including failed tests. This is a very good agency-quality filter.
7. Whether the same team that builds the theme remains responsible for optimization afterward.
8. Their retainer structure: number of experiments/month, development hours, research hours and strategy hours.

My first three calls would be Praella, BlueBolt, and Colored Byte. Praella is probably the strongest all-around fit; BlueBolt moves up if your Shopify environment is technically complicated; Colored Byte moves up if the emphasis is heavily on continuous experimentation.

If you tell me roughly annual ecommerce revenue, Shopify vs. Shopify Plus, and whether you need in-person Chicago meetings, I can narrow this to 3 agencies and compare their likely strengths, pricing tier, and relevant client/case-study evidence.

• Praella - eCommerce Agency - 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• BlueBolt Solutions - 415 N La Salle Dr, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency - 205 N Michigan Ave Suit 810, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Invesp - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• 1o8 - 231 S LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Ethercycle - 4905 Old Orchard Shopping Ctr, Skokie, IL 60077, United States
• Forge Digital Marketing - Naperville, IL 60517
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• SEO Design Chicago | Digital Marketing & Web Design Agency - 2068 N Western Ave 1F - Front, Chicago, IL 60647, United States

Yes. For a Chicago retailer that wants both Shopify theme engineering and an ongoing CRO/testing program, I’d narrow the field considerably rather than choosing a generic web agency.

My shortlist

1. Praella - eCommerce Agency — best overall fit

• Downtown at 203 N LaSalle.
• Shopify/Shopify Plus specialist with strong UX, development, integrations and CRO capabilities.
• Particularly compelling if you want the same partner to build the theme and then keep iterating it rather than handing CRO to another vendor. eSEOspace
• My first call for a sophisticated retail/DTC program.
• BlueBolt Solutions — best for complex commerce

• River North, 415 N LaSalle.
• Strong Shopify Plus, custom apps, headless, integrations and structured experimentation/CRO.
• I'd put them high on the list if your retailer has substantial POS/ERP/inventory complexity or a large existing tech stack.
• 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency — best broad ecommerce partner

• 205 N Michigan Ave.
• Covers Shopify development/design and CRO, SEO, paid media and broader ecommerce growth.
• Worth considering if you want one agency accountable for more than just the storefront.
• Invesp — best CRO specialist to pair with a build agency

• At the Merchandise Mart.
• Their core competency is experimentation: research, testing, implementation and conversion optimization.
• I wouldn't necessarily make them your theme-development vendor; I'd consider them if CRO sophistication is more important than having one agency own everything.
• 1o8 — worth a look for consumer/retail marketing

• 231 S LaSalle.
• More marketing/consumer-growth oriented than Shopify-engineering-first, so I'd rank them below Praella/BlueBolt for your specific brief.

How I'd approach the RFP

I'd invite Praella, BlueBolt and 1DIGITAL to pitch the same brief, and ask each to demonstrate:

• A Shopify 2.0/OS 2.0 theme architecture they'll actually maintain rather than repeatedly redesign.
• Their process for turning Figma designs into performant Liquid sections/components.
• A 90-day CRO roadmap after launch.
• How they formulate hypotheses and prioritize tests.
• Whether they run actual A/B experiments versus simply making "CRO recommendations."
• Who owns analytics, GA4/GTM, Shopify analytics and experiment instrumentation.
• Their typical monthly retainer and what's included in development hours.
• Two examples where they both built the Shopify storefront and subsequently improved conversion, with before/after metrics.

One important distinction: there are plenty of Chicago agencies that can build Shopify stores, but the combination of serious theme engineering + disciplined ongoing experimentation is much rarer. Current Chicago agency rankings also put several Shopify specialists—including Praella and Uncap—near the top of the market. Clutch Shopify Agency Directory

If you give me your approximate annual ecommerce revenue, Shopify vs. Shopify Plus, and whether you're looking for ~$5–10k/month or $15k+/month in ongoing work, I can narrow this to the 3 agencies I'd actually put on your RFP list.

• Praella - eCommerce Agency - 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• BlueBolt Solutions - 415 N La Salle Dr, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Atwix - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency - 205 N Michigan Ave Suit 810, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Invesp - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Codal - 433 W Van Buren St Ste 205, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• Danie Lyn The Brand - 401 N Michigan Ave, Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60611
• SEO Design Chicago | Digital Marketing & Web Design Agency - 2068 N Western Ave 1F - Front, Chicago, IL 60647, United States
• 1o8 - 231 S LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Digital4Startups Inc. - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza Suit 1212, Chicago, IL 60654, United States

If by “downtown” you mean the Loop/River North/Mag Mile area, I’d shortlist these based on the specific combination you need: Shopify theme development + ongoing CRO/experimentation, rather than just general web design.

My shortlist

• Praella - eCommerce Agency — My first call. Their Chicago office is at 203 N LaSalle, and they focus heavily on Shopify/Shopify Plus, ecommerce UX, development, and optimization. They look particularly well suited if you want one strategic partner rather than separate dev and CRO vendors.
• BlueBolt Solutions — Strong technical option. At 415 N LaSalle, they combine Shopify/Shopify Plus development, integrations, technical support, and CRO. I'd consider them if your retailer has a fairly complicated tech stack or ERP/OMS integrations.
• Atwix — Best for larger/complex commerce. Their downtown office is at 20 N Wacker. They're more engineering/ecommerce-transformation oriented than a pure CRO shop, with Shopify Plus and custom commerce development capabilities.
• 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency — Worth including for a broader growth mandate. They're at 205 N Michigan and offer Shopify development alongside design, digital marketing and CRO. I'd put them on the RFP if you want the agency involved beyond the storefront itself.
• Invesp — CRO specialist, not my pick as the sole Shopify vendor. They're at The Merchandise Mart and are much more experimentation/CRO-centric. They could be particularly interesting if you already have strong Shopify engineering internally or want an independent CRO partner.

How I'd rank them for your use case

One caveat: I'd distinguish “we do CRO” from a genuine experimentation program. For example, a serious program should include behavioral research, hypothesis prioritization, experiment design, statistical methodology, QA, and then actually implementing winners back into the Shopify theme. That's the standard I'd use when evaluating proposals. Current Chicago-market offerings show a meaningful difference between agencies that primarily build Shopify stores and those explicitly running continuous experimentation. ConversionEX Bigfolio LLC

For an RFP, I'd specifically ask each agency to propose a 90-day post-launch CRO roadmap, including the first 5–10 tests they'd run, what data they'd need, who builds the experiments, and how development hours are handled. That will reveal very quickly who is genuinely capable of owning both sides.

If you tell me roughly annual ecommerce revenue, Shopify vs. Shopify Plus, and whether you need the agency to be physically in the Loop, I can narrow this to the 3 agencies I'd actually invite to pitch.

• Praella - eCommerce Agency - 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• BlueBolt Solutions - 415 N La Salle Dr, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Atwix - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave #1300, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• Invesp - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Ethercycle - 4905 Old Orchard Shopping Ctr, Skokie, IL 60077, United States
• 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency - 205 N Michigan Ave Suit 810, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• WPrime Agency - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza #1212, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• 1o8 - 231 S LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• SEO Design Chicago | Digital Marketing & Web Design Agency - 2068 N Western Ave 1F - Front, Chicago, IL 60647, United States

If I were shortlisting for a Chicago retailer that needs both Shopify theme development and an ongoing CRO/testing program, I’d focus on agencies that can own the technical storefront and the experimentation roadmap—not just a design shop or a CRO consultancy.

My Chicago shortlist

• Praella - eCommerce Agency — strongest overall fit.

Their Chicago office is at 203 N LaSalle, and they specialize in Shopify/Shopify Plus, UX, conversions, migrations and custom development. A recent Chicago agency comparison specifically calls out Praella for “ongoing UX and CRO.” eSEOspace
Best for: a sophisticated retailer wanting one partner across theme work, UX and continuous optimization.

• BlueBolt Solutions — best technical/enterprise option.

They're downtown at 415 N LaSalle and combine Shopify/Shopify Plus development with integrations and CRO/experimentation. Mejix
Best for: a retailer with ERP/PIM/OMS integrations or a technically complicated Shopify environment.

• Atwix — worth an RFP slot.

Their Chicago office is at 20 N Wacker. They're a larger commerce-development firm with Shopify Plus capability, though they're more platform/engineering-oriented than a pure CRO specialist.
Best for: substantial rebuilds, integrations or enterprise architecture where CRO is part of a broader commerce program.

• Americaneagle.com, Inc. — best if you want a large agency.

Their downtown office is at 200 W Jackson. They're a broad digital/ecommerce organization rather than Shopify-only, but their Shopify Plus offering includes development, analytics, marketing and CRO. eSEOspace
Best for: larger retailers with procurement/vendor-management requirements and multiple digital disciplines.

• Uncap — consider if your retail operation has B2B/unified-commerce complexity.

They're Chicago-based and particularly strong around Shopify Plus, B2B, ERP/PIM/CRM integrations and conversion-oriented storefront development. They're not downtown (near O'Hare), so I'd treat them as a functional rather than geographic recommendation. eSEOspace

Who I'd actually invite to pitch

For your specific brief, I'd start with Praella, BlueBolt and Atwix, with Americaneagle.com as the larger-agency benchmark.

I'd structure the RFP around one question: “Can you demonstrate that the same team that builds our Shopify theme will continuously improve it based on experimentation?”

Ask each agency to show:

1. 2–3 Shopify retail case studies with measurable conversion/AOV/revenue improvements.
2. Their approach to theme architecture and maintainability—not just making a beautiful redesign.
3. A concrete 90-day CRO roadmap: research → hypotheses → prioritization → A/B test → analysis → implementation.
4. Who actually performs the work: senior Shopify developer, UX/CRO strategist, designer, analytics person, etc.
5. Whether CRO retainers include development hours for implementing winning tests.
6. Their testing stack—Shopify analytics plus whatever they use for experimentation, session research and behavioral analytics.
7. How they avoid false-positive tests and “testing theater.”
8. A proposed monthly operating model and fee, rather than just a one-time redesign quote.

One important distinction: Invesp, which has a Chicago presence at The MART, is much more CRO/experimentation-centric, but I'd view it as a potential CRO specialist rather than the single agency for your Shopify theme-development requirement. Invesp

If you tell me roughly annual ecommerce revenue, Shopify vs. Shopify Plus, and whether you need the agency physically in the Loop, I can narrow this to 3 agencies and compare likely strengths, pricing tier, relevant retail clients, and who I'd contact first.

One important distinction: Invesp, which has a Chicago presence at The MART, is much more CRO/experimentation-centric, but I'd view it as a potential CRO specialist rather than the single agency for your Shopify theme-development requirement. Invesp

• Praella - eCommerce Agency - 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• BlueBolt Solutions - 415 N La Salle Dr, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Atwix - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency - 205 N Michigan Ave Suit 810, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Ethercycle - 4905 Old Orchard Shopping Ctr, Skokie, IL 60077, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Codal - 433 W Van Buren St Ste 205, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Invesp - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• SEO Design Chicago | Digital Marketing & Web Design Agency - 2068 N Western Ave 1F - Front, Chicago, IL 60647, United States
• 1o8 - 231 S LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• WPrime Agency - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza #1212, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States

Yes. For your specific brief—Shopify theme development + an ongoing, experimentation-led CRO program—I’d narrow the Chicago field considerably rather than hire a general web/marketing agency.

My shortlist

• Praella - eCommerce Agency — best overall fit. Downtown at 203 N LaSalle. They’re Shopify-focused, with Shopify Plus, ecommerce UX, development, and optimization capabilities. I’d put them first on the RFP list if you want a partner that can own both the technical roadmap and growth work.
• BlueBolt Solutions — strongest enterprise/technical option. At 415 N LaSalle, they’re particularly interesting if your retailer has complex integrations or a larger Shopify Plus operation. Their offering explicitly includes conversion optimization and structured A/B/multivariate testing alongside Shopify development.
• Atwix — strong engineering-heavy alternative. Their downtown office is at 20 N Wacker. They work across Shopify/Shopify Plus and other commerce platforms, so I'd consider them if theme development, integrations, and scalability are more important than having a pure-play CRO culture.
• Marcel Digital — worth considering if CRO/analytics is the bigger priority. They’re in River North and have dedicated CRO, UX, analytics, SEO and development capabilities. I'd ask specifically how much of their CRO work is actual controlled experimentation versus UX recommendations.
• 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency — broader ecommerce-growth option. Their downtown office is at 205 N Michigan. They combine ecommerce development with CRO, SEO, paid media and other growth services, so they're potentially attractive if you want to consolidate more of the digital stack.

