ChatGPT answers, unedited

• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave #1300, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• 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
• Ethercycle - 4905 Old Orchard Shopping Ctr, Skokie, IL 60077, United States
• Chicago Internet(Fireplace's Specialist) Marketing Company - Kensium LLC - 200 S Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Virtina - eCommerce Web Design and Development Company - 1 E Erie St Ste 525-2149, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Ecommerce Development - 3509 N Reta Ave Apt 3, Chicago, IL 60657, United States
• Scube Marketing - 2150 S Canalport Ave #2A11, Chicago, IL 60608, United States
• Avensia - Digital Commerce Solutions For Businesses - 20 W Kinzie St, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Avex E-commerce Agency - 368 9th Ave 5th Floor Suite 146, New York, NY 10001, United States
• BlueSwitch eCommerce Agency | Shopify Platinum Partner - 29 Broadway, New York, NY 10006, United States
• Ecommerce Pro - Shopify Plus Agency - 28 Geary St Ste 650 #1882, San Francisco, CA 94108, United States

If your priority is a large Shopify catalog with genuinely complex product discovery—faceted filtering, attribute-based search, thousands/tens of thousands of SKUs, and potentially ERP/PIM integration—I’d put three Chicago firms on the shortlist.

My shortlist

• Uncap — 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave, Chicago. This is the one I’d interview first if your catalog is B2B/industrial/technical. Their positioning specifically covers large catalogs, compatibility/fitment logic, account-specific catalogs/pricing, ERP integration, and complex product discovery. Uncap
• Praella - eCommerce Agency — 203 N LaSalle St, Chicago. More of a broad Shopify Plus/ecommerce organization, with experience spanning UX, custom development, integrations, migrations and enterprise Shopify. It makes sense if the project needs both sophisticated UX and substantial engineering. eSEOspace
• BlueBolt Solutions — 415 N LaSalle Dr, Chicago. Worth interviewing if search is a major architectural component: their stack explicitly includes integrations with technologies such as Algolia and Elasticsearch, as well as Shopify Plus, custom apps and headless work.

I'd also put Makro on the RFP list. Their Chicago practice specifically calls out large retail catalogs, advanced filtering, custom apps and Shopify Plus, including a prebuilt accelerator for advanced filtering. Makro Agency

Who I'd hire

For the exact requirements you described, I'd start with Uncap and BlueBolt, then have Praella bid against them. That's not a quality ranking; it's based on the particular technical requirements you mentioned.

The key thing I'd test in the interviews isn't "Can you build Shopify?" Almost every Shopify Plus agency can say yes.

Ask each agency to show you a live or documented example where they solved:

1. 50k+ products/SKUs or whatever scale you're actually targeting.
2. Multiple filter dimensions simultaneously — e.g. brand + material + size + compatibility + price.
3. AND/OR filtering logic and hierarchical attributes.
4. Search that understands synonyms, SKU/part numbers, typos and technical attributes.
5. Filter URLs that are crawlable/indexable where appropriate without creating an SEO nightmare.
6. Fast PLP performance after applying several facets.
7. Product data coming from a PIM/ERP, rather than manually maintained Shopify metafields.
8. Analytics showing which searches produce zero results and which filters customers actually use.

For a really large catalog, I'd also ask them to architect the search/filtering system before designing the theme. One Chicago agency explicitly describes this approach—taxonomy, metafields and faceted-search architecture first, then the storefront—and that's the right direction for a catalog-heavy build. Axis Web Art

One important question: ask them whether they would use Shopify's native search/filtering, an external search engine such as Algolia, or another solution—and why for your catalog size and attribute complexity. You don't want an agency choosing the search technology simply because it's the tool they happen to know.

If you tell me roughly how many products/SKUs you have, what you're selling, your current platform, and whether it's B2C or B2B, I can narrow this to 2–3 agencies and give you a specific RFP/interview scorecard.

• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave #1300, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• 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
• Ethercycle - 4905 Old Orchard Shopping Ctr, Skokie, IL 60077, United States
• Chicago Internet(Fireplace's Specialist) Marketing Company - Kensium LLC - 200 S Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Ecommerce Development - 3509 N Reta Ave Apt 3, Chicago, IL 60657, United States
• Virtina - eCommerce Web Design and Development Company - 1 E Erie St Ste 525-2149, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Avex E-commerce Agency - 368 9th Ave 5th Floor Suite 146, New York, NY 10001, United States
• Shero Commerce - Shopify Plus Agency - 21 Glen Pond Dr, Red Hook, NY 12571, United States
• Fresh Design Studio - 53 W Jackson Blvd, Ste 256, Chicago, IL 60604
• Ecommerce Pro - Shopify Plus Agency - 28 Geary St Ste 650 #1882, San Francisco, CA 94108, United States
• BlueSwitch eCommerce Agency | Shopify Platinum Partner - 29 Broadway, New York, NY 10006, United States
• Shopify Developers & eCommerce Website Experts | Conspire - 1401 Union St, San Diego, CA 92101, United States

For a large-catalog Shopify store with genuinely complex filtering/faceted search, I’d put these Chicago-area agencies on your shortlist:

• Uncap — the first one I’d interview. They’re Chicago-headquartered and specifically focus on complex B2B/unified commerce, including ERP/PIM/CRM integrations, account-specific catalogs, pricing, and custom Shopify apps. Their positioning is much closer to “large technical catalog” than a typical Shopify design agency. Uncap
• Praella - eCommerce Agency — worth interviewing for a larger/enterprise build. They’re Chicago-headquartered and a Shopify Platinum Partner, with substantial Shopify Plus, integrations, migrations, and custom-application experience. eSEOspace
• BlueBolt Solutions — interesting if search technology/integrations are central. They explicitly work with Shopify Plus and technologies including Algolia, Elasticsearch, PIM, and product-content systems.
• Atwix — another option for a technically complicated commerce operation, particularly if Shopify is one part of a larger ERP/integration architecture.

Who I'd hire

I'd start with Uncap and Praella and make them compete on the actual architecture. I wouldn't select an agency based primarily on visual design, Shopify Partner tier, or generic “10,000+ stores built” claims.

For your particular project, ask each agency to demonstrate a real large-catalog implementation and specifically walk you through:

1. Search: Shopify native search vs. Algolia/other search infrastructure.
2. Facets: how they handle hundreds/thousands of attribute combinations without creating an unmanageable collection structure.
3. Product data: metafields, taxonomy, PIM, variant modeling and attribute normalization.
4. Performance: what happens when the catalog reaches 50k/100k+ SKUs.
5. SEO: whether filtered/faceted URLs are indexable, canonicalized, or deliberately blocked.
6. ERP/PIM sync: which system is authoritative for product attributes, inventory and pricing.
7. Search relevance: typo tolerance, synonyms, boosting, SKU search, compatibility/specification searches and zero-result handling.
8. Ongoing ownership: whether your team can actually maintain the filtering architecture after launch.

One particularly useful point from the research: Conversion-focused Shopify specialists I found explicitly distinguish large catalogs from headless requirements—a deep catalog doesn't automatically mean you need Hydrogen/headless. Their Chicago guidance says a well-engineered Liquid storefront can be preferable when the main problem is catalog navigation and faceted search. ConversionEX

So if someone pitches you “100k SKUs = you need headless”, I'd make them prove it with an architecture and performance analysis first.

My interview order: Uncap → Praella → BlueBolt. If you tell me roughly how many SKUs you have, what you're selling, your current platform, and whether you need B2B pricing/ERP integration, I can narrow this to 1–2 agencies and give you a specific RFP/interview checklist.

• Praella - eCommerce Agency - 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, 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
• Danie Lyn The Brand - 401 N Michigan Ave, Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60611
• 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency - 205 N Michigan Ave Suit 810, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Fresh Design Studio - 53 W Jackson Blvd, Ste 256, Chicago, IL 60604
• ArtVersion® Creative Agency - 211 W Wacker Dr Ste 1130, Chicago, IL 60606, 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
• Awesome Dynamic Tech Solutions, Inc. - 401 N Michigan Ave #1200, Chicago, IL 60611, United States

For a large-catalog Shopify store with complex filtering, faceted search, technical attributes, B2B/B2C needs, ERP integrations, or thousands of SKUs, I would not hire a general Shopify theme shop. I’d look for a Shopify Plus partner that has experience with information architecture, product taxonomy, search, metafields, integrations, and performance.