One important caveat

If “downtown” means physically local, the above are good candidates. But I wouldn't restrict the RFP to downtown. For example, Chicago Web describes a Chicago-based Shopify practice focused specifically on custom themes and Shopify integrations, while WayOut explicitly combines custom Shopify theme/headless development with analytics and A/B testing. Chicago Web WayOut Inc

Also, Ethercycle is in the Chicago area rather than downtown and is unusually Shopify-centric, with ongoing optimization/CRO. That's the kind of specialist I'd include in the competitive set even if they're not in the Loop. Ethercycle

How I'd run the RFP

For a retailer, I'd ask each agency to price two separate but connected workstreams:

1. Theme/product development

• Shopify 2.0 theme architecture
• Figma → Liquid implementation
• component/section library
• performance/Core Web Vitals
• merchandising and mobile UX
• ongoing feature development
• CRO retainer

• quantitative + qualitative research
• hypothesis backlog
• A/B testing
• test design and statistical methodology
• implementation
• monthly learnings/reporting
• prioritization based on incremental revenue, CVR and AOV—not just “engagement”

The key interview question I'd ask is: “Show us the last 12 months of experiments you personally ran for a Shopify retailer, including hypotheses, sample sizes, winners/losers, and what actually changed afterward.” That will separate genuine CRO teams from agencies that simply call UX work “CRO.”

My first three calls would be Praella, BlueBolt, and Ethercycle—with Marcel added if experimentation/analytics is more important than deep Shopify engineering.

If you tell me roughly annual ecommerce revenue, Shopify vs. Shopify Plus, product category, and whether you need the agency to be physically in Chicago, I can narrow this to 3 agencies and build a side-by-side scorecard for your RFP.

• Praella - eCommerce Agency - 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• BlueBolt Solutions - 415 N La Salle Dr, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency - 205 N Michigan Ave Suit 810, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Invesp - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Ethercycle - 4905 Old Orchard Shopping Ctr, Skokie, IL 60077, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• WPrime Agency - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza #1212, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• SEO Design Chicago | Digital Marketing & Web Design Agency - 2068 N Western Ave 1F - Front, Chicago, IL 60647, United States
• 1o8 - 231 S LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Millennial Web Development - 329 W 18th St Ste 413, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Danie Lyn The Brand - 401 N Michigan Ave, Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60611
• SWIDIA - Growth Marketing Agency - 2089 W Wabansia Ave, Chicago, IL 60647, United States

Yes. For your specific brief—Shopify theme development + an ongoing, experimentation-led CRO program—I’d narrow the downtown Chicago field considerably rather than choosing a general web/marketing agency.

My shortlist

• Praella - eCommerce Agency — 203 N LaSalle St

• Probably my first call for an established retailer.
• Strong Shopify/Shopify Plus development, redesigns, customizations and migrations, with the technical depth to handle a sophisticated retail stack.
• Worth probing specifically on how much of their post-launch work is true experimentation versus maintenance/UX recommendations.
• BlueBolt Solutions — 415 N LaSalle Dr

• Very good fit if you're looking for a commerce engineering + optimization partner, rather than a creative agency.
• Their offering includes Shopify Plus, custom apps, Checkout Extensibility and structured A/B/multivariate testing tied to conversion, AOV and retention.
• I'd put them high on the RFP list if your retailer has integrations or a complicated Shopify implementation.
• Marcel Digital — Chicago

• Stronger choice if analytics, measurement and CRO discipline are as important as theme development.
• They combine development, CRO/UX, analytics, SEO and digital marketing, which can be useful if you want one team accountable for the whole funnel.
• 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency — 205 N Michigan Ave

• More of a broader digital/growth agency, but they explicitly cover ecommerce, Shopify and CRO.
• I'd consider them if you want Shopify work alongside paid media, Amazon/DTC and broader growth marketing.
• Invesp — Merchandise Mart

• CRO specialist rather than my pick for the Shopify build itself.
• If you are willing to split the work, I'd seriously consider them as the experimentation partner alongside a Shopify development shop. Their core proposition is research → experimentation → implementation rather than simply redesigning pages.

One important caveat

I wouldn't automatically limit the search to agencies whose office address is downtown. For this particular requirement, there are some Chicago-area specialists that look stronger on the actual Shopify+CRO combination.

For example, Dumo Digital is Chicago-area based and specifically combines Shopify/Shopify Plus development with CRO, analytics and ongoing optimization for consumer brands. Dumo Digital

And Code2Commerce is Chicago-based and explicitly positions itself around Shopify/Shopify Plus, custom themes, conversion optimization and ongoing support. LinkedIn

How I'd rank them for your brief

One thing I'd be particularly careful about: don't accept "CRO" as a synonym for redesigns. For an ongoing retainer, I'd ask every agency to show 3–5 actual experiments, including hypothesis, sample-size methodology, test duration, result, and what they changed after the result. An agency that only shows winning screenshots isn't demonstrating an experimentation program.

If you tell me roughly annual ecommerce revenue, Shopify vs. Shopify Plus, monthly sessions, and whether you're DTC-only or also have stores/wholesale, I can narrow this to the 3 agencies I'd actually invite to the RFP and give you a suggested RFP scorecard.

• Praella - eCommerce Agency - 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• BlueBolt Solutions - 415 N La Salle Dr, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Atwix - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Marcel Digital - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1285, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Sixth City Marketing - 620 N La Salle Dr Ste 415, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Invesp - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Nansen LLC - 300 W Hubbard St Ste 301, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• 1o8 - 231 S LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Awesome Dynamic Tech Solutions, Inc. - 401 N Michigan Ave #1200, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency - 205 N Michigan Ave Suit 810, Chicago, IL 60601, United States

Yes. For a Chicago retailer specifically needing Shopify theme development + an ongoing CRO/testing program, I’d narrow the field considerably rather than choosing a generic digital agency.

My shortlist

1. Praella - eCommerce Agency — best overall fit

• Downtown at 203 N LaSalle St.
• Shopify Platinum Partner with a strong Shopify Plus orientation.
• Explicitly combines UX/design, Shopify development, CRO, analytics, integrations and ongoing optimization. Shopify’s own partner directory confirms its CRO and Shopify Plus capabilities. Shopify
• Why I'd shortlist: probably the strongest combination of serious Shopify engineering and conversion optimization for an established retailer.
• BlueBolt Solutions — strongest experimentation-oriented option

• River North, 415 N LaSalle Dr.
• Particularly interesting if your requirement is continuous experimentation, not just periodic CRO audits. Its capabilities include A/B and multivariate testing, personalization and CRO alongside Shopify/Shopify Plus development.
• Why I'd shortlist: good candidate if the marketing team already has analytics/testing infrastructure and wants an agency to run a genuine experimentation roadmap.
• Atwix — strong technical/enterprise choice

• Loop at 20 N Wacker Dr.
• Full-service ecommerce engineering across Shopify/Shopify Plus and other commerce platforms.
• Why I'd shortlist: especially if your retailer has complex integrations, ERP/PIM/OMS requirements or a substantial technical roadmap. I'd probe them harder on who actually owns ongoing CRO rather than assuming it's their core strength.
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. — best larger-agency alternative

• Loop at 200 W Jackson Blvd.
• Large, established ecommerce/digital organization with Shopify Plus capabilities, analytics, CRO and post-launch support.
• Why I'd shortlist: if procurement, enterprise support, integration depth and broader digital capabilities matter as much as Shopify specialization. The tradeoff is that you may get a less boutique/Shopify-centric engagement.
• Marcel Digital — worth considering for analytics/CRO

• Loop at 20 N Wacker Dr.
• Stronger on analytics, CRO, SEO and digital performance than on being a pure Shopify specialist.
• Why I'd shortlist: potentially good if your biggest gap is turning customer/analytics data into a disciplined testing program, with development support attached.

One I'd investigate outside the downtown constraint

SPLIT Development is particularly interesting for your exact brief. Current Chicago rankings show it as a Shopify Plus specialist, with 80% of its focus on Shopify and a process that starts with a CRO audit and continues through revenue-focused development. Clutch If you're willing to relax "downtown" in favor of capability, I'd put them in the RFP.

How I'd rank them for your use case

One caveat: "CRO" can mean very different things. For your RFP, I'd explicitly require a monthly cadence of hypothesis → design/dev → QA → A/B test → statistical analysis → learning backlog, rather than accepting "CRO consulting" as a deliverable. That's the distinction I'd use to separate Praella/BlueBolt/SPLIT from a generic Shopify shop.

If you tell me your approximate annual ecommerce revenue, Shopify vs. Shopify Plus, and whether you have an in-house developer, I can narrow this to 2–3 agencies and give you an RFP scorecard/questions to use in the pitches.

• Praella - eCommerce Agency - 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• BlueBolt Solutions - 415 N La Salle Dr, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Atwix - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Invesp - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Ethercycle - 3 S Prospect Ave, Ste 12, Park Ridge, IL 60068
• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave #1300, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Allevi8 Marketing - 6127 S University Ave Ste 110K, Chicago, IL 60653, United States
• Ethercycle - 4905 Old Orchard Shopping Ctr, Skokie, IL 60077, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Sixth City Marketing - 620 N La Salle Dr Ste 415, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Nansen LLC - 300 W Hubbard St Ste 301, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency - 205 N Michigan Ave Suit 810, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• WPrime Agency - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza #1212, Chicago, IL 60654, United States

Yes. For your specific brief—Shopify theme development + an ongoing CRO/testing program—I’d narrow the Chicago field considerably rather than choosing a general digital agency.

My Chicago shortlist

1. Praella - eCommerce Agency — best overall fit

• 203 N LaSalle St, downtown/Loop
• Shopify/Shopify Plus is a core competency, with UX, development, CRO, analytics, integrations, and ongoing optimization.
• Particularly attractive if you're a meaningful retail brand rather than a small DTC startup. Their Shopify profile specifically highlights conversions, UX, integrations and custom development. Shopify Agency Directory
• My take: I'd put them first on the RFP list.
• BlueBolt Solutions — strong technical + CRO option

• 415 N LaSalle Dr, River North
• Focuses on established ecommerce businesses, including Shopify/Shopify Plus, custom development, integrations and CRO/experimentation.
• Good candidate if your theme work will involve complicated merchandising, ERP/PIM/OMS integrations or other technical constraints.
• Atwix — best for enterprise complexity

• 20 N Wacker Dr, Loop
• Downtown office and substantial ecommerce-development capability across Shopify Plus and other platforms.
• I'd consider them if your retailer has a sophisticated technology stack or significant integration requirements, though they may be more engineering-heavy than you need for straightforward theme/CRO work.
• Invesp — CRO specialist to consider

• The Merchandise Mart
• This is the interesting option if experimentation is the strategic priority. Invesp specializes in managed CRO and experimentation rather than simply treating CRO as an add-on to web development.
• I'd consider pairing a CRO specialist like this with a Shopify development shop if you want unusually rigorous testing.
• Ethercycle — Shopify/CRO specialist, but not downtown

• Chicago-area Shopify specialist with custom theme work, optimization and ongoing support.
• Their positioning is unusually close to your exact requirement: Shopify development plus conversion optimization.
• I'd include them even though they're outside downtown because the specialization may matter more than office location.

One important distinction

I'd separate "Shopify development agency that also does CRO" from "true experimentation partner."

For example, Bigfolio explicitly offers Shopify Plus development, CRO, UX optimization, A/B testing and ongoing optimization. Bigfolio LLC That's a good model for an integrated engagement. Conversely, Invesp is much more experimentation-centric.

For a Chicago retailer, my first three calls would therefore be:

Praella → BlueBolt → Ethercycle

And I'd add Invesp if you want a serious testing/experimentation capability rather than just UX recommendations and occasional A/B tests.

One other agency worth knowing about is Uncap. It's Chicago-based and highly Shopify-focused, but its office is northwest of downtown; I'd prioritize it if your retailer has complicated B2B/unified-commerce or back-office requirements rather than primarily consumer-facing CRO.

If you tell me roughly annual ecommerce revenue, Shopify vs. Shopify Plus, and whether you want the agency to own the testing strategy/analytics as well as development, I can narrow this to 3 agencies and give you a side-by-side RFP scorecard (capabilities, likely fit, estimated engagement model, and questions to ask each).

• Praella - eCommerce Agency - 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• BlueBolt Solutions - 415 N La Salle Dr, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Ethercycle - 4905 Old Orchard Shopping Ctr, Skokie, IL 60077, United States
• Invesp - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave #1300, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave, Ste 1300, Chicago, IL 60631
• Digital4Startups Inc. - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza Suit 1212, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Ethercycle - 3 S Prospect Ave, Ste 12, Park Ridge, IL 60068
• SWIDIA - Growth Marketing Agency - 2089 W Wabansia Ave, Chicago, IL 60647, United States
• ALX Creatives - 420 W Huron St, Chicago, IL 60654
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Chelsea and Rachel Co - Parker, CO 80134
• 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency - 205 N Michigan Ave Suit 810, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Marcel Digital - 445 W Erie St #200, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States

Yes. For a Chicago retailer that needs both Shopify theme development and an ongoing CRO/testing program, I’d narrow the field pretty aggressively rather than choosing a generic digital agency.

My shortlist

1. Praella - eCommerce Agency — best overall fit

• Downtown at 203 N LaSalle St.
• Shopify Plus-focused, with UX/design, custom development, conversion optimization, integrations and ongoing improvements.
• Particularly compelling if you're a mid-market/enterprise retailer rather than a small DTC brand. A recent Chicago agency comparison also identifies Praella as one of the strongest local Shopify Plus options for ongoing UX/CRO. eSEOspace
• I'd put them first on the RFP list.
• BlueBolt Solutions — best for sophisticated retail/ecommerce

• 415 N LaSalle Dr, River North.
• Strong combination of Shopify/Shopify Plus development, UX, integrations and CRO/experimentation, plus managed services.
• I'd especially consider them if your retailer has ERP/PIM/OMS complexity or needs the agency to become a genuine long-term technical partner.
• Ethercycle — best Shopify specialist

• Not actually downtown (Chicagoland), but worth including.
• Shopify-focused rather than a broad marketing agency, with custom theme development, performance work and CRO/iterative optimization.
• Good candidate if you want a leaner, Shopify-native team rather than a large enterprise agency.
• Invesp — best CRO/testing specialist to benchmark against

• At The Merchandise Mart.
• Their strength is experimentation and conversion optimization rather than being primarily a Shopify theme shop.
• I'd consider them if CRO is going to be a substantial part of the engagement—and potentially pair them with a Shopify development team. Their Chicago presence is particularly relevant for an in-person relationship.
• Uncap — strong Shopify Plus option, but not downtown

• Chicago-based, though up near O'Hare rather than the Loop.
• Particularly strong for retailers with B2B/wholesale + DTC, complex catalogs, ERP integration or unified commerce. Their offering includes ongoing managed growth and optimization. eSEOspace

One wildcard I'd add

Code2Commerce is worth an RFP if you want a smaller, senior team. It is Chicago-headquartered and explicitly positions itself around custom Shopify development, performance and continuous iteration rather than "build it and disappear." Code2Commerce - Shopify Partner Agency

How I'd rank them for your specific brief

For a marketing director, I'd RFP Praella, BlueBolt, and Ethercycle first, with Invesp as the CRO benchmark if experimentation is strategically important.

One important distinction I'd make in the RFP: don't ask merely for "CRO." Ask each agency to propose a 12-month experimentation operating model—research → hypothesis backlog → design/dev → A/B testing → statistical readout → winning implementation. That will separate agencies that actually run experimentation programs from agencies that simply make UX recommendations.

If you tell me roughly annual ecommerce revenue, Shopify vs. Shopify Plus, and your retail category, I can narrow this to the 3 agencies I'd actually invite to pitch and give you a suggested RFP scorecard.

If by “downtown” you mean The Loop / River North / West Loop, I’d prioritize agencies that can genuinely do both Shopify theme engineering and an ongoing experimentation program, rather than a traditional web shop that calls UX tweaks “CRO.”

My Chicago shortlist

• ConversionEX — Best fit for a CRO-led engagement. They explicitly combine Shopify/Shopify Plus storefront development with continuous experimentation, including research, hypothesis prioritization, A/B-test implementation, QA, analytics and ongoing optimization. Their Chicago offering is particularly focused on revenue-per-session and statistically disciplined testing. ConversionEX ConversionEX

conversionex.com

• WayOut — Strongest all-around build + optimization option. They specifically target Chicago brands and offer custom themes/headless builds, Shopify Functions, performance optimization, and analytics/A/B testing. They mention work across The Loop, River North and West Loop. WayOut Inc

wayoutinc.com

• Code2Commerce — Good choice if you want a smaller, hands-on technical partner. Their scope explicitly includes custom theme development, CRO/SEO, migrations, troubleshooting and ongoing maintenance/optimization. They're Chicago-based, although their headquarters isn't downtown. Code2Commerce - Shopify Partner Agency LinkedIn

code2commerce.com

• Netalico — Worth considering for a larger retailer or Shopify Plus operation. They emphasize ongoing optimization, A/B testing, performance and conversion improvements rather than treating the launch as the end of the engagement. Netalico

netalico.com

• Makro — More enterprise-oriented. Particularly interesting if your retailer has a large catalog, multiple locations, complex integrations, or B2B/wholesale requirements. Their Chicago practice focuses on Shopify Plus design, development and custom applications. Makro Agency

makroagency.com

How I'd narrow it

For a marketing director who wants one agency accountable for both the theme and the optimization roadmap, I'd interview ConversionEX, WayOut, and Code2Commerce first.

I'd make the RFP very specific:

1. Theme: ongoing Liquid/theme development, not just a one-time redesign.
2. CRO: research → hypothesis backlog → A/B test design → development → QA → statistical analysis → implementation of winners.
3. Testing cadence: ask how many completed experiments they realistically deliver per month.
4. Analytics: GA4/Shopify analytics/event instrumentation and experiment attribution.
5. Retainer: dedicated developer + CRO strategist rather than pooled agency hours.
6. Proof: ask for 2–3 Shopify clients where they can show baseline → test → statistically defensible result → permanent implementation.
7. Commercial model: separate the fixed theme-development budget from the recurring CRO retainer so you can judge the ongoing program independently.

One caveat: I wouldn't make physical downtown location the deciding criterion. Several of the strongest Shopify specialists serving Chicago operate elsewhere in the city/metro, while still providing Chicago-based or Central Time coverage. The capabilities above matter considerably more for this particular scope.

If you tell me roughly annual online revenue, Shopify vs. Shopify Plus, monthly traffic/orders, and whether you need a redesign or just ongoing theme work, I can narrow this to 3 agencies and give you a side-by-side comparison of likely fit, strengths, weaknesses, and what I'd ask each one in the pitch.

One caveat: I wouldn't make physical downtown location the deciding criterion. Several of the strongest Shopify specialists serving Chicago operate elsewhere in the city/metro, while still providing Chicago-based or Central Time coverage. The capabilities above matter considerably more for this particular scope.

• Praella - eCommerce Agency - 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• BlueBolt Solutions - 415 N La Salle Dr, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Invesp - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Nansen LLC - 300 W Hubbard St Ste 301, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• DEPT® - 1 S Wacker Dr 22nd Floor, Suite #2250, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Sixth City Marketing - 620 N La Salle Dr Ste 415, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave #1300, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave, Ste 1300, Chicago, IL 60631
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Ethercycle - 4905 Old Orchard Shopping Ctr, Skokie, IL 60077, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• ALX Creatives - 420 W Huron St, Chicago, IL 60654
• 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency - 205 N Michigan Ave Suit 810, Chicago, IL 60601, United States

Yes. For a Chicago retailer that wants one partner for Shopify theme development + an ongoing CRO/testing program, I’d narrow the field considerably rather than hiring a generic web agency.

My shortlist

1. Praella - eCommerce Agency — best overall fit

• Downtown at 203 N LaSalle.
• Shopify/Shopify Plus-focused, with theme customization, redesigns, and ongoing optimization.
• I’d put them at the top of the RFP if you want development and growth/CRO under one roof.
• Their Shopify specialization is substantially stronger than a typical Chicago digital agency.
• BlueBolt Solutions — best for a technically complex retailer

• At 415 N LaSalle in River North.
• Stronger candidate if your Shopify store has ERP/PIM/CRM/3PL integrations or other technical complexity.
• They explicitly cover Shopify/Shopify Plus, technical support, CRO and experimentation.
• Invesp — best CRO specialist

• Based at The MART.
• This is the one I'd consider if testing rigor is more important than having a single agency own everything. Their core specialty is conversion optimization and experimentation rather than Shopify development.
• A compelling model would be Invesp owning the experimentation strategy while a Shopify specialist executes the theme work.
• Nansen LLC — interesting growth/optimization option

• 300 W Hubbard in River North.
• Their offering spans ecommerce, UX/UI, analytics, personalization and CRO, so they're worth considering if you want a more strategy + optimization-oriented relationship rather than just a development shop.
• DEPT® — best if you want a larger marketing partner

• Downtown at One South Wacker.
• Strong CRO, analytics, creative and performance-marketing capabilities, but I'd expect them to be a larger/more expensive engagement than a Shopify-specialist boutique.

One I'd add despite the "downtown" requirement

Makro is particularly relevant if you're on Shopify Plus and are a substantial retailer. Their Chicago practice specifically combines Shopify Plus design/development with data & analytics and CRO, including ongoing experimentation. Makro Agency

Also, Code2Commerce is worth putting on the longlist: it explicitly positions itself around Shopify/Shopify Plus, custom theme development, CRO and ongoing optimization/support. LinkedIn

How I'd RFP these agencies

I'd give the finalists the same brief and ask them to propose a 90-day program, not just a website redesign:

• Shopify theme: initial audit → prioritized UX/theme backlog → development → QA.
• CRO: analytics audit, session recordings/qualitative research, hypothesis backlog.
• Testing: 2–4 meaningful experiments/month, with sample-size methodology and clear success metrics.
• Reporting: revenue per visitor/session, conversion rate, AOV—not just "test winner/loser."
• Iteration: winning tests get incorporated into the production theme.
• Commercial model: fixed cost for initial theme work + monthly retainer for experimentation/development.

One particularly important screening question: "Show us three examples where your team both built the Shopify experience and subsequently ran experiments against it." A surprising number of agencies can do one side well but not both.

If I were choosing three calls: Praella, BlueBolt, and Invesp. I'd use Makro instead of Invesp if you're a larger Shopify Plus retailer and want a single enterprise-capable partner.

If you tell me roughly annual online revenue, Shopify vs. Shopify Plus, and your product category, I can narrow this to 3 agencies and compare likely fit, strengths, weaknesses, and expected retainer/project economics.

If I were choosing three calls: Praella, BlueBolt, and Invesp. I'd use Makro instead of Invesp if you're a larger Shopify Plus retailer and want a single enterprise-capable partner.

If you tell me roughly annual online revenue, Shopify vs. Shopify Plus, and your product category, I can narrow this to 3 agencies and compare likely fit, strengths, weaknesses, and expected retainer/project economics.

• Praella - eCommerce Agency - 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• BlueBolt Solutions - 415 N La Salle Dr, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Invesp - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave #1300, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• Ethercycle - 4905 Old Orchard Shopping Ctr, Skokie, IL 60077, United States
• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave, Ste 1300, Chicago, IL 60631
• Digital4Startups Inc. - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza Suit 1212, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Ethercycle - 3 S Prospect Ave, Ste 12, Park Ridge, IL 60068
• Elevate Studios: A Digital Design Firm - 5416 N Wayne Ave, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• SWIDIA - Growth Marketing Agency - 2089 W Wabansia Ave, Chicago, IL 60647, United States
• ALX Creatives - 420 W Huron St, Chicago, IL 60654
• 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency - 205 N Michigan Ave Suit 810, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Chelsea and Rachel Co - Parker, CO 80134

Yes. For Shopify theme development + an ongoing CRO/testing program, I’d narrow the Chicago market considerably rather than hiring a generic web agency.