My shortlist in Chicago:

1. Praella - eCommerce Agency — best overall enterprise Shopify Plus candidate

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 312-761-3218)

Good fit if you have:

• 5,000–100,000+ SKUs
• complicated product data
• custom apps/integrations
• Shopify Plus migration
• B2B + DTC in one ecosystem

They position themselves around Shopify Plus builds, migrations, integrations, and custom commerce experiences.

I’d put them on the shortlist if the store is mission-critical.

2. Shero — strong for complex B2B/catalog commerce

Shero CommerceEspecially interesting if you are:

• industrial/manufacturing
• wholesale
• distributor
• selling products with lots of specs

Their experience areas include B2B portals, ERP integrations, migrations, and Shopify Plus development. Shero Commerce

3. Ethercycle — Shopify specialist

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 877-384-3740)

A good option if you want a Shopify-focused team rather than a broad digital agency. They emphasize Shopify design/build and ongoing optimization.

4. Bigfolio — strong technical Shopify Plus option

Bigfolio LLCWorth considering if you need:

• Shopify Plus
• custom storefront work
• performance optimization
• possible Hydrogen/headless evaluation

They highlight Shopify Plus development, migrations, custom apps, integrations, and enterprise support. Bigfolio LLC

5. Uncap — particularly good for manufacturers/distributors

UncapIf your catalog looks like:

• industrial parts
• replacement components
• configurable products
• dealer pricing
• account-based purchasing

they may be a very relevant fit. Uncap

Who I would put "in the loop" before hiring

For a serious catalog build, I would assemble a buying team like this:

1. Ecommerce architect / Shopify Plus lead

Must-have. This person owns:

• Shopify architecture
• app strategy
• search/filter approach
• scalability decisions

Ask:
"Show me a catalog with 10k+ SKUs where you designed the taxonomy and faceted search."

2. UX architect / information architect

Do not let the agency jump straight into visual design.

They should define:

• category hierarchy
• filters
• attribute model
• PLP/PDP experience
• merchandising rules

For large catalogs, this is often more important than the theme.

3. Product data / PIM specialist

Critical if you have messy catalog data.

They should handle:

• SKU normalization
• attributes
• variants
• collections
• metafields
• search synonyms

4. Shopify developer(s)

Need experience with:

• Liquid
• Shopify Functions
• APIs
• custom apps
• search integrations

5. Search/faceting specialist

Depending on complexity, evaluate:

• Shopify Search & Discovery
• Algolia
• Klevu
• Searchspring
• Boost Commerce
• custom search layers

Do not accept "we'll install a filter app" as the whole strategy.

6. ERP/integration lead (if applicable)

Bring them in early if you have:

• NetSuite
• SAP
• Microsoft Dynamics
• Acumatica
• Epicor
• custom inventory systems

Questions I would ask agencies before signing

1. "What is the largest Shopify catalog you have launched?"
2. "How did you model product attributes and filters?"
3. "Who owns taxonomy decisions — UX, merchandising, or developers?"
4. "What search engine did you use and why?"
5. "How do you prevent thousands of indexed filter URLs from hurting SEO?"
6. "Can you show a before/after example of improving product findability?"
7. "What happens when we add 50,000 new SKUs?"

If this is a true enterprise catalog (industrial, parts, medical, wholesale, apparel with many variants, etc.), my first calls would probably be:

1. Praella
2. Shero
3. Uncap
4. Bigfolio

Then I’d make them compete on a paid discovery phase rather than choosing purely from portfolios. Shero Commerce Uncap Bigfolio LLC

• BlueBolt Solutions - 415 N La Salle Dr, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Chicago Internet(Fireplace's Specialist) Marketing Company - Kensium LLC - 200 S Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Praella - eCommerce Agency - 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Atwix - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, 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
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Penguin E-Commerce - 20 Danada Square W #222, Wheaton, IL 60189, United States
• Ecommerce Development - 3509 N Reta Ave Apt 3, Chicago, IL 60657, 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
• Avex E-commerce Agency - 368 9th Ave 5th Floor Suite 146, New York, NY 10001, United States

If the project is a genuinely large catalog Shopify store with sophisticated faceted navigation/search, I’d narrow the Chicago field to Uncap, Makro, and BlueBolt, rather than hiring a general-purpose Shopify design shop.

My shortlist

1. BlueBolt Solutions — my first call for search/catalog complexity

• Chicago-based and focused on digital commerce/custom software.
• Their ecosystem explicitly includes Algolia, Elasticsearch, inRiver, Salsify, etc., which is a very good signal if your problem is more than Shopify's basic collection filters. Makro Agency
• I'd especially consider them if you have a PIM, ERP, thousands of SKUs, technical attributes, compatibility filtering, or complicated product data.
• Chicago Internet(Fireplace's Specialist) Marketing Company - Kensium LLC — strongest if this is B2B/ERP-heavy

• Chicago-based and geared toward ERP-connected commerce.
• Particularly relevant if you have complex catalogs, pricing rules, quoting, multi-warehouse fulfillment, or an existing ERP. Uncap
• I'd put them ahead of a conventional Shopify agency if the storefront is really the front end of a complicated operational system.
• Uncap — strongest Shopify-native Chicago option

• uncap.com
• They're headquartered in Chicago and specifically position themselves around Shopify Plus B2B for manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers. Their stated stack includes SAP, Infor, Epicor, Dynamics, Acumatica and NetSuite integrations. Uncap
• Their $7,500 fixed-price "Blueprint" is interesting: I'd seriously consider buying the architecture/discovery phase before committing to the full build. Uncap

One more I'd interview

Makro is worth putting into the RFP. They specifically call out large retail catalogs, advanced filtering, custom apps, ERP/CRM/logistics integrations, and Shopify Plus. Makro Agency

makroagency.com

Who I'd hire

If you gave me the project today, my order would be:

BlueBolt → Uncap → Kensium → Makro

But there's an important distinction:

• DTC + huge catalog + sophisticated search: BlueBolt
• B2B + huge catalog + ERP/PIM: Uncap or Kensium
• Large retailer + sophisticated UX/search + Shopify Plus: Makro

I would not choose primarily based on whether the agency calls itself a "Shopify Plus Partner." The critical question is whether they've actually designed the product-data/search architecture behind a 10k–100k SKU catalog.

What I would demand in the pitch

Give each agency the same test:

"We have X products, Y variants, Z product attributes, and these 10–20 filters. Users need to combine filters, search by SKU/part number, sort by ___, and maintain good performance. Show us how you would architect Shopify, metafields, collections, search, filtering, PIM/ERP synchronization and SEO."

Ask them to produce a real architecture diagram, not a pretty homepage mockup.

In particular, ask:

• Are you using Shopify Search & Discovery, Algolia, Elasticsearch, or another search layer—and why?
• How many SKUs/variants have you successfully handled?
• Where does the canonical product attribute data live?
• How are facets generated and synchronized?
• How do you handle AND/OR filtering and multi-select facets?
• How do you prevent faceted URLs from creating an SEO/crawl-budget disaster?
• What happens when the ERP changes 50,000 products overnight?
• What happens when inventory changes in real time?
• How do you handle SKU/MPN/UPC/part-number search?
• Can you demonstrate a production site with comparable catalog complexity?

One especially good sign: ConversionEx's Chicago material explicitly argues that for a deep technical catalog, a well-engineered Liquid storefront with proper faceted search can be preferable to headless, rather than automatically selling you Hydrogen. conversionex.com That's the kind of architectural judgment I'd want from whoever you hire.

If you tell me roughly how many SKUs you have, whether it's B2B or B2C, what ERP/PIM you're using, and what the filters need to do, I can narrow this to 2–3 agencies and tell you exactly what I would ask each one in the first call.