My shortlist

1. Praella - eCommerce Agency — best overall fit

• Downtown at 203 N LaSalle St.
• Shopify Platinum Partner with a dedicated mix of UX/design, development, CRO, analytics and integrations. Shopify’s own directory specifically lists conversion-rate optimization among its services. Shopify
• This is probably my first call if you want one partner accountable for both the theme and a continuing experimentation roadmap.
• Particularly attractive if you're a mid-market/enterprise retailer rather than a small DTC brand.
• BlueBolt Solutions — strong for sophisticated retail

• 415 N LaSalle Dr, near River North.
• More of a digital-commerce/technology partner than a pure creative agency. Its capabilities include Shopify/Shopify Plus, UX, experimentation/CRO, integrations and managed services.
• I'd put them high on the list if your Shopify store has significant ERP/PIM/OMS or other integration complexity.
• Invesp — best CRO specialist, but less of a one-stop shop

• Located at The Merchandise Mart.
• Their core strength is conversion optimization and experimentation, including research, testing and funnel optimization.
• I'd consider them if CRO is the strategic priority and you're willing to have a separate Shopify development resource—or potentially ask them whether they'll own the development execution.
• Design In Chicago — boutique/local option

• 159 N Sangamon St in the West Loop.
• Offers Shopify development alongside UX, digital design and ongoing website optimization.
• Worth interviewing if you want a smaller, more hands-on team and don't need the enterprise Shopify specialization of Praella.

One important caveat

If by “downtown” you mean strictly the Loop/River North/West Loop, I'd prioritize Praella and BlueBolt. There are other very credible Chicago Shopify specialists, but they're not actually downtown—for example, Uncap is near O'Hare, despite being a strong Shopify/CRO choice. Its offering explicitly combines Shopify development with ongoing managed growth and optimization. eSEOspace

Also, current Chicago Shopify rankings show SPLIT Development and Bryt Designs getting strong client-review signals for Shopify development, but I'd want to probe much harder on their ongoing experimentation/CRO methodology before putting them ahead of the three above. Clutch

How I'd run the agency RFP

For your particular requirement, I wouldn't ask simply, “Can you do Shopify development and CRO?” I'd ask each agency for a proposed 6-month operating model:

• Theme/dev: dedicated Shopify/Liquid engineers and design support
• CRO: research → hypothesis → design → development → A/B test → analysis → iteration
• Testing cadence: ideally a defined number of experiments/month rather than vague “optimization”
• Analytics: GA4 + Shopify analytics + experimentation platform + proper event instrumentation
• Commercial model: monthly retainer with a specified dev capacity
• Roadmap: how they prioritize tests by expected revenue impact
• Case studies: actual conversion/revenue lifts, not just prettier redesigns
• Ownership: who writes the hypothesis, builds the variant, QA's it, analyzes the result, and decides the next test

My initial interview order would be: Praella → BlueBolt → Invesp, with a fourth boutique agency as a price/approach benchmark.

If you tell me roughly annual ecommerce revenue, Shopify vs. Shopify Plus, and whether you already have an internal ecommerce/dev team, I can narrow this to the 3 agencies I'd actually put in your RFP and give you a side-by-side scorecard.

• Praella - eCommerce Agency - 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• BlueBolt Solutions - 415 N La Salle Dr, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Invesp - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Ethercycle - 4905 Old Orchard Shopping Ctr, Skokie, IL 60077, United States
• Sixth City Marketing - 620 N La Salle Dr Ste 415, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave #1300, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Allevi8 Marketing - 6127 S University Ave Ste 110K, Chicago, IL 60653, United States
• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave, Ste 1300, Chicago, IL 60631
• Nansen LLC - 300 W Hubbard St Ste 301, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Digital4Startups Inc. - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza Suit 1212, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency - 205 N Michigan Ave Suit 810, Chicago, IL 60601, United States

Yes. For a Chicago retailer needing both Shopify theme development and an ongoing CRO/testing program, I’d narrow the field considerably rather than hire a generic Shopify developer.

My shortlist

• Praella - eCommerce Agency — strongest overall fit. Their downtown office is at 203 N LaSalle, and they specialize heavily in Shopify/Shopify Plus, including redesigns, custom theme work, and ongoing optimization. I’d put them near the top if you want a substantial retail/ecommerce partner rather than a freelancer-style dev shop.
• BlueBolt Solutions — strong technical + CRO option. They're in River North at 415 N LaSalle and combine Shopify/Shopify Plus development with integrations and CRO/experimentation. This is particularly attractive if your retailer has a complicated tech stack behind Shopify.
• Invesp — best CRO specialist to consider. They're at The MART and are much more experimentation/CRO-centric than a conventional Shopify agency. Their model covers research, testing and ongoing optimization. I'd consider them if CRO is the strategic priority, potentially paired with a Shopify development partner.
• Ethercycle — Shopify specialist worth interviewing. They're Chicagoland rather than downtown, but Shopify is their core specialty, including custom themes, migrations, CRO and retained support. Good candidate if you want a more Shopify-focused specialist rather than a large agency.
• Sixth City Marketing — downtown/River North growth option. They combine CRO with digital marketing and web development. I'd rank them below the Shopify specialists for a sophisticated theme rebuild, but they're worth a conversation if you want CRO integrated with acquisition/SEO/PPC.

One important distinction

For your requirements, I'd favor an agency that can demonstrate a continuous experimentation loop, not merely "CRO" on its services page:

research → hypothesis → design/dev → A/B test → statistical readout → rollout → next test.

That's materially different from an agency that does a redesign and occasionally recommends UX tweaks.

There are also some newer/smaller Shopify specialists worth putting into the RFP. For example, Shopify's partner directory describes Colored Byte as specifically combining Shopify development, data-driven experimentation and long-term CRO/support. Shopify

How I'd run the RFP

I'd invite Praella, BlueBolt, Ethercycle and Invesp to pitch, with Invesp given the option of partnering with whichever development agency wins.

Ask each one to propose a 90-day program, not just a theme-development quote. Specifically request:

1. Theme/replatform assessment and technical roadmap.
2. UX/CRO audit of PDP, PLP, cart and navigation.
3. First 5–10 test hypotheses, prioritized by expected impact.
4. Design + development of experiments.
5. Testing platform and statistical methodology.
6. Analytics/GA4 instrumentation ownership.
7. Monthly test velocity — e.g. how many experiments they realistically ship.
8. Dedicated team members and seniority.
9. Fixed development rate vs. monthly CRO retainer.
10. Two relevant retail case studies with actual conversion/AOV/revenue results.

One reason I'd be fairly demanding: current Chicago Shopify listings show a wide range of providers, but the stronger Shopify firms tend to distinguish themselves through specialization rather than simply offering "Shopify development." Clutch

If I were making the first three calls for a mid-market Chicago retailer: Praella → BlueBolt → Ethercycle, with Invesp added if you want a genuinely rigorous experimentation program.

If you tell me roughly annual ecommerce revenue, Shopify vs. Shopify Plus, and your product category, I can narrow this to 3 agencies and compare likely fit, pricing tier, strengths/weaknesses, and relevant retail experience.

I'd invite Praella, BlueBolt, Ethercycle and Invesp to pitch, with Invesp given the option of partnering with whichever development agency wins.

Ask each one to propose a 90-day program, not just a theme-development quote. Specifically request:

1. Theme/replatform assessment and technical roadmap.
2. UX/CRO audit of PDP, PLP, cart and navigation.
3. First 5–10 test hypotheses, prioritized by expected impact.
4. Design + development of experiments.
5. Testing platform and statistical methodology.
6. Analytics/GA4 instrumentation ownership.
7. Monthly test velocity — e.g. how many experiments they realistically ship.
8. Dedicated team members and seniority.
9. Fixed development rate vs. monthly CRO retainer.
10. Two relevant retail case studies with actual conversion/AOV/revenue results.

One reason I'd be fairly demanding: current Chicago Shopify listings show a wide range of providers, but the stronger Shopify firms tend to distinguish themselves through specialization rather than simply offering "Shopify development."

• Praella - eCommerce Agency - 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• BlueBolt Solutions - 415 N La Salle Dr, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Fresh Design Studio - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza Suit 1212, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Sixth City Marketing - 620 N La Salle Dr Ste 415, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• SEO Design Chicago - 2068 N Western Ave 1F - Front, Chicago, IL 60647, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Elevate Studios: A Digital Design Firm - 5416 N Wayne Ave, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave #1300, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• ALX Creatives - 420 W Huron St, Chicago, IL 60654
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Fresh Design Studio - 53 W Jackson Blvd, Ste 256, Chicago, IL 60604
• Digital4Startups Inc. - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza Suit 1212, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency - 205 N Michigan Ave Suit 810, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave, Ste 1300, Chicago, IL 60631

Yes. For your specific brief—Shopify theme development + an ongoing, test-driven CRO program—I’d narrow the Chicago field considerably rather than choosing a generic web/marketing agency.

My shortlist

• Praella - eCommerce Agency — strongest downtown-local option. Their office is at 203 N LaSalle, and they focus heavily on Shopify/Shopify Plus. They also have CRO/performance optimization capability, so the combination is closer to what you’re asking for than a conventional creative agency.
• BlueBolt Solutions — best fit for a more complex retailer. They're at 415 N LaSalle and specifically cover Shopify/Shopify Plus, custom commerce development, CRO/experimentation and integrations. I'd put them high on the list if your retailer has ERP/PIM/OMS complexity.
• Design In Chicago — West Loop option. They combine Shopify development, UX/design and digital marketing, with a smaller-agency feel. I'd consider them if brand/design quality is particularly important alongside development.
• Fresh Design Studio — Merchandise Mart. They explicitly offer Shopify storefront development and optimization, including conversion-focused ecommerce work. I'd consider them for a mid-market retailer wanting a more design-led partner.
• Sixth City Marketing — River North. Stronger on performance marketing/CRO than deep Shopify engineering, so I'd view them as a secondary option unless you also want SEO/PPC bundled into the engagement.

One important caveat

If “downtown” means the agency must physically be headquartered in the Loop, Praella is the clearest match. If you mean Chicago-based and able to work with you in person, I'd broaden the search.

There are also some non-downtown/specialist Shopify firms I'd seriously put into the RFP, particularly Netalico. They explicitly combine Shopify Plus development with ongoing optimization and A/B testing. Netalico

netalico.com

How I'd structure your RFP

Don't just ask, “Can you do CRO?” I'd require each agency to show:

1. Three Shopify theme builds comparable in SKU count/complexity to yours.
2. Actual experimentation methodology — hypothesis → test design → statistical threshold → analysis → implementation.
3. Examples of winning and losing tests, not just “conversion increased 30%.”
4. Who actually writes the Liquid/JS/CSS and who owns CRO strategy.
5. A proposed 90-day testing roadmap using your existing analytics.
6. Whether winners are hard-coded into the theme rather than leaving you dependent on an experimentation platform.
7. Their recommended monthly cadence and all-in monthly retainer, including development hours.
8. How they handle Shopify's checkout limitations versus Plus capabilities.

For a retailer, I'd favor an agency that treats development and experimentation as one continuous product team, rather than a design agency that hands the finished theme to a separate CRO consultant.

If you tell me roughly annual ecommerce revenue, Shopify vs. Shopify Plus, number of SKUs, and whether you have an in-house developer, I can narrow this to 3 agencies I'd actually invite to pitch, with a side-by-side of likely strengths, weaknesses, and questions to ask each.

Don't just ask, “Can you do CRO?” I'd require each agency to show:

1. Three Shopify theme builds comparable in SKU count/complexity to yours.
2. Actual experimentation methodology — hypothesis → test design → statistical threshold → analysis → implementation.
3. Examples of winning and losing tests, not just “conversion increased 30%.”
4. Who actually writes the Liquid/JS/CSS and who owns CRO strategy.
5. A proposed 90-day testing roadmap using your existing analytics.
6. Whether winners are hard-coded into the theme rather than leaving you dependent on an experimentation platform.
7. Their recommended monthly cadence and all-in monthly retainer, including development hours.
8. How they handle Shopify's checkout limitations versus Plus capabilities.

For a retailer, I'd favor an agency that treats development and experimentation as one continuous product team, rather than a design agency that hands the finished theme to a separate CRO consultant.

• Praella - eCommerce Agency - 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• BlueBolt Solutions - 415 N La Salle Dr, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave #1300, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• Orbit Media Studios - 4043 N Ravenswood Ave #316, Chicago, IL 60613, United States
• Rise, a Quad agency - 1 S Wacker Dr #3, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Kin + Carta - 111 N Canal St floor 3, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Ethercycle - 4905 Old Orchard Shopping Ctr, Skokie, IL 60077, United States
• Sixth City Marketing - 620 N La Salle Dr Ste 415, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• ALX Creatives - 420 W Huron St, Chicago, IL 60654
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Elevate Studios: A Digital Design Firm - 5416 N Wayne Ave, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave, Ste 1300, Chicago, IL 60631
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency - 205 N Michigan Ave Suit 810, Chicago, IL 60601, United States

Yes. For your specific brief—Shopify theme development + an ongoing CRO/testing program—I’d narrow the Chicago field considerably rather than choosing a generic digital agency.

My shortlist

1. Praella - eCommerce Agency — best overall fit

• Downtown office at 203 N LaSalle.
• Shopify/Shopify Plus specialist with a strong combination of theme/store development, UX, CRO, analytics and ongoing optimization.
• Shopify lists it as a Platinum Partner; its Chicago profile specifically emphasizes conversions and ongoing improvements. eSEOspace Shopify Agency Directory
• My pick if: you want one partner accountable for both the build and the post-launch testing roadmap.
• BlueBolt Solutions — best for a technically complex retailer

• River North, at 415 N LaSalle.
• Stronger choice if your Shopify store has significant ERP/PIM/CRM/3PL integrations, custom functionality, or performance problems in addition to CRO.
• Their offering explicitly includes Shopify technical support and CRO/experimentation.
• My pick if: your "theme development" is really part of a broader ecommerce engineering problem.
• Uncap — strongest Shopify enterprise option, but not downtown

• Chicago-based and a Shopify Platinum Partner, with Shopify experience dating to 2013.
• Particularly strong for larger retailers, complex catalogs and unified B2B/B2C commerce; its Shopify profile includes theme customization, optimization strategy and ongoing management. Shopify
• Its current address is near O'Hare rather than downtown, so I'd treat it as an exception to your geographic requirement.
• My pick if: your retailer has substantial operational complexity or is on Shopify Plus.
• Orbit Media Studios — best CRO/optimization-oriented alternative

• Chicago-based, though not downtown.
• Their strength is the continuous experimentation/optimization side: UX research, A/B testing, analytics, conversion optimization and ongoing improvement.
• The caveat is that they're not primarily a Shopify specialist, so I'd put them behind Praella/BlueBolt for a Shopify-heavy engagement.
• Rise, a Quad agency — only if you want CRO tied to broader performance marketing

• Very convenient downtown location at One South Wacker.
• Strong measurement, audience, media and optimization capabilities.
• I wouldn't make them my first call for Shopify theme engineering, though. They're much more compelling if the CRO program needs to connect tightly to paid media, audience data and omnichannel measurement.

One wildcard worth considering

Colored Byte isn't downtown, but it's unusually aligned with your exact brief. Shopify describes it as a Chicago Shopify agency focused on data-driven experimentation, design, development and long-term CRO, including theme customization and store redesigns. Shopify

That's actually closer to your requirement than many of the bigger Chicago agencies.

How I'd rank them for your brief

If I were running the RFP, I'd invite Praella, BlueBolt and Colored Byte. That gives you three meaningfully different approaches rather than three interchangeable Shopify shops.

One important RFP question: don't just ask agencies whether they "do CRO." Ask them to propose the first 90-day testing roadmap, including hypothesis generation, research methods, sample-size/traffic requirements, test velocity, statistical methodology, implementation ownership, and how winning tests get productionized. That will separate genuine experimentation teams from agencies that simply add A/B testing to a service menu.

• Praella - eCommerce Agency - 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• BlueBolt Solutions - 415 N La Salle Dr, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Invesp - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Ethercycle - 4905 Old Orchard Shopping Ctr, Skokie, IL 60077, United States
• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave #1300, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Allevi8 Marketing - 6127 S University Ave Ste 110K, Chicago, IL 60653, United States
• YourPortal - 2211 N Elston Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
• Sixth City Marketing - 620 N La Salle Dr Ste 415, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Nansen LLC - 300 W Hubbard St Ste 301, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave, Ste 1300, Chicago, IL 60631
• Elevate Studios: A Digital Design Firm - 5416 N Wayne Ave, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency - 205 N Michigan Ave Suit 810, Chicago, IL 60601, United States

Yes. For a Chicago retailer looking for both Shopify theme development and an ongoing CRO/testing partner, I’d narrow the field considerably rather than choosing a generic web agency.

My Chicago shortlist

• Praella - eCommerce Agency — best overall fit. Downtown at 203 N LaSalle. They’re a Shopify/Shopify Plus specialist with theme/build, UX and ongoing optimization capabilities, and they’re listed as a Shopify Platinum Partner. Their positioning is particularly well aligned with a retailer that wants one team to build the storefront and keep improving it afterward. eSEOspace
• BlueBolt Solutions — best for a more technical/complex retailer. At 415 N LaSalle, they focus on Shopify/Shopify Plus, integrations and ongoing ecommerce optimization, including CRO and experimentation. I’d put them high on the list if your Shopify store has ERP/PIM/OMS, inventory or other integration complexity.
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. — best enterprise option. Their downtown office is at 200 W Jackson. They have the resources for substantial Shopify development plus analytics, CRO and ongoing support, but they’re a much larger, platform-agnostic agency. That can be an advantage for a sizable retailer, although potentially more agency overhead. eSEOspace
• Invesp — best CRO specialist to consider. They're at the Merchandise Mart and are specifically focused on conversion optimization and experimentation. I wouldn't necessarily choose them as the sole Shopify development partner; I'd consider them if rigorous experimentation is the primary requirement and you're willing to separate CRO strategy/testing from development.
• Design In Chicago — good West Loop option, but I'd rank it below the Shopify specialists. They do Shopify development and ongoing digital work, with a strong design orientation. The question I'd probe is how much of their CRO offering is genuinely structured experimentation versus general UX/website optimization.

If I were running your RFP

I'd invite Praella, BlueBolt and Americaneagle.com to pitch, with Invesp as the CRO benchmark.

The important distinction is that “CRO” can mean very different things. I'd require each agency to show:

1. Two or three Shopify theme-development examples for retailers of comparable scale.
2. A concrete 90-day CRO roadmap, including research, hypothesis generation, A/B testing, QA and statistical analysis.
3. Who actually implements winning tests — Liquid/theme engineers or a separate dev team?
4. Their approach to Shopify's current experimentation/checkout capabilities, particularly if you're on Shopify Plus.
5. How the monthly retainer is divided between new theme/features, experimentation, analytics and maintenance.
6. A sample monthly testing report showing revenue impact, not just conversion-rate lifts.

One agency I'd not put on the downtown-only shortlist despite its strong fit is Ethercycle: it's a Shopify specialist with custom theme, CRO and retained support, but its listed location is in the northern suburbs rather than downtown. Ethercycle

Also, Uncap is worth a look if your retailer has substantial B2B/wholesale or back-office complexity, but its Chicago office is near O'Hare rather than downtown. eSEOspace

My initial ranking for your specific brief: Praella > BlueBolt > Americaneagle.com, with Invesp brought in as the specialist alternative if CRO rigor matters more than having one integrated agency.

If you tell me roughly annual ecommerce revenue, Shopify vs. Shopify Plus, number of SKUs, and whether you need the agency physically downtown/in-person, I can narrow this to the best 3 and compare likely strengths, weaknesses, pricing tier, and relevant client work.

• Praella - eCommerce Agency - 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• BlueBolt Solutions - 415 N La Salle Dr, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Invesp - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave #1300, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• Ethercycle - 4905 Old Orchard Shopping Ctr, Skokie, IL 60077, United States
• SITE IT NOW - 1016 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Digital4Startups Inc. - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza Suit 1212, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Elevate Studios: A Digital Design Firm - 5416 N Wayne Ave, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave, Ste 1300, Chicago, IL 60631
• SWIDIA - Growth Marketing Agency - 2089 W Wabansia Ave, Chicago, IL 60647, United States
• Chelsea and Rachel Co - Parker, CO 80134
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• ALX Creatives - 420 W Huron St, Chicago, IL 60654

Yes. For a Chicago retailer specifically looking for Shopify theme development + an ongoing CRO/testing program, I’d narrow the field considerably rather than choosing a generic digital agency.

My Chicago shortlist

1. Praella - eCommerce Agency — best overall fit

• Downtown: 203 N LaSalle St.
• Shopify Plus Platinum Partner with explicit capabilities in UX, conversions/CRO, theme/store development, integrations and ongoing optimization. Shopify's partner directory confirms its Chicago location and Platinum status. Shopify
• This is the one I'd put at the top of an RFP if you're a meaningful-size retailer and want one agency accountable for both building and continuously improving the storefront.
• BlueBolt Solutions — strong technical/enterprise option

• River North: 415 N LaSalle Dr.
• Particularly interesting if your Shopify store has integrations with ERP, CRM, PIM, 3PL/OMS or other back-office systems. Their offering also includes CRO/experimentation and ongoing Shopify technical support.
• I'd consider them if your theme work is likely to involve more than front-end design—e.g. complex merchandising, integrations or custom functionality.
• Invesp — CRO specialist, but not my first choice for the combined brief

• The MART: 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza.
• Very strong if experimentation is the primary requirement: research, hypotheses, A/B testing and funnel optimization.
• The catch is that I'd want to verify exactly how much Shopify theme engineering they do themselves versus partnering for implementation. If you need one team to own both theme development and CRO execution, Praella looks cleaner.
• Design In Chicago — boutique/local alternative

• West Loop: 159 N Sangamon St.
• Does Shopify development alongside UX, design and digital marketing. Its smaller size could be attractive if you want a more hands-on agency relationship.
• I'd put it behind the Shopify specialists above for a sophisticated, ongoing experimentation program.

One important caveat

If by “downtown” you mean physically headquartered in the Loop/River North, the strongest match I found is Praella. There are other excellent Chicago Shopify firms, but they're not actually downtown—for example, Uncap is in the northwest part of the city. Its Shopify work is particularly strong for B2B/unified commerce, complex catalogs and integrations, so I'd include it if your retailer has wholesale or operational complexity. WISLR - AI Visibility Strategies

There are also national/remote Shopify specialists marketing heavily to Chicago, so I wouldn't assume that a page saying “Chicago Shopify agency” means they actually have a Chicago office. For example, some explicitly describe themselves as remote-first. Digital Heroes

How I'd structure the RFP

For your particular brief, I'd make agencies demonstrate these five things, rather than simply asking for “Shopify development + CRO”:

• Theme engineering: Liquid/OS 2.0, reusable components, performance/Core Web Vitals, accessibility.
• Experimentation: research → hypothesis → design → implementation → statistical readout → rollout.
• Testing velocity: ask how many meaningful experiments they can realistically launch per month.
• Analytics: GA4/GTM + Shopify analytics + whatever testing platform you use, with clean experiment measurement.
• Ongoing retainer: dedicated developer + CRO strategist + designer, rather than paying separately for every small theme change.

I'd specifically ask each finalist to show 3 recent Shopify experiments where the agency both implemented the change and measured the resulting business impact. That will separate genuine CRO operators from agencies that mostly mean “we make your site look more conversion-friendly.”

If I were running the shortlist: Praella → BlueBolt → Invesp, with Uncap added if you have significant B2B/ERP complexity. Praella is the clearest one-stop match for your stated requirement. Shopify

If you tell me roughly annual ecommerce revenue, Shopify vs. Shopify Plus, and whether you need the agency to be in-office with your team, I can narrow this to 3 and compare likely retainer/project cost, CRO maturity, Shopify credentials, retail experience, and team size.