In particular, ask:

• Are you using Shopify Search & Discovery, Algolia, Elasticsearch, or another search layer—and why?
• How many SKUs/variants have you successfully handled?
• Where does the canonical product attribute data live?
• How are facets generated and synchronized?
• How do you handle AND/OR filtering and multi-select facets?
• How do you prevent faceted URLs from creating an SEO/crawl-budget disaster?
• What happens when the ERP changes 50,000 products overnight?
• What happens when inventory changes in real time?
• How do you handle SKU/MPN/UPC/part-number search?
• Can you demonstrate a production site with comparable catalog complexity?

One especially good sign: ConversionEx's Chicago material explicitly argues that for a deep technical catalog, a well-engineered Liquid storefront with proper faceted search can be preferable to headless, rather than automatically selling you Hydrogen. That's the kind of architectural judgment I'd want from whoever you hire.

• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave #1300, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• 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
• Virtina - eCommerce Web Design and Development Company - 1 E Erie St Ste 525-2149, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Millennial Web Development - 329 W 18th St Ste 413, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
• Danie Lyn The Brand - 401 N Michigan Ave, Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60611
• Chicago Internet(Fireplace's Specialist) Marketing Company - Kensium LLC - 200 S Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency - 205 N Michigan Ave Suit 810, Chicago, IL 60601, United States

For a large-catalog Shopify store with complex filtering, faceted search, technical product attributes, and possibly B2B workflows, I would not hire a typical Shopify theme agency. You want a team that understands information architecture, product data modeling, search technology, integrations, and Shopify Plus constraints.

My shortlist in Chicago:

1. Uncap — strongest fit for complex catalogs / B2B

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 312-469-0944)

Best if you have:

• 5,000–100,000+ SKUs
• manufacturer/distributor workflows
• ERP/PIM integration
• customer-specific catalogs or pricing
• technical filters (size, material, compatibility, specs, certifications)

Uncap positions itself around Shopify B2B, ERP-connected commerce, complex catalogs, and operational workflows. Uncap

Who I’d put in the room from Uncap:

• Commerce strategist / solution architect
• Shopify Plus technical lead
• Data architect (product taxonomy + metafields)
• Search/filtering specialist
• Integration engineer (ERP/PIM/WMS)
• UX lead focused on catalog discovery

2. Praella - eCommerce Agency — strong enterprise Shopify Plus partner

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 312-761-3218)

Best if the project also needs:

• premium UX/design
• brand experience
• custom apps
• migration strategy
• conversion optimization

Praella is a Chicago-based ecommerce agency focused on Shopify/Shopify Plus implementations, migrations, and optimization. eSEOspace

Who I’d put in the room:

• Executive sponsor / engagement director
• Shopify Plus architect
• UX information architect
• Front-end Shopify engineer
• CRO lead
• QA lead

3. BlueBolt Solutions — good for enterprise integrations

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 312-236-4507)

Worth considering if your store is part of a larger ecosystem:

• ERP
• PIM
• DAM
• CRM
• search platforms
• legacy commerce systems

BlueBolt highlights enterprise commerce integrations and platforms including Shopify Plus, search, PIM, and related systems.

Who I’d put in the room:

• Enterprise architect
• Integration architect
• Shopify developer
• Data migration lead
• Business analyst

4. Atwix — if you have a very technical commerce stack

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 833-462-8949)

Atwix is more of a commerce engineering shop and may fit companies with complicated requirements across platforms.

Good fit if you are replacing:

• Magento
• custom commerce platforms
• heavily integrated legacy systems

The internal hiring loop I would create

Regardless of agency, I would not let the agency define the whole architecture alone. Your internal loop should include:

Executive owner

VP Ecommerce / Head of Digital

• owns business outcomes
• resolves priority conflicts

Product data owner (critical)

Merchandising + Product Information Manager
Owns:

• categories
• attributes
• filters
• variants
• taxonomy

This person is often more important than the designer for large catalogs.

Technical owner

CTO / Enterprise Architect / Ecommerce Engineering Lead
Reviews:

• Shopify architecture
• integrations
• APIs
• performance
• scalability

Search & discovery owner

Could be:

• Ecommerce product manager
• UX architect
• search specialist

Owns:

• faceting rules
• synonyms
• zero-result handling
• ranking logic
• merchandising rules

Operations owner

• inventory
• fulfillment
• customer service
• ERP workflows

SEO lead

Important because faceted navigation can create:

• duplicate URLs
• crawl traps
• indexing problems

My recommended evaluation exercise before hiring

Ask each agency to whiteboard this:

"We have 40,000 SKUs, 200 attributes, Shopify Plus, an ERP, and customers need to filter by compatibility, dimensions, certifications, and application. Design the product data model, search architecture, and migration plan."

The best agency will talk about:

• metafield strategy
• taxonomy governance
• PIM ownership
• search index design
• Algolia/Elastic/Shopify Search tradeoffs
• performance
• SEO controls

The weaker agencies will jump straight into homepage design.

For your specific use case, I would probably start conversations with Uncap + Praella + BlueBolt, then choose based on who demonstrates the strongest catalog/search architecture rather than who has the nicest portfolio. Uncap

• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave #1300, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• Praella - eCommerce Agency - 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Objectwave - 225 W Washington St, Ste 1000, Chicago, IL 60606
• BlueBolt Solutions - 415 N La Salle Dr, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Atwix - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Ecommerce Development - 3509 N Reta Ave Apt 3, Chicago, IL 60657, United States
• Ethercycle - 4905 Old Orchard Shopping Ctr, Skokie, IL 60077, United States
• Chicago Internet(Fireplace's Specialist) Marketing Company - Kensium LLC - 200 S Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Virtina - eCommerce Web Design and Development Company - 1 E Erie St Ste 525-2149, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Avensia - Digital Commerce Solutions For Businesses - 20 W Kinzie St, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Scube Marketing - 2150 S Canalport Ave #2A11, Chicago, IL 60608, United States
• Elevate Studios: A Digital Design Firm - 5416 N Wayne Ave, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Avex E-commerce Agency - 368 9th Ave 5th Floor Suite 146, New York, NY 10001, United States

If the requirement is a genuinely large Shopify catalog + sophisticated faceted search/filtering, I’d shortlist these three in Chicago rather than a generic Shopify design shop:

1. Uncap — my first call.

They’re Chicago-headquartered and specifically focus on complex B2B/unified commerce, large catalogs, ERP/PIM/CRM integration, pricing rules and operational workflows. Their published positioning is unusually close to what you described. Uncap

2. Praella - eCommerce Agency — strongest broader Shopify Plus option.

Chicago-headquartered, Shopify Platinum Partner, with substantial Shopify Plus design, development, integrations and custom-app experience. I'd consider them if the project needs both a sophisticated storefront experience and serious engineering. eSEOspace

3. Objectwave — consider if the project is especially enterprise/technical.

Their background is more broad digital commerce/software engineering than Shopify-only, which could be valuable if your catalog has complicated underlying systems or integrations.

Who I'd hire

I'd start with Uncap. The reason isn't simply "they do Shopify." Their Chicago positioning specifically mentions manufacturers/distributors, large catalogs, Shopify Plus, ERP integration and complex B2B commerce. That's much closer to a catalog-heavy implementation than an agency primarily selling beautiful Shopify themes. Uncap

There's also an important architectural point: don't let an agency jump straight into designing the theme. For a large catalog, I'd make the engagement start with:

• Product taxonomy / attribute model
• PIM or product-data strategy
• Metafield architecture
• Facet hierarchy and filter logic
• Search relevance and synonym strategy
• Collection/category architecture
• URL/indexation strategy for filtered pages
• Performance testing at your actual SKU count
• ERP/inventory/pricing integration architecture
• Mobile filter UX

For example, another Chicago Shopify specialist, Axis Web Art, explicitly describes builds for 10,000–100,000+ SKUs, including product taxonomy, metafields, faceted-search architecture and ERP/WMS integrations. That makes them a useful fourth agency to interview as a benchmark, even though I'd put Uncap ahead of them. Axis Web Art

One agency I would not hire solely because they say "Shopify Plus": you need them to demonstrate a live store with a catalog comparable to yours and walk you through how its search/facets actually work.