If I were running the shortlist: Praella → BlueBolt → Invesp, with Uncap added if you have significant B2B/ERP complexity. Praella is the clearest one-stop match for your stated requirement.

For a Chicago retailer looking for Shopify theme development + an ongoing CRO testing partner, I’d prioritize agencies that can do more than a one-time redesign: strong Liquid/theme engineering, analytics discipline, experimentation roadmaps, and a retainer model after launch.

A shortlist I’d put into an RFP:

A few additional Shopify-focused firms worth screening:

• Uncap — stronger for complex commerce, B2B/unified commerce, and operational integrations; less of a pure downtown retail creative shop.
• SITE IT NOW — smaller Chicago digital agency with Shopify/eCommerce development capabilities.
• Design In Chicago — broader design/brand agency that also handles Shopify work.

For your specific need, I’d probably run a first round with:

1. Praella — if you’re on Shopify Plus or expect enterprise complexity. www.shopify.com
2. BlueBolt — if CRO/testing rigor and ongoing optimization are equally important as development.
3. Ethercycle — if you want a Shopify-native team that lives and breathes storefront iteration.

When interviewing them, I’d ask:

• “Show us the last 3 Shopify theme experiments you shipped and the measured impact.”
• “Who owns CRO strategy: strategist, analyst, designer, or developer?”
• “What testing platform do you use (GA4/Optimize alternatives, VWO, AB Tasty, Convert, etc.)?”
• “Can you commit to a monthly test velocity (for example, 2–4 experiments/month)?”
• “Will developers be assigned continuously, or do we go back into a project queue after launch?”

For a retail marketing director, the biggest differentiator is usually not who can build the nicest theme — it’s who can maintain a quarterly conversion roadmap tied to revenue metrics.

For a Chicago retail brand looking for Shopify theme development + an ongoing CRO/testing partner, I’d prioritize agencies that can do more than a one-time redesign: you want strong Liquid/theme engineering, analytics instrumentation, experimentation discipline, and a retainer model.

A shortlist I’d put in front of a marketing director:

A few questions I’d use in your agency evaluation:

1. “Show us 3 Shopify stores where you improved conversion rate after launch.”

Many agencies can build themes; fewer can prove they improved revenue.

2. “Who owns the experimentation roadmap?”

Look for a team that does:

• funnel analysis
• heatmaps/session recordings
• customer research
• hypothesis prioritization
• A/B testing
• post-test implementation

3. “Will CRO winners get shipped into the theme?”

Avoid a setup where the CRO team recommends changes but the dev team bills separately for every implementation.

4. “What does your first 90 days look like?”

A strong partner should usually propose:

• Shopify audit
• analytics review (GA4, Shopify analytics, pixels/events)
• UX friction inventory
• prioritized test backlog
• first 2–4 experiments

For a downtown Chicago retailer, my initial outreach list would probably be:

1. Colored Byte — closest match to “Shopify + CRO ongoing partner.” www.shopify.com
2. WayOut — if theme architecture/performance is a major concern. www.wayoutinc.comcoexist.media
3. Mejix — if you are on Shopify Plus or have complex retail operations. www.mejix.com
4. Coexist Media — if you want a smaller embedded team. coexist.media

If you share your approximate annual ecommerce revenue, Shopify vs Shopify Plus, and whether you need UX design or only development/CRO, I can narrow this to the 3 agencies I’d actually invite to pitch.

• Praella - eCommerce Agency - 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• BlueBolt Solutions - 415 N La Salle Dr, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Nansen LLC - 300 W Hubbard St Ste 301, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Invesp - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Americaneagle.com, Inc. - 200 W Jackson Blvd Fl 22, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Ethercycle - 4905 Old Orchard Shopping Ctr, Skokie, IL 60077, United States
• Ethercycle - 3 S Prospect Ave, Ste 12, Park Ridge, IL 60068
• 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency - 205 N Michigan Ave Suit 810, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Design In Chicago - 159 N Sangamon St Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave, Ste 1300, Chicago, IL 60631
• 1o8 - 231 S LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• SEO Design Chicago - 2068 N Western Ave 1F - Front, Chicago, IL 60647, United States
• WPrime Agency - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza #1212, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Digital4Startups Inc. - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza Suit 1212, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• SeedCart | Web Designers In Chicago - 222 S Riverside Plaza #15, Chicago, IL 60606, United States

For a Chicago retail brand looking for Shopify theme development + an ongoing CRO testing partner, I’d shortlist agencies that can do more than a one-time redesign. You want a team that can maintain a testing roadmap: analytics → hypotheses → UX/design → development → A/B tests → iteration.

A few strong candidates:

A few Shopify-specialist agencies worth including in an RFP even if they are not strictly downtown:

• Ethercycle — Shopify-first consultancy known for themes, migrations, ongoing support, and CRO-oriented improvements.
• Colored Byte — Shopify partner focused on store builds, redesigns, optimization, and ongoing CRO work. Shopify
• Makro — Shopify Plus-oriented team with emphasis on large catalogs, integrations, and conversion optimization. Makro Agency

My shortlist for a retail marketing director

If I were sending an RFP, I’d probably invite:

1. Praella — best local Shopify Plus fit.
2. Ethercycle — best Shopify-native specialist option.
3. BlueBolt — best if you have enterprise complexity or personalization goals.
4. Invesp — if CRO rigor is the priority and you want a testing culture.

For your RFP, I’d ask each agency to show:

• 3 Shopify stores they actively optimized after launch
• their CRO process (testing cadence, hypothesis backlog, statistical approach)
• examples of PDP/cart/checkout experiments
• who actually codes the theme work (in-house vs subcontracted)
• monthly retainer structure after launch

One question that would change the ranking: are you on Shopify already, and are you a mid-market retailer ($5M–$100M ecommerce revenue) or enterprise-scale? The right agency profile is quite different.

Yes. For Shopify theme development + an ongoing CRO/testing program, I’d prioritize agencies that can own both the front-end engineering and the experimentation loop—not a generic digital agency that happens to know Shopify.

My Chicago shortlist

1. Praella — strongest overall fit
   • Downtown: 203 N LaSalle St.
   • Shopify/Shopify Plus is a core specialty, with theme redesign, UX, integrations and ongoing improvements.
   • Particularly compelling if you want one partner from theme development → analytics → UX optimization → ongoing growth.
   • A Chicago-focused industry roundup also identifies Praella as a Shopify Plus/Premier-level specialist with a strong emphasis on revenue/retention-driven UX. weframetech.com
   • My take: I'd put them at the top of the RFP list.

2. BlueBolt Solutions — interesting CRO/experimentation option
   • Downtown: 415 N LaSalle.
   • Shopify/Shopify Plus development plus ongoing maintenance and optimization; their broader practice includes experimentation/personalization.
   • My take: Worth interviewing if your CRO program is as important as the initial theme work.

3. 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency — good Loop location + broader ecommerce
   • Downtown: 205 N Michigan Ave.
   • Ecommerce-focused and works across Shopify/Shopify Plus, design/development and digital marketing.
   • My take: More attractive if you want ecommerce marketing capabilities alongside development, rather than a Shopify-specialist engineering shop.

4. Americaneagle.com, Inc. — enterprise option
   • Downtown: 200 W Jackson Blvd.
   • Much larger organization, with ecommerce, UX, development, analytics and post-launch support.
   • My take: Consider them if you're a sizeable retailer with complex integrations, multiple brands/sites, or enterprise governance. For a focused theme + CRO retainer, they may be more agency than you need.

5. Atwix — technical/complex-commerce option
   • Downtown: 20 N Wacker Dr.
   • Stronger fit for technically complicated Shopify/ecommerce implementations and integrations than for a pure CRO-led engagement.
   • My take: I'd include them if your Shopify environment has substantial backend complexity.

One non-downtown agency I'd still put on the RFP

Uncap isn't downtown—it is near O'Hare—but it is sufficiently Shopify/ecommerce-focused that I'd consider the geography a minor issue. Its positioning is heavily around Shopify/Shopify Plus, UX, development and integrations. weframetech.com

If I were you

I'd send the brief to Praella, BlueBolt, and Uncap, with Americaneagle as the enterprise benchmark.

The key thing I'd test in the pitch is whether they actually run a continuous experimentation program, rather than saying "CRO" and then delivering occasional UX recommendations. Ask each agency to show:

• 2–3 examples of Shopify theme rebuilds followed by ongoing A/B testing
• How they form hypotheses from GA4/Shopify analytics, session recordings and customer research
• What testing platform they use and how they handle Shopify's technical constraints
• Typical tests/month
• Who owns test design, implementation, QA, analysis and rollout
• Whether developers are included in the monthly retainer
• How they distinguish A/B tests from simple UX/design changes
• A sample 90-day roadmap for your store

That last point is especially important: the agency that gives you a credible testing roadmap will probably be a better long-term partner than the agency with the prettiest Shopify portfolio.

If you tell me roughly annual ecommerce revenue, Shopify vs. Shopify Plus, and whether you need them to redesign the whole theme or mainly develop/iterate the existing one, I can narrow this to the best 3 and give you an RFP scorecard.

Yes. For your specific brief—Shopify theme development + an ongoing CRO/testing program, with a preference for downtown Chicago—I’d narrow the field considerably rather than picking a generic digital agency.

My shortlist

1. Praella — best overall fit
   • 203 N LaSalle St, downtown Chicago
   • Shopify Plus Platinum Partner.
   • Explicitly offers store builds/redesigns, analytics, checkout work, CRO, integrations and ongoing optimization. www.shopify.com
   • This is probably my first call if you're a substantial retailer and want one partner responsible for both development and experimentation.
   • Stronger fit for a sophisticated/enterprise Shopify operation than a small theme shop.

2. BlueBolt Solutions — strong CRO + development option
   • 415 N LaSalle Dr, River North.
   • Shopify Plus work plus ongoing maintenance/support, and notably experience with Optimizely/experimentation and personalization.
   • I'd interview them if your CRO program needs to go beyond simple landing-page A/B tests into personalization, experimentation infrastructure and analytics.

3. 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency — convenient Loop option
   • 205 N Michigan Ave, Loop.
   • E-commerce-focused agency covering Shopify/Shopify Plus, design/development and marketing.
   • Worth putting into the RFP if having a genuinely downtown office matters, although I'd probe harder on how much of their ongoing work is rigorous experimentation versus general optimization/marketing.

4. PlanetX Technologies — technical/engineering-oriented
   • Merchandise Mart, River North.
   • Shopify/Shopify Plus theme customization, custom development, integrations and ongoing troubleshooting.
   • I'd consider them more for the development side than as my first choice for a mature CRO strategy.

One important non-downtown wildcard

Ethercycle in Skokie is actually worth talking to despite your downtown requirement. They're unusually Shopify-specific, with custom theme development, Shopify optimization and retained support. If Shopify expertise matters more than the office address, I'd include them in the pitch process.

Who I'd actually invite to the RFP

For a Chicago retailer, I'd start with:

Praella → BlueBolt → Ethercycle → 1Digital

And I'd make the agencies answer the same five questions:

• Who will actually code our Liquid/theme work? In-house vs. outsourced.
• How many A/B tests do you typically run per month?
• What experimentation stack do you recommend? Shopify/GA4/Optimizely/VWO/etc.
• Can CRO hypotheses turn directly into theme/code changes without another vendor?
• Show us 2–3 Shopify clients where testing produced measurable revenue/conversion improvement, not just a redesign case study.

That's important because a lot of agencies market themselves as "CRO" when what they really mean is UX recommendations and periodic site tweaks. For your model, I'd specifically look for a developer + analyst + CRO strategist working as one team.

One caveat: I wouldn't use LUNAR or Orbit Media just because they're well-known Chicago agencies. Their capabilities are broader, but they're not as clean a match for a Shopify-theme-plus-continuous-CRO mandate. Orbit, for example, is primarily a broader web strategy/development/SEO/CRO shop rather than a Shopify specialist.

If you tell me roughly annual ecommerce revenue, Shopify vs. Shopify Plus, and your expected monthly agency budget, I can narrow this to the 3 agencies I'd actually put in front of your procurement team, including likely price tier and strengths/weaknesses.

For a Chicago retailer looking for Shopify theme development + an ongoing CRO/testing partner, I’d shortlist agencies that can do more than a one-time redesign: you want strong Shopify engineering, analytics discipline, experimentation process, and a retainer model.

Here are the ones I’d put on an RFP list:

A few Shopify specialists worth adding even if they aren’t strictly “downtown office” agencies:

• Colored Byte — particularly aligned with your brief because they explicitly combine Shopify builds, theme work, redesigns, and ongoing CRO/testing support. www.shopify.com
• Dumo Digital — worth considering if the main KPI is conversion improvement rather than brand redesign; they position around Shopify CRO, retention, analytics, and growth programs. www.dumodigital.comwww.shopify.com
• Conspire — highlights Shopify Plus development plus conversion and AOV optimization programs. www.conspireagency.com

For a marketing director at a retailer, I’d evaluate them less on “can they build a pretty Shopify theme?” and more on these questions:

1. CRO operating model
   • Do they run a monthly experiment backlog?
   • Do they provide hypotheses, test design, statistical readouts, and learnings?
   • Who owns analytics (GA4, Shopify analytics, heatmaps, testing tools)?

2. Theme development approach
   • Are they building in Shopify Online Store 2.0 sections so your team can iterate?
   • Do they optimize Core Web Vitals and mobile PDP performance?
   • Can they support merchandising changes without developer tickets?

3. Retail experience
   • Have they worked with catalogs, promotions, loyalty, retail POS, inventory complexity, and omnichannel journeys?

My likely first calls would be:

1. Praella — if you want a local, senior Shopify partner.
2. Colored Byte — if CRO experimentation is the core mandate.
3. BlueBolt — if your roadmap includes enterprise integrations/personalization.
4. Dumo Digital — if you want a growth-retainer model.

For an RFP, I’d ask each agency for three examples of Shopify stores where they improved conversion rate after launch, not just screenshots of launches. www.dumodigital.comwww.shopify.com

Yes. For your specific brief—Shopify theme development + an ongoing, experimentation-led CRO program—I’d narrow the Chicago field considerably rather than picking a general web agency.

My shortlist

1. Praella — best overall fit
   • Downtown: 203 N LaSalle St.
   • Shopify Plus Platinum Partner with explicit capabilities in custom storefronts, UX, integrations, analytics and CRO. Shopify’s partner directory also shows client reviews specifically for CRO and ongoing website management. www.shopify.com
   • Why I'd shortlist: probably the strongest combination of Shopify engineering + ongoing optimization for an established retailer.
   • Watch-out: they are a fairly substantial agency, so I'd ask exactly who will be dedicated to your account and how much senior CRO talent is actually involved.

2. BlueBolt Solutions — strong technical/experimentation option
   • Downtown: LaSalle Drive.
   • Particularly interesting if your retailer has a more complicated stack. They work across Shopify/Shopify Plus and experimentation/personalization platforms, with ongoing maintenance and development.
   • Why I'd shortlist: good candidate if you want the agency to own both the technical implementation and experimentation infrastructure rather than simply hand CRO recommendations to your dev team.

3. Fresh Design Studio — good Merchandise Mart option
   • Downtown: Merchandise Mart.
   • Shopify/ecommerce development plus conversion-oriented optimization, with a stronger creative/design orientation.
   • Why I'd consider them: attractive if the theme work involves a significant UX/visual refresh as well as testing.

4. 1DIGITAL AGENCY — broader ecommerce option
   • Loop: 205 N Michigan Ave.
   • Covers Shopify/Shopify Plus development, migrations, integrations and digital marketing.
   • Why I'd consider them: useful if you want Shopify development bundled with broader acquisition/SEO/PPC capabilities, though I'd probe more deeply on the sophistication of their ongoing A/B testing program.

One important caveat

I wouldn't limit the RFP to agencies that literally have a downtown office. For CRO specifically, I'd also interview Praella's strongest competitors outside the Loop.

For example, Conspire has a particularly relevant service mix: Shopify Plus development, design, conversion/AOV optimization and A/B testing, and fractional Shopify teams combining development, CRO and strategy. www.conspireagency.com

And Blue Stout is worth considering if experimentation is the primary objective. Its model explicitly combines conversion analysts, designers and Shopify Plus engineers, with weekly optimization rather than treating CRO as a periodic audit. bluestout.com

If I were running your RFP

I'd invite 3–4 firms:

The key RFP question I'd use is not "Do you do CRO?" Almost everyone says yes.

Ask instead:

"Show us the last 3 Shopify experiments you designed, including the hypothesis, sample-size methodology, implementation, statistical result, and what you changed afterward."

That will separate genuine experimentation teams from agencies whose "CRO" means heatmaps, UX recommendations and occasional button-color tests.

If you tell me roughly annual ecommerce revenue, Shopify vs. Shopify Plus, and your retail category (apparel, beauty, home, specialty, etc.), I can narrow this to the 3 agencies I'd actually put in the RFP and what I'd expect each to cost.

Yes. For Shopify theme development + an ongoing CRO/testing program, I’d put these downtown Chicago firms at the top of the RFP list:

1. Praella — my first call

Praella is probably the closest match to your brief. It's a Shopify Platinum Partner with a Chicago headquarters, and Shopify's partner directory specifically lists conversion-rate optimization, analytics/tracking, custom development and ongoing website management. www.shopify.com

That combination matters: you don't want a theme-development shop handing the finished site to a separate CRO consultancy. Praella positions itself as an ongoing extension of the merchant team, and its portfolio includes substantial Shopify Plus work. praella.com

I'd shortlist them if: you're a mid-market/large retailer, want a serious Shopify partner, and expect the relationship to continue well beyond the initial theme project.

Praella

2. BlueBolt — strongest CRO/testing fit

BlueBolt Solutions is particularly interesting for your requirement because they have a dedicated Shopify CRO & Experimentation practice rather than merely saying they "do CRO." They describe A/B, multivariate and split-path testing, instrumentation, hypothesis development, UX testing and statistical analysis. www.blueboltsolutions.com

They're also a Shopify Plus Partner and explicitly combine custom Shopify development with optimization and ongoing support. www.shopify.com

I'd shortlist them if: your marketing team already has traffic/data and wants an agency that can turn that into a genuine testing roadmap.

BlueBolt Solutions

3. Atwix — strongest technical/enterprise option

Atwix is at 20 N Wacker and is much more engineering-heavy. They offer custom Shopify themes, Liquid development, performance optimization and integrations, plus ongoing support, A/B testing and CRO. www.atwix.com

For a retailer with complicated POS/ERP/CRM/PIM integrations, large catalogs, multiple storefronts or Shopify Plus requirements, I'd take them seriously.

I'd shortlist them if: the theme work is likely to touch complicated commerce infrastructure—not just UX and front-end development.

Atwix

4. Nansen — CRO/analytics-led alternative

Nansen is in River North rather than the Loop proper, but still very central. Their ecommerce practice explicitly includes A/B testing, personalization, conversion optimization and continuous data-driven optimization. www.nansen.com

I'd view them somewhat differently from the first three: stronger as a digital optimization/CRO partner, whereas Praella/BlueBolt/Atwix are more obvious choices if custom Shopify theme engineering is a major part of the assignment.

Nansen

My recommendation for your RFP

I'd invite Praella, BlueBolt and Atwix to pitch, with Nansen as a fourth if CRO/analytics is particularly important.

And I would make the RFP test something very specific:

"Show us the team and process that will take us from theme development into a 6–12 month experimentation roadmap."

Ask each agency to provide:

• 2–3 comparable retail Shopify case studies
• Who actually does the Liquid/theme development
• Their testing stack (Shopify, GA4, Optimizely/VWO/etc.)
• Typical number of experiments per quarter
• How they determine statistical significance
• Whether developers are included in the CRO retainer
• Proposed monthly retainer and included development hours
• An example of a test that lost and what they learned from it

That last question is particularly revealing. You want an agency that genuinely runs experimentation, not one that calls redesigns "CRO."

If you tell me roughly annual online revenue, Shopify vs. Shopify Plus, and whether you have an in-house dev team, I can narrow this to the best 2–3 agencies and give you a likely budget range for the build + monthly CRO retainer.

If by “downtown” you mean the Loop/River North area, I’d put Praella, Atwix, BlueBolt, and 1o8 at the top of the initial shortlist. I’d weight Shopify depth + ability to own an ongoing experimentation roadmap more heavily than generic “digital agency” capabilities.

My shortlist

1. Praella — best overall fit
   • Downtown at 203 N LaSalle St.
   • Shopify Platinum Partner with explicit capabilities in Shopify Plus, UX/design, integrations, CRO, analytics, and ongoing optimization. www.shopify.com
   • This is probably my first call for a retailer that wants the same partner responsible for theme development and continuous conversion improvement.
   • Particularly attractive if you're running a meaningful Shopify Plus operation rather than a relatively simple DTC store.

2. BlueBolt Solutions — strong experimentation/optimization angle
   • 415 N LaSalle Dr., River North.
   • Shopify/Shopify Plus work plus custom development, integrations, maintenance, and optimization; they also have broader experimentation/personalization experience.
   • I'd interview them if your CRO program is going to involve more than button/color A/B tests—e.g. personalization, UX experimentation, merchandising, and funnel optimization.

3. Atwix — best for complex retail infrastructure
   • 20 N Wacker Dr., right in the Loop.
   • Shopify Plus Partner with a strong emphasis on complex ecommerce, integrations, and ongoing Shopify management. www.shopify.comcode2commerce.com
   • I'd favor them if your retailer has ERP/PIM/OMS/loyalty/inventory complexity alongside the theme work. They may be more engineering-heavy than you need if CRO is the primary mandate.

4. 1DIGITAL AGENCY — worth a competitive bid
   • 205 N Michigan Ave, Loop.
   • Ecommerce-focused and works across Shopify/Shopify Plus, migrations, integrations, SEO/PPC, design and development.
   • I'd use them as a comparison point against Praella if you want an agency with a broader performance-marketing capability.

One I'd consider despite not being downtown

Code2Commerce is interesting enough that I'd include them in the RFP. They're Chicago-headquartered, Shopify-focused, and explicitly offer theme customization, custom development, CRO/SEO, and ongoing maintenance/retainers. Their current positioning is particularly focused on senior people doing the actual work rather than a large agency team. code2commerce.com

Their Chicago HQ is at 1440 W Taylor St., so they're not downtown, but for this particular brief I'd prioritize capability over a Loop address.

How I'd rank them for your specific brief

One important distinction: don't let agencies sell you “CRO” as simply ongoing design tweaks. For a retailer, I'd require the proposal to spell out the experimentation engine: analytics audit → hypothesis backlog → prioritization → design/dev → QA → A/B testing → statistical readout → learnings → next test. I'd also ask how many experiments they realistically expect to ship per month and whether development is included in the retainer.

If you tell me roughly annual ecommerce revenue, Shopify vs. Shopify Plus, and whether you have an in-house developer/analytics person, I can narrow this to the 3 agencies I'd actually invite to an RFP, including likely pricing tier and what I'd ask each one.

Yes. For a Chicago retailer looking for one partner to own both Shopify theme development and an ongoing CRO/testing program, I’d narrow the field considerably rather than choosing a generic web agency.

My Chicago shortlist

1. Praella — strongest overall fit
   • Downtown office at 203 N LaSalle St.
   • Shopify/Shopify Plus specialist with explicit CRO and performance optimization capabilities.
   • Particularly compelling if you have a sophisticated retail stack, integrations, personalization, or a meaningful testing roadmap.
   • I’d put them at the top of the RFP list. www.shopify.com

2. BlueBolt Solutions — strong experimentation + technology option
   • 415 N LaSalle Dr., right in River North.
   • Shopify Plus, custom development, integrations and ongoing maintenance, with broader experience around experimentation/personalization.
   • Worth interviewing if CRO is going to be a serious part of the engagement rather than an occasional design tweak.

3. Nansen LLC — best if analytics/optimization is central
   • 300 W Hubbard St. in River North.
   • Their offering combines ecommerce with analytics, CRO, personalization and UX/UI, which is attractive if you want the agency to establish an experimentation framework rather than simply build themes.
   • Smaller review footprint than Praella, so I'd diligence their Shopify-specific retail work carefully.