If you tell me roughly how many SKUs you have (e.g. 10k / 50k / 250k), what you're selling, and whether you have an ERP/PIM, I can narrow this to the 2–3 agencies I'd actually put in an RFP, including what questions I'd ask each one.

• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave #1300, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• Praella - eCommerce Agency - 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Atwix - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• BlueBolt Solutions - 415 N La Salle Dr, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Ecommerce Development - 3509 N Reta Ave Apt 3, Chicago, IL 60657, United States
• Ethercycle - 4905 Old Orchard Shopping Ctr, Skokie, IL 60077, United States
• Chicago Internet(Fireplace's Specialist) Marketing Company - Kensium LLC - 200 S Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Virtina - eCommerce Web Design and Development Company - 1 E Erie St Ste 525-2149, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Scube Marketing - 2150 S Canalport Ave #2A11, Chicago, IL 60608, United States
• Avensia - Digital Commerce Solutions For Businesses - 20 W Kinzie St, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Elevate Studios: A Digital Design Firm - 5416 N Wayne Ave, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Avex E-commerce Agency - 368 9th Ave 5th Floor Suite 146, New York, NY 10001, United States
• BlueSwitch eCommerce Agency | Shopify Platinum Partner - 29 Broadway, New York, NY 10006, United States

If large catalog + complex filtering/faceted search is the core requirement, I’d narrow the Chicago shortlist considerably. You don’t want a general Shopify design shop; you want an agency that understands product taxonomy, metafields, search architecture, ERP/PIM integrations, and performance at scale.

My shortlist

1. Uncap — my first call

• Chicago-based Platinum Shopify Partner with a specific positioning around large catalogs, B2B/B2C, ERP/PIM/CRM integrations, and complex commerce.
• Shopify describes them as building “Shopify Growth Engines” for unified commerce and specifically mentions large catalogs. Shopify
• Best fit: 10k+ SKUs, complicated product attributes, B2B + DTC, ERP integration, account-specific pricing, or a catalog where search is business-critical.
• I'd put them at #1 for technical complexity.
• Praella - eCommerce Agency

• Chicago-based Platinum Shopify Partner, 5.0 rating in Shopify's directory.
• Stronger than average combination of UX/design, custom development, integrations, migrations and Shopify Plus. Shopify
• Best fit: You need sophisticated filtering/search and a polished customer experience rather than a primarily engineering-driven implementation.
• Atwix

• Good candidate if the catalog complexity is tied to B2B workflows, integrations, pricing, approvals, or multiple commerce systems.
• Their Chicago office is downtown and they work across Shopify Plus and other enterprise commerce platforms.
• Riess Group

• Another Chicago-based Platinum Shopify Partner, with a 4.8/5 rating from 30 Shopify reviews and a long Shopify track record. Shopify
• I'd consider them particularly if brand/design + sophisticated Shopify implementation matters as much as the catalog architecture.

Who I'd hire

I'd interview Uncap and Praella first. If your catalog is genuinely enormous—say 20,000–100,000+ SKUs with dozens of technical attributes—I'd lean Uncap.

There's a particularly important distinction here: don't let an agency sell you “filters” as a theme feature. For a serious catalog, the project should start with a product-data/taxonomy architecture:

• Product attribute and variant model
• Metafield architecture
• Category/collection hierarchy
• Facet definitions and dependencies
• Search relevance/ranking
• Synonyms and typo handling
• URL/indexation strategy for filtered pages
• Performance with thousands of products
• PIM/ERP → Shopify data flow
• Analytics around zero-result searches and filter usage

Shopify itself distinguishes its higher partner tiers for larger/enterprise businesses, and its directory lets you evaluate partners by services, tier, reviews, location and other criteria. Shopify Help Center

One thing I'd specifically ask each agency:

“Show me a live Shopify store you've built with at least 10,000 SKUs where users can combine 5–10 facets, and walk me through the underlying product-data model and search architecture—not just the frontend.”

If they can't answer that convincingly, I'd move on.

shopify.com
shopify.com
shopify.com

If you tell me rough SKU count, number of filter attributes, current platform (Magento/BigCommerce/custom/etc.), and whether you have an ERP/PIM, I can narrow this to the 2–3 agencies I'd actually send an RFP to, including what I would ask each one to quote.

• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave #1300, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• 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
• Ethercycle - 4905 Old Orchard Shopping Ctr, Skokie, IL 60077, United States
• Chicago Internet(Fireplace's Specialist) Marketing Company - Kensium LLC - 200 S Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Ecommerce Development - 3509 N Reta Ave Apt 3, Chicago, IL 60657, United States
• Virtina - eCommerce Web Design and Development Company - 1 E Erie St Ste 525-2149, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Avex E-commerce Agency - 368 9th Ave 5th Floor Suite 146, New York, NY 10001, United States
• Shero Commerce - Shopify Plus Agency - 21 Glen Pond Dr, Red Hook, NY 12571, United States
• BlueSwitch eCommerce Agency | Shopify Platinum Partner - 29 Broadway, New York, NY 10006, United States
• Ecommerce Pro - Shopify Plus Agency - 28 Geary St Ste 650 #1882, San Francisco, CA 94108, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States

For a large-catalog Shopify store with genuinely complex filtering/faceted search, I’d put Uncap at the top of the Chicago shortlist.

My Chicago shortlist

1. Uncap — my first call

• Chicago-headquartered and Shopify Platinum Partner.
• Specifically focused on B2B, manufacturers, distributors, and complex catalogs.
• They work with ERP/PIM/CRM systems and custom Shopify apps, which matters if your filtering is driven by a large product-data model.
• Their Chicago practice explicitly discusses customer catalogs, ERP integration, pricing structures, and complex commerce. Uncap Uncap
• uncap.com
• Praella - eCommerce Agency — best if UX/design is equally important

• Chicago-based Shopify Platinum Partner with a larger full-service ecommerce team.
• Stronger choice if this is a consumer-facing catalog where merchandising, UX, conversion, and brand experience matter as much as the underlying catalog architecture.
• Recent industry research also places Praella among Chicago's leading Shopify Plus agencies. eSEOspace
• praella.com
• BlueBolt Solutions — worth interviewing for search/integration-heavy work

• Chicago-based and technically oriented.
• Their stack includes Shopify Plus plus integrations with technologies such as Algolia, Elasticsearch, inRiver PIM, and Salsify, which is particularly relevant if your "filtering" requirements go beyond Shopify's native search/filter capabilities.
• Makro — strong enterprise alternative

• Their Chicago practice specifically calls out thousands of SKUs, large retail catalogs, advanced filtering, ERP/CRM/logistics integrations, and custom apps. Makro Agency
• makroagency.com

Who I'd hire

If you gave me the project today, I'd interview Uncap, Praella, and BlueBolt, but I'd start with Uncap.

The important thing is that you don't hire an agency merely because it says "Shopify Plus" or "large catalog." Your project should be evaluated as a product-data/search architecture project, not primarily a website-design project.

For example, if you have 20,000–100,000+ products with attributes like:

• Brand
• Product type
• Size/dimensions
• Material
• Compatibility
• Industry/application
• Price
• Availability
• Certifications
• Technical specifications
• Customer-specific attributes

…I'd want the agency to show me a real implementation they've built where users can combine multiple facets and get fast, relevant results. Axis Web Art, for example, explicitly describes 10,000–100,000+ SKU Shopify architectures involving taxonomy, metafields, faceted search and ERP/WMS integrations, so they're another technically relevant firm to put on the RFP list. Axis Web Art

The question I'd ask every agency

Don't ask:

"Can you build a Shopify store with advanced filters?"

Ask:

"Show me a live Shopify store you've built with at least 10,000 SKUs and multi-dimensional faceted search. Explain exactly what powers the search index, where product attributes live, how filters are generated, how you handle combinations of facets, and what happens when the catalog grows 10×."