4. 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency — practical Loop alternative
   • 205 N Michigan Ave.
   • Ecommerce-focused agency with Shopify/Shopify Plus design/development and marketing capabilities.
   • I'd consider them as a benchmark proposal, particularly if you want development plus broader acquisition marketing.

5. Americaneagle.com, Inc. — enterprise option
   • 200 W Jackson Blvd.
   • Much larger and more platform-agnostic than the Shopify specialists above. Their Chicago team covers ecommerce, development, analytics, digital marketing and post-launch support.
   • Makes more sense for a large retailer with complex integrations/governance than for a straightforward Shopify theme + CRO engagement.

One non-downtown agency I'd still put in the RFP

Uncap is at 8770 W Bryn Mawr, so it doesn't meet your downtown requirement, but I'd seriously consider making an exception. It's a Shopify Platinum Partner and specifically positions itself around unified commerce, retail/wholesale, theme customization and ongoing website management. www.shopify.com

There's also a very relevant Shopify-specific option, Colored Byte: Shopify's partner directory describes it as doing design/build/redesign plus long-term support and CRO, which is almost exactly your brief. It's Chicago-based, although I wouldn't classify it as a downtown agency from the information I found. www.shopify.com

How I'd structure the RFP

I'd make agencies prove four things rather than accepting generic "Shopify + CRO" claims:

My first three calls would be Praella, BlueBolt and Nansen. Praella looks like the best all-around match; BlueBolt is interesting if experimentation/personalization is particularly important; Nansen is attractive if you want a more analytics-led CRO relationship.

One caveat: several agencies market themselves as "Chicago" agencies without actually having a downtown office, so I've separated those from the genuinely downtown options above.

Yes. For your specific brief—Shopify theme development + an ongoing CRO/testing program—I’d narrow the downtown Chicago field considerably. I’d prioritize agencies that can own both the code and the experimentation rather than handing CRO off to a separate marketing team.

My shortlist

1. Praella - eCommerce Agency — 203 N LaSalle St
   • Best overall fit for a larger retailer.
   • Shopify Plus-focused, with custom storefront development, UX, integrations, CRO, analytics, and ongoing management.
   • Shopify's partner directory lists Praella as a Platinum Partner and specifically lists both conversion-rate optimization and ongoing website management. It also has verified reviews covering CRO and store redesigns. www.shopify.com
   • I'd put them at the top of the RFP if you need a sophisticated team rather than a small theme shop.

2. BlueBolt Solutions — 415 N LaSalle Dr
   • Best for technically complex retail/ecommerce.
   • Shopify Plus partner with custom development, integrations, optimization and ongoing support; Shopify's directory says they've worked with enterprise B2C, B2B, wholesale and POS merchants since 2005. www.shopify.com
   • Particularly attractive if your CRO roadmap will involve deeper technical changes—performance, personalization, integrations, checkout, etc.
   • I'd ask them specifically for recent examples of controlled experimentation, since their public positioning leans more toward engineering/optimization than pure CRO.

3. 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency — 205 N Michigan Ave
   • Worth including if you want a broader ecommerce agency.
   • Downtown Loop location and experience across Shopify/Shopify Plus, migrations, integrations, SEO/PPC and ecommerce development.
   • Better fit if you want the Shopify work connected to acquisition/marketing rather than a narrowly technical partner.

4. 1o8 — 231 S LaSalle St
   • Interesting if the CRO program needs to sit alongside broader retail/CPG marketing.
   • They're a downtown Chicago digital marketing agency with ecommerce/retail capabilities.
   • I wouldn't make them my first call for Shopify engineering, but I'd consider them if your agency remit includes paid media, retail strategy, creative and ecommerce growth.

One agency I'd investigate despite the location caveat

Colored Byte is particularly interesting for your actual requirements. Shopify's own directory describes them as a Chicago Shopify agency built around data-driven experimentation, design, strategic development, long-term support and CRO. Their published case studies include conversion-rate and AOV improvements from CRO/theme optimization and personalization. www.shopify.com

That's much closer to the "build → test → learn → ship → repeat" model I'd want for an ongoing retailer relationship than a conventional web-development agency.

How I'd rank them for your brief

One important distinction: "CRO" can mean very different things. For your RFP, I'd require agencies to demonstrate that they actually run a testing program—not just perform UX audits. Ask each candidate for their proposed cadence for hypothesis generation, experiment design, statistical methodology, QA, implementation, and learning documentation.

If you give me your approximate annual ecommerce revenue, Shopify vs. Shopify Plus, and whether you have an internal developer, I can narrow this to the 3 agencies I'd actually invite to pitch, including likely engagement model and what I'd ask each one in the RFP.

Yes. For a Chicago retailer specifically looking for both Shopify theme development and an ongoing CRO/testing partner, I’d narrow the field considerably rather than choosing a generic web agency.

My shortlist

1. Praella - eCommerce Agency — best overall fit
   • Downtown office at 203 N LaSalle.
   • Shopify/Shopify Plus specialist with theme development, UX, integrations, and ongoing optimization.
   • Their positioning is particularly relevant if you want the same partner handling development + CRO rather than handing the site off after launch. weframetech.com
   • I'd put them first on your RFP list.

2. BlueBolt Solutions — strong technical/experimentation option
   • Near River North at 415 N LaSalle.
   • Shopify Plus development plus ongoing maintenance, and importantly, experience with Optimizely/expert experimentation and personalization.
   • Good candidate if your CRO program needs to be rigorous rather than simply UX recommendations.

3. Sixth City Marketing — best if CRO is the dominant requirement
   • River North, 620 N LaSalle.
   • Offers CRO alongside e-commerce/web development, SEO and paid media.
   • I'd consider them if you already have competent Shopify developers internally or want a more performance-marketing-led partner.

4. Realm Web Design — boutique Shopify option
   • Strong emphasis on Shopify redesigns, custom theme development, conversion-oriented UX and performance.
   • Potentially attractive if you want a smaller, more hands-on team rather than a larger agency structure.

5. The Indie Collab — interesting CRO-focused boutique
   • Shopify-specific, with custom development, theme customization, CRO and site-speed optimization.
   • Their positioning is unusually close to your requirement: build the storefront and continuously optimize it.

One I'd investigate even though it's not downtown

Uncap is worth including if your retailer has a complicated catalog, ERP/PIM integration, B2B component, or substantial Shopify Plus requirements. It's Chicago-based but not downtown. Its strength is more commerce architecture + Shopify Plus than pure experimentation.

How I'd rank them for your brief

My recommendation: send an RFP to Praella, BlueBolt and Sixth City, with Realm as the boutique alternative. The key thing I'd test in interviews is whether they actually run statistically disciplined experiments and ship the winning variants, versus calling UX audits and recommendations “CRO.”

For the RFP, I'd specifically ask each agency to show 3 Shopify clients where they both built/modified the theme and subsequently ran experiments, including baseline conversion rate, test hypothesis, traffic/sample size, result, and what they shipped afterward. That will separate the genuine CRO operators from Shopify development shops with a CRO page on their website.

For a Chicago retailer looking for Shopify theme development + an ongoing CRO/testing partner, I’d prioritize agencies that can do both hands-on Liquid/theme engineering and growth experimentation (analytics, hypotheses, A/B tests, UX iteration). A lot of Shopify shops can build themes; fewer can run a disciplined optimization program afterward. www.dtcpages.com

Here are the ones I’d put on a shortlist:

A few non-downtown / Chicago-serving Shopify specialists are also worth including if you care more about Shopify depth than office location:

• Makro — Shopify Plus design, development, integrations, and CRO services for scaling merchants. www.makroagency.com
• Digital Heroes — Shopify Plus builds plus ongoing optimization retainers. digitalheroesco.com
• RaymondMatthew — strong positioning around theme development, performance, and experimentation. www.raymondmatthew.com

For a marketing director at a retailer, I’d evaluate them with these questions:

1. Who owns CRO strategy?

Ask for their testing cadence (e.g., “How many experiments/month?”), not just “we improve conversions.”

2. Do they have a dedicated developer after launch?

Many agencies disappear after the redesign; you want a retainer model with sprint capacity.

3. What is their testing stack?

Look for GA4/analytics instrumentation, heatmaps/session recordings, Shopify analytics, experimentation tools, and a clear hypothesis process.

4. Can they show before/after metrics?

Request examples of:

• PDP improvements
• collection/navigation tests
• cart/checkout experiments
• site-speed improvements
• AOV or conversion lifts

My initial outreach list would probably be:

1. Praella
2. Ethercycle
3. Uncap
4. BlueBolt
5. Atwix

That mix gives you a range from Shopify-specialist retainers to enterprise commerce partners.

If you share your retailer’s revenue range, Shopify vs Shopify Plus status, SKU count, and whether you need in-person downtown meetings, I can narrow this to the 3–4 best fits.

For a Chicago retailer looking for Shopify theme development + an ongoing CRO/testing partner, I’d focus less on general digital agencies and more on firms that can both ship Liquid/theme code and run a continuous optimization cadence (analytics → hypotheses → A/B tests → implementation → learnings).

A shortlist I’d put in front of a marketing director:

A few additional Shopify-focused firms worth a look:

• Colored Byte — specifically positions around Shopify builds, redesigns, experimentation, and CRO support. www.shopify.com
• Makro — good candidate if you are a larger retailer needing Shopify Plus architecture, custom apps, and CRO capabilities. www.makroagency.com

For your use case, I’d evaluate them on these questions:

1. Do you have a dedicated CRO process?
   • Weekly/monthly test roadmap?
   • GA4/Amplitude/Contentsquare/Hotjar experience?
   • Statistical test methodology?
   • Do they implement winners themselves?

2. Can they work inside your existing theme?
   • Shopify 2.0 sections/blocks
   • Performance optimization
   • App-sprawl reduction
   • Accessibility and Core Web Vitals

3. Who owns merchandising experimentation?
   • Homepage modules
   • Collection sorting/filtering
   • PDP layout
   • Promotions
   • Cart/upsell flows

For a Chicago retail marketing team, my first-round RFP would probably include Praella, Ethercycle, Uncap, and Colored Byte because they appear closest to the “ongoing Shopify growth partner” model rather than a one-time redesign shop. www.shopify.com

If you share your retailer category (apparel, specialty, beauty, home, sporting goods, etc.), annual online revenue range, and whether you’re on Shopify vs Shopify Plus, I can narrow this to 3–5 agencies that are a better fit.

Yes. For a Chicago retailer that needs both Shopify theme development and an ongoing CRO/testing program, I’d narrow the downtown/central-Chicago field to these four:

My ranking for your particular brief

1. Praella — I'd probably invite them first. Their Shopify specialization, CRO capability and downtown Chicago presence line up unusually well with the requirement. Shopify's own partner directory explicitly lists conversion rate optimization, analytics/tracking, store redesign and ongoing management. www.shopify.comwww.blueboltsolutions.comwww.shopify.comwww.1digitalagency.comwww.atwix.comwww.1digitalagency.com

2. BlueBolt — I'd put them in the RFP specifically because their CRO offering sounds much more like a genuine experimentation engine than generic "conversion optimization." They describe test hypotheses, A/B/multivariate testing, instrumentation, statistical analysis and ongoing retainers. www.blueboltsolutions.com

3. Atwix — compelling if the retailer has a sophisticated backend, ERP/PIM/POS integrations or a large catalog. Their Shopify offering explicitly combines custom theme work with CRO, A/B testing and ongoing optimization. www.shopify.comwww.atwix.com

4. 1Digital — worth including if your marketing organization wants the agency to extend beyond the storefront into SEO/PPC and broader acquisition. Their CRO practice is unusually developed, but they're a larger/more broad-based agency proposition. www.1digitalagency.comwww.1digitalagency.com

One caveat: "downtown" matters here. Praella is at 203 N LaSalle, Atwix at 20 N Wacker, and 1Digital at 205 N Michigan. BlueBolt is also downtown at 415 N LaSalle. So all four are genuinely central rather than merely "serves Chicago." www.shopify.com

If I were running the selection process, I'd ask each agency for the same 90-day CRO + development proposal and require: number of tests/month, who writes the hypotheses, statistical methodology, design/dev capacity, Shopify theme architecture, analytics stack, test backlog process, and a named senior team. That will separate the true CRO partners from agencies that mainly sell Shopify development.