Then ask them to build a small proof of concept using 500–1,000 of your actual products.

That will separate the real Shopify engineering teams from agencies that mostly assemble themes + apps.

One important architectural point: don't let them automatically sell you a headless Shopify build. For a large catalog, a well-designed Liquid/Online Store 2.0 architecture with the right search layer can be considerably simpler and cheaper to operate. One Chicago-focused agency specifically argues that properly engineered Liquid + faceted search is preferable to Hydrogen for many deep-catalog use cases. ConversionEX

If you tell me roughly how many SKUs you have, what attributes you need to filter by, whether you have an ERP/PIM, and whether it's B2B, B2C, or both, I can narrow this to the 2–3 agencies I'd actually invite to bid and tell you what I would expect each one to propose.

• Praella - eCommerce Agency - 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave #1300, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• Atwix - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• BlueBolt Solutions - 415 N La Salle Dr, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Ecommerce Development - 3509 N Reta Ave Apt 3, Chicago, IL 60657, United States
• Chicago Internet(Fireplace's Specialist) Marketing Company - Kensium LLC - 200 S Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Millennial Web Development - 329 W 18th St Ste 413, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
• 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency - 205 N Michigan Ave Suit 810, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Danie Lyn The Brand - 401 N Michigan Ave, Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60611
• 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
• BlueSwitch eCommerce Agency | Shopify Platinum Partner - 29 Broadway, New York, NY 10006, United States
• Shero Commerce - Shopify Plus Agency - 21 Glen Pond Dr, Red Hook, NY 12571, United States

If by “in the loop” you mean Chicago’s Loop, I’d shortlist Praella, Uncap, and Atwix—but for your specific requirement, I’d start with Praella.

My pick: Praella - eCommerce Agency

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 312-761-3218)

Praella is Chicago-headquartered at 203 N LaSalle and specializes in Shopify/Shopify Plus builds, migrations, custom development, UX, and integrations. Its Shopify work includes substantial catalog and systems-integration projects. eSEOspace

Why I'd interview them first: a large catalog with sophisticated filtering isn't primarily a “Shopify theme” problem. You need someone who understands information architecture, metafields, collection logic, search indexing, performance, and potentially an external search engine.

For example, Algolia explicitly supports Shopify Plus with filters/facets, autocomplete, merchandising, and large real-time catalogs. Algolia Algolia

The other two I'd put in the RFP

• Uncap — my second choice if the catalog is technically complicated. They're particularly focused on complex Shopify commerce involving ERP/PIM/CRM integrations, account-level catalogs and pricing, and B2B workflows. That's a strong fit if your catalog is thousands/tens of thousands of SKUs rather than a relatively simple DTC catalog.
• Atwix — good enterprise/engineering option. Their Chicago office is at 20 N Wacker, and they work across Shopify Plus and other commerce platforms, including custom development and complex B2B workflows.

There's also BlueBolt Solutions at 415 N LaSalle. I'd include them if search itself is a major part of the project: their listed ecosystem specifically includes Algolia, Elasticsearch, PIM systems such as Salsify/inRiver, and Shopify Plus.

How I'd rank them for your project

One important point: don't let the agencies sell you on “Shopify's native filters” before they've mapped your catalog. Ask them to demonstrate how they'd handle your actual attributes—brand, category, material, dimensions, compatibility, price, availability, etc.—and whether they'd use Shopify Search & Discovery, Algolia, or another architecture.

I'd make the RFP include this requirement:

“We need a Shopify Plus store with a large product catalog and highly performant faceted navigation. The agency must provide the proposed catalog/taxonomy architecture, filtering strategy, search architecture, indexing approach, URL/SEO strategy for filtered collections, and performance targets before development begins.”

That one requirement will separate the real ecommerce engineering shops from agencies that primarily build attractive Shopify themes.

If you tell me roughly how many SKUs you have (e.g. 5k / 50k / 500k), what you're selling, and whether you need B2B, I can narrow this to the one agency I'd hire and the exact technical stack I'd ask them to propose.

• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave #1300, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• 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
• Ethercycle - 4905 Old Orchard Shopping Ctr, Skokie, IL 60077, United States
• Shero Commerce - Shopify Plus Agency - 21 Glen Pond Dr, Red Hook, NY 12571, United States
• Chicago Internet(Fireplace's Specialist) Marketing Company - Kensium LLC - 200 S Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Avensia - Digital Commerce Solutions For Businesses - 20 W Kinzie St, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Ecommerce Development - 3509 N Reta Ave Apt 3, Chicago, IL 60657, United States
• BlueSwitch eCommerce Agency | Shopify Platinum Partner - 29 Broadway, New York, NY 10006, United States
• Avex E-commerce Agency - 368 9th Ave 5th Floor Suite 146, New York, NY 10001, United States
• Ethercycle - 3 S Prospect Ave, Ste 12, Park Ridge, IL 60068
• Millennial Web Development - 329 W 18th St Ste 413, Chicago, IL 60616, United States

If large catalog + complex filtering/faceted search is the core requirement, I’d put Uncap and Makro at the top of the Chicago shortlist.

My shortlist

1. Uncap — my first call

• Chicago-headquartered and specifically focused on B2B/complex commerce.
• Their Shopify work includes custom theme development, custom apps/Functions, ERP integrations, and large operational workflows. Uncap
• Particularly attractive if your catalog has technical attributes, customer-specific catalogs/pricing, or ERP-driven product data.
• Best fit: industrial, distribution, wholesale, technical products, large SKU counts.
• Makro — my second call

• Explicitly positions itself around Shopify Plus, large retail catalogs, B2B, ERP/CRM integrations and custom apps.
• They specifically mention accelerators for advanced filtering and large-catalog commerce. Makro Agency
• Best fit: larger/more enterprise Shopify Plus project where you want strategy + UX + engineering.
• Praella - eCommerce Agency

• Worth including if you want a more established Shopify Plus/ecommerce partner with strong design and development capabilities.
• Best fit: sophisticated consumer-facing catalog where UX/CRO matters as much as the underlying commerce architecture.
• BlueBolt Solutions

• Interesting if the project is particularly integration-heavy and you need serious custom engineering rather than just a Shopify theme implementation.

The important part: don't hire based on "Shopify agency"

For your project, I'd make the agency prove they can handle product discovery architecture, not just build a pretty Shopify storefront.

I'd ask each candidate:

"Show me a live Shopify store you've built with 10,000+ SKUs and complex faceted navigation. I want to see the underlying taxonomy, metafields, filtering logic, search implementation, indexing strategy, and how you handle products with hundreds of attributes."

For truly sophisticated search, I'd also ask whether they have implemented Algolia or an equivalent search/discovery system. Algolia's Shopify integration supports multiple facet types—including hierarchical, numeric-slider, conjunctive and disjunctive facets—and is designed to handle very large catalogs. Algolia Algolia

Who I'd hire

If this were my RFP, I'd invite:

Uncap + Makro + Praella

…and make them all bid against the same technical specification.

I'd weight the decision roughly:

• 30% catalog/search architecture
• 20% Shopify Plus engineering
• 15% ERP/PIM/data integration
• 15% UX/information architecture
• 10% performance
• 10% project management/support

The biggest red flag would be an agency telling you, "Shopify's native filters can handle it" without first modeling your catalog. With thousands or tens of thousands of products, taxonomy, attributes, data quality, indexing, and search relevance are usually the difficult part—not rendering a collection page. ConversionEX

If you tell me roughly how many SKUs you have, what industry you're in, whether it's B2B/B2C, and what ERP/PIM you're using, I can narrow this to the one Chicago agency I'd hire and give you an RFP/spec to send them.

If this were my RFP, I'd invite:

Uncap + Makro + Praella

…and make them all bid against the same technical specification.

I'd weight the decision roughly:

• 30% catalog/search architecture
• 20% Shopify Plus engineering
• 15% ERP/PIM/data integration
• 15% UX/information architecture
• 10% performance
• 10% project management/support

The biggest red flag would be an agency telling you, "Shopify's native filters can handle it" without first modeling your catalog. With thousands or tens of thousands of products, taxonomy, attributes, data quality, indexing, and search relevance are usually the difficult part—not rendering a collection page.

• BlueBolt Solutions - 415 N La Salle Dr, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Praella - eCommerce Agency - 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Atwix - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Shero Commerce - Shopify Plus Agency - 21 Glen Pond Dr, Red Hook, NY 12571, United States
• Avensia - Digital Commerce Solutions For Businesses - 20 W Kinzie St, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• BlueSwitch eCommerce Agency | Shopify Platinum Partner - 29 Broadway, New York, NY 10006, United States
• Avex E-commerce Agency - 368 9th Ave 5th Floor Suite 146, New York, NY 10001, United States
• Penguin E-Commerce - 20 Danada Square W #222, Wheaton, IL 60189, United States
• Ecommerce Development - 3509 N Reta Ave Apt 3, Chicago, IL 60657, United States
• ECommerce Partners - 4 Washington St, Tenafly, NJ 07670, United States

If the requirement is large Shopify catalogs + genuinely complex filtering/faceted search, I’d shortlist three Chicago firms, but my first call would be BlueBolt Solutions.

My Chicago shortlist

• BlueBolt Solutions — best technical fit

• Chicago-based and focused on mid-market/enterprise commerce.
• Particularly interesting for your use case because they explicitly work with Algolia, Elasticsearch, PIM/product-content systems, and Shopify Plus.
• That combination matters when you have thousands/tens of thousands of SKUs and filters that go beyond simple Shopify collection filtering.
• I'd interview them first if search architecture is one of the hardest parts of the project.
• Praella - eCommerce Agency — strong Shopify-focused alternative

• Chicago headquartered, Shopify/Shopify Plus focused, with substantial ecommerce implementation experience.
• I'd put them on the RFP if you want a team that can own the broader Shopify experience rather than primarily solving the search problem.
• Atwix — best if integrations/enterprise architecture are heavy

• Chicago office and broader enterprise ecommerce/integration experience.
• Worth considering if the catalog is fed by ERP/PIM/WMS systems and the Shopify build is really an enterprise integration project rather than just a storefront redesign.

There's also Makro, which is worth a serious look: its Chicago practice specifically advertises large retail catalogs, advanced filtering, custom apps, ERP/CRM integrations, and Shopify Plus. Makro Agency

One important thing I'd specify in the RFP

Don't simply ask agencies for "faceted search." Ask them to architect:

Shopify Plus + PIM/product data model + dedicated search index + faceting/filter logic + merchandising + autocomplete + analytics.

For a genuinely large catalog, I'd want the agency to be able to explain why they'd use Shopify's native search versus something like Algolia. Algolia supports Shopify facets including hierarchical, conjunctive/disjunctive, menu and numeric-slider facets, and supports large catalogs with continuous product syncing. Algolia Algolia

Who I'd hire

If I were running the selection:

1. BlueBolt — technical/search architecture interview
2. Makro — Shopify Plus/catalog implementation interview
3. Praella — broader Shopify agency comparison
4. Atwix — add them if ERP/PIM/integration complexity is substantial

My pick: BlueBolt, assuming they can show you a live large-catalog implementation with the kind of filtering you need. I would not choose based on Shopify Partner tier or visual design portfolio alone.

If you tell me roughly how many SKUs you have (10k / 50k / 100k+), what kinds of filters you need, and whether you have an ERP/PIM, I can narrow this to the one or two agencies I'd actually put on the project.

Who I'd hire

If I were running the selection:

1. BlueBolt — technical/search architecture interview
2. Makro — Shopify Plus/catalog implementation interview
3. Praella — broader Shopify agency comparison
4. Atwix — add them if ERP/PIM/integration complexity is substantial

My pick: BlueBolt, assuming they can show you a live large-catalog implementation with the kind of filtering you need. I would not choose based on Shopify Partner tier or visual design portfolio alone.

If you tell me roughly how many SKUs you have (10k / 50k / 100k+), what kinds of filters you need, and whether you have an ERP/PIM, I can narrow this to the one or two agencies I'd actually put on the project.

• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave #1300, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• 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
• Avensia - Digital Commerce Solutions For Businesses - 20 W Kinzie St, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Atwix - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Ethercycle - 4905 Old Orchard Shopping Ctr, Skokie, IL 60077, United States
• Chicago Internet(Fireplace's Specialist) Marketing Company - Kensium LLC - 200 S Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Ecommerce Development - 3509 N Reta Ave Apt 3, Chicago, IL 60657, United States
• Shero Commerce - Shopify Plus Agency - 21 Glen Pond Dr, Red Hook, NY 12571, United States
• Avex E-commerce Agency - 368 9th Ave 5th Floor Suite 146, New York, NY 10001, United States
• Ecommerce Pro - Shopify Plus Agency - 28 Geary St Ste 650 #1882, San Francisco, CA 94108, United States
• BlueSwitch eCommerce Agency | Shopify Platinum Partner - 29 Broadway, New York, NY 10006, United States
• Shopify Developers & eCommerce Website Experts | Conspire - 1401 Union St, San Diego, CA 92101, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States

If large catalog + complex filtering/faceted search is the core requirement, I’d put Uncap at the top of your Chicago shortlist.

My Chicago shortlist

• Uncap — My #1 pick for your use case. They’re Chicago-based, a Shopify Platinum Partner, and specifically position themselves around large catalogs, B2B/wholesale, ERP integrations, and complex commerce operations. Their current site lists products/clients such as industrial suppliers, lighting, marine, tools, etc., which is much closer to a catalog-heavy store than a typical DTC Shopify agency. Uncap

uncap.com

• Praella - eCommerce Agency — Best if design/UX + enterprise Shopify Plus are equally important. They're Chicago-headquartered and a Shopify Platinum Partner with substantial experience in migrations, custom applications, integrations and large-scale Shopify Plus work. Shopify

praella.com

• BlueBolt Solutions — Worth interviewing if search technology is a major architectural concern. Their stack explicitly includes integrations with search/discovery technologies such as Algolia and Elasticsearch, alongside Shopify Plus, PIM and other enterprise systems.
• Avensia - Digital Commerce Solutions For Businesses — Consider for very sophisticated product discovery/data architecture. They're more of a digital-commerce consultancy than a typical Shopify shop and specifically emphasize search, recommendations, PIM and complex commerce ecosystems.

Who I'd hire

I'd interview Uncap and BlueBolt first, with Praella as the third bid.

The important thing is that you don't ask them merely to "build a Shopify store with filters." For a serious catalog, I'd make them architect:

Shopify + product data/PIM + search index + faceting + merchandising + URL/state management

rather than trying to make Shopify's native collection filtering do everything.

For example, if you have 20,000+ products and filters like:

• Brand
• Product type
• Material
• Size
• Application
• Compatibility
• Industry
• Technical specifications
• Price
• Availability
• Multiple simultaneous selections
• Sort by relevance/popularity/price
• Search within filtered results

…I'd specifically ask the agency to demonstrate how their architecture handles that, not just show you a pretty Shopify site.

The question I'd use to vet them

Ask each agency:

"Show me a live Shopify store you've built with at least 10,000 SKUs and genuinely complex faceted search. Explain what powers the search index, how product attributes are modeled, how filters are generated, how URLs are handled for SEO, and what happens when the catalog changes."

That question will separate the Shopify design agencies from the teams that actually know catalog/search architecture.

I'd also ask for a technical proposal covering Shopify Search & Discovery vs Algolia/Elastic/search provider, PIM strategy, indexing, filter performance, SEO-friendly faceted URLs, analytics, merchandising rules, and expected catalog size.

If you tell me roughly how many SKUs you have, what kinds of filters/specifications you need, and whether you're B2B, B2C, or both, I can narrow this to the 2 agencies I'd actually hire and what I would expect each to charge.

• Praella - eCommerce Agency - 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Danie Lyn The Brand - 401 N Michigan Ave, Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60611
• 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency - 205 N Michigan Ave Suit 810, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• EcomBay Automation - 205 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Ecommerce Development - 3509 N Reta Ave Apt 3, Chicago, IL 60657, United States
• SEO Design Chicago - 2068 N Western Ave 1F - Front, Chicago, IL 60647, United States
• Awesome Dynamic Tech Solutions, Inc. - 401 N Michigan Ave #1200, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Avex E-commerce Agency - 368 9th Ave 5th Floor Suite 146, New York, NY 10001, United States
• Fresh Design Studio - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza Suit 1212, Chicago, IL 60654, United States

For a large-catalog Shopify store with complex filtering/faceted search, I would not hire a general Shopify design shop. You want a team that understands information architecture, product data modeling, metafields, search infrastructure, ERP/PIM integrations, and performance at thousands+ SKUs.

My shortlist in Chicago:

1. Praella - eCommerce Agency — strongest overall enterprise Shopify candidate

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 312-761-3218)

Good fit if you have:

• 5,000–100,000+ SKUs
• Shopify Plus requirements
• complex product attributes
• migrations from Magento/legacy commerce
• custom apps/integrations

Praella is Chicago-based and focuses heavily on Shopify Plus implementations, migrations, UX, and custom commerce builds. eSEOspace

I’d put them in the first round of pitches.

2. Makro — best fit for B2B / industrial / wholesale catalogs

If your catalog looks like:

• industrial parts
• furniture
• home goods
• supplies
• configurable products
• dealer/wholesale pricing

Makro specifically positions around large catalogs, B2B workflows, ERP integrations, and complex commerce. Makro Agency Makro Agency

They are probably the closest match if your "catalog" is more like a digital replacement for a printed catalog.

3. Bigfolio — strong technical Shopify Plus option

Consider them if you care about:

• high performance
• custom storefront work
• Hydrogen/headless possibilities
• ongoing engineering support

They position around Shopify Plus builds, enterprise storefronts, and complex implementations. Bigfolio LLC

4. Netalico — worth including for a second opinion

They focus on Shopify Plus, migrations, optimization, and larger ecommerce operations. Netalico

Who I would put on your hiring team

Do not let the agency sell you a "beautiful Shopify site" first. Your first conversations should include:

Internal team

• Head of Ecommerce / Ecommerce Director — owns requirements and business outcomes
• Merchandising lead — defines categories, attributes, filters, collections
• Operations / inventory owner — validates SKU, ERP, inventory rules
• IT / systems owner — integrations, APIs, security
• SEO lead — critical for category architecture and faceted navigation
• Customer service / sales reps — they know how buyers actually search

Agency team you should require

Ask for these named people before signing:

1. Solution Architect

• designs Shopify architecture
• decides native Shopify Search & Discovery vs Algolia/Constructor/Searchspring/etc.
• owns scalability decisions
• UX / Information Architect

• creates taxonomy
• maps categories and filters
• designs navigation/search behavior
• Shopify Plus Lead Developer

• owns theme architecture
• metafields
• custom apps/functions
• performance
• Data Migration Lead

• product data cleanup
• PIM/ERP mapping
• SKU normalization
• SEO Specialist

• prevents faceted search from creating millions of crawlable URLs
• handles redirects and indexation strategy
• QA Lead

• tests filtering combinations
• inventory states
• mobile behavior
• checkout edge cases

Questions I would ask in the first agency call

1. "Show me a Shopify store you built with 20,000+ SKUs."
2. "How did you model product attributes and filters?"
3. "What search technology did you use and why?"
4. "How do you prevent faceted navigation from destroying SEO?"
5. "How do you handle products with 50+ attributes?"
6. "What happens when our catalog grows 10x?"
7. "Who is the actual architect assigned to our project?"

If this is a true catalog business (industrial, wholesale, furniture, parts, apparel with many variants), my first three calls would be:

1. Praella - eCommerce Agency
2. Makro
3. Bigfolio

I would make them compete on architecture, not design comps.

• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave #1300, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• 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
• Ethercycle - 3 S Prospect Ave, Ste 12, Park Ridge, IL 60068
• Atwix - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Penguin E-Commerce - 20 Danada Square W #222, Wheaton, IL 60189, 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
• B&B Online inc - 1022 Denham Pl, Schaumburg, IL 60194, United States
• 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency - 205 N Michigan Ave Suit 810, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Danie Lyn The Brand - 401 N Michigan Ave, Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60611
• 1o8 - 231 S LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60604, United States
• Chicago Internet(Fireplace's Specialist) Marketing Company - Kensium LLC - 200 S Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60606, United States

For a large-catalog Shopify store with complex filtering/faceted search, I would not hire a typical Shopify theme shop. You want an agency that understands product information architecture, metafields, search tooling, ERP/PIM integrations, performance at thousands of SKUs, and B2B/B2C complexity.

My shortlist in Chicago:

1. Uncap — best fit for industrial/B2B catalogs

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 312-469-0944)

I’d put them at the top if you have:

• 5,000–100,000+ SKUs
• technical products/spec sheets
• dealer pricing or customer-specific catalogs
• ERP/PIM integrations
• wholesale + DTC in one Shopify Plus instance

They specifically position around complex Shopify B2B commerce, ERP connections, pricing/catalog logic, and manufacturers/distributors. Uncap

Ask them:

• “Show me a catalog you built with >20k SKUs.”
• “How did you model attributes for faceted search?”
• “Did you use Shopify Search & Discovery, Algolia, Boost, Searchanise, or a custom approach?”
• “How do you prevent filter combinations from creating SEO/indexing problems?”

2. Praella - eCommerce Agency — best all-around Shopify Plus partner

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 312-761-3218)

Good choice if the store needs:

• strong UX/design
• Shopify Plus architecture
• custom development
• integrations
• enterprise-level project management

Praella is a Chicago-headquartered Shopify Plus agency with experience across migrations, design, development, and custom commerce solutions. eSEOspace

I’d lean here if your catalog is complex but the buying experience is also brand-heavy (fashion, beauty, consumer goods, premium retail).

3. BlueBolt Solutions — best if integrations are the hard part

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 312-236-4507)

Consider them if the real problem is:

• ERP synchronization
• custom apps
• legacy systems
• operational workflows

They have a stronger “commerce engineering” profile than a pure storefront agency.

4. Ethercycle — good Shopify specialist, better for optimization/mid-complexity builds

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 877-384-3740)

They are Shopify-focused and have a strong Shopify ecosystem reputation, but for a 100k SKU catalog with enterprise filtering, I would put them behind Uncap/Praella unless your complexity is mostly theme/CRO related.

Who I would put in the room before hiring

Do not just talk to an agency salesperson. Ask for this exact team:

1. Commerce architect / technical lead

Owns:

• Shopify Plus architecture
• search strategy
• data model
• integrations

This is the most important person.

2. Product information architect (PIM/catalog specialist)

Owns:

• attribute taxonomy
• collections
• filters
• metafields
• variant strategy

For big catalogs, this person matters more than the designer.

3. UX lead

Owns:

• category navigation
• PLP (product listing page) experience
• filter usability
• mobile shopping flows

4. Shopify engineer

Needs experience with:

• Liquid
• Shopify Functions
• Search & Discovery
• custom apps
• APIs
• performance optimization

5. SEO technical lead

Critical because faceted navigation can create:

• millions of crawlable URLs
• duplicate content
• indexing problems

My hiring recommendation

If I were running the RFP:

Shortlist:

1. Uncap — complex catalog/B2B
2. Praella — enterprise Shopify Plus + UX
3. BlueBolt — integrations-heavy

Then make each agency complete the same paid discovery exercise:

“Design the product data model and search/filter architecture for our catalog.”

The winner should be the team that talks about taxonomy, attributes, search relevance, indexing rules, and operational workflows — not just homepage design.

A few questions would change my recommendation:

• How many SKUs (1k, 10k, 100k+)?
• B2B, B2C, or both?
• What industry (industrial, apparel, parts, furniture, etc.)?
• Are you migrating from Magento/BigCommerce/another platform?

If I were running the RFP:

Shortlist:

1. Uncap — complex catalog/B2B
2. Praella — enterprise Shopify Plus + UX
3. BlueBolt — integrations-heavy

Then make each agency complete the same paid discovery exercise:

“Design the product data model and search/filter architecture for our catalog.”

The winner should be the team that talks about taxonomy, attributes, search relevance, indexing rules, and operational workflows — not just homepage design.

A few questions would change my recommendation:

• Praella - eCommerce Agency - 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave #1300, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• BlueBolt Solutions - 415 N La Salle Dr, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Ethercycle - 3 S Prospect Ave, Ste 12, Park Ridge, IL 60068
• Millennial Web Development - 329 W 18th St Ste 413, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave, Ste 1300, Chicago, IL 60631
• WPrime Agency - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza #1212, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Atwix - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Seven Seas Web Design - Chicago, IL 60630
• Shero Commerce - Shopify Plus Agency - 21 Glen Pond Dr, Red Hook, NY 12571, 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

If by “in the Loop” you mean downtown Chicago, my first call would be Praella - eCommerce Agency. It’s Chicago-headquartered, Shopify/Shopify Plus-focused, and operates at the enterprise end of the market. eSEOspace

But for a genuinely large catalog + sophisticated faceted search, I’d shortlist these:

1. Uncap — my pick for complex catalogs/B2B

• Chicago HQ.
• Specifically targets manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers.
• Publicly discusses large SKU counts, compatibility/fitment logic, account-specific catalogs/pricing, ERP integration and complex product discovery. Uncap
• Best fit: 10k–100k+ SKUs, technical products, B2B + DTC, ERP-driven catalog.
• Praella - eCommerce Agency — best all-around enterprise Shopify agency

• Chicago office at 203 N LaSalle.
• Shopify Platinum Partner and substantial Shopify Plus experience. eSEOspace
• Best fit: big redesign/replatform where UX, integrations, conversion and engineering all matter.
• BlueBolt Solutions — interesting if search itself is a major architectural problem

• Chicago-based.
• Their commerce stack explicitly includes search technologies such as Algolia and Elasticsearch, alongside Shopify Plus, PIM and other enterprise integrations.
• Best fit: complex product discovery where Shopify's native filtering/search isn't enough.
• Makro — worth putting in the RFP even though I wouldn't make them my first call.

• Their Chicago practice specifically mentions thousands of SKUs, advanced filtering and custom accelerators for filtering/integrations. Makro Agency

Who I'd hire

If your catalog is the main challenge: Uncap.

Their positioning is unusually close to what you're describing: large catalog + faceted discovery + complicated product attributes + backend/ERP complexity, rather than simply “we build pretty Shopify sites.” Uncap

I'd put Uncap + Praella + BlueBolt into a competitive RFP and make them solve the same representative search problem before choosing.

Specifically, don't ask them merely “Can you build faceted search?” Give them 500–1,000 representative products and ask them to demonstrate:

• 10+ simultaneous facets
• multi-select AND/OR behavior
• numeric/range filters
• hierarchical categories
• product attributes stored in metafields/PIM
• synonym handling
• typo tolerance
• zero-result recovery
• sorting by relevance, price, availability, etc.
• URL/state persistence
• SEO treatment of faceted URLs
• fast response at your projected catalog size
• how search/filter data stays synchronized with Shopify

That demo will tell you much more than an agency portfolio.

If you tell me roughly how many SKUs you have (e.g. 20k vs 200k), whether it's B2B, and what your current platform is, I can narrow this to the 2–3 agencies I'd actually interview and what I'd ask each one.

• 10+ simultaneous facets
• multi-select AND/OR behavior
• numeric/range filters
• hierarchical categories
• product attributes stored in metafields/PIM
• synonym handling
• typo tolerance
• zero-result recovery
• sorting by relevance, price, availability, etc.
• URL/state persistence
• SEO treatment of faceted URLs
• fast response at your projected catalog size
• how search/filter data stays synchronized with Shopify

That demo will tell you much more than an agency portfolio.

• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave #1300, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• 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
• Avensia - Digital Commerce Solutions For Businesses - 20 W Kinzie St, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Shero Commerce - Shopify Plus Agency - 21 Glen Pond Dr, Red Hook, NY 12571, United States
• BlueSwitch eCommerce Agency | Shopify Platinum Partner - 29 Broadway, New York, NY 10006, United States
• Ethercycle - 4905 Old Orchard Shopping Ctr, Skokie, IL 60077, United States
• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave, Ste 1300, Chicago, IL 60631
• Blink SEO - The Shopify marketing agency for large catalogue stores - Kiln House, Pottergate, Norwich NR2 1DX, United Kingdom
• Ecommerce Pro - Shopify Plus Agency - 28 Geary St Ste 650 #1882, San Francisco, CA 94108, 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
• Penguin E-Commerce - 20 Danada Square W #222, Wheaton, IL 60189, United States
• Atwix - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States

If this is a large-catalog Shopify build with genuinely complex product discovery/faceted search, I’d put Uncap at the top of the Chicago shortlist.

Uncap is Chicago-headquartered and specifically focuses on Shopify Plus/B2B, manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, and complex catalogs. Their published work emphasizes ERP/PIM/CRM integrations, account-specific catalogs/pricing, and operationally complex commerce—not just custom themes. Uncap Uncap

My Chicago shortlist

1. Uncap — my first call

• Best fit if you have thousands+ of SKUs, technical attributes, complex categories, B2B/B2C, ERP/PIM integration, etc.
• They specifically position themselves around complex product catalogs and unified commerce. Uncap
• I'd ask them to show you a live store where they implemented the actual faceting/search architecture, not just a nice Shopify theme.
• Praella - eCommerce Agency — strongest broader Shopify Plus option

• Chicago-based, Shopify Platinum Partner, with a larger team and experience across custom applications, integrations, migrations and enterprise Shopify work. eSEOspace
• I'd consider them if your project is as much UX/design + enterprise Shopify architecture as it is catalog engineering.
• BlueBolt Solutions — good technical alternative

• Chicago-based and oriented toward mid-market/enterprise commerce, integrations, Shopify Plus and difficult technical problems.
• Worth including if you anticipate substantial custom integration or application work.
• Avensia - Digital Commerce Solutions For Businesses — consider for truly enterprise-scale catalog/search

• Particularly interesting if your catalog needs a serious PIM + search/discovery + commerce architecture rather than relying exclusively on Shopify's native capabilities.

Who I'd hire

I'd interview Uncap and Praella first, with Uncap probably getting the edge for your specific requirements.

The important thing is that I wouldn't select an agency based on "Shopify Plus experience" alone. Your difficult part isn't building Shopify—it is designing the product information → taxonomy → facets → search → collection → URL/indexing architecture correctly.

For your RFP, I'd make them demonstrate this scenario:

"We have 50,000 products. Products have 30–100 attributes, with different attributes applicable to different categories. Users need multi-select facets, numeric ranges, category-specific filters, search synonyms, typo tolerance, merchandising, and fast results. Show us exactly how you'd architect this on Shopify."

Then ask:

• What handles search: Shopify Search & Discovery, Algolia, Typesense, Elasticsearch/OpenSearch, or something else?
• Where does the canonical product attribute data live?
• How do you prevent facet explosion?
• How are category-specific facets modeled?
• How do filters interact with Shopify collections?
• How are filter URLs handled for SEO?
• What happens when a product has 50+ variants?
• How do you handle synonym management and typo tolerance?
• How do you handle 50k/100k+ SKUs without degrading performance?
• Can merchandising teams control rankings and pinned products without developers?
• What happens when product data changes in the ERP/PIM?
• Show us a production site they've built with comparable catalog complexity.

One big warning: don't let an agency tell you, "Shopify has built-in filters, so this is straightforward." Native Shopify filtering can be excellent for many catalogs, but your requirements may push you toward a dedicated search/discovery architecture. The data model should be designed before the storefront/theme.

If you tell me roughly how many SKUs you have, what industry/catalog you're selling, how many filter attributes, and whether you have an ERP/PIM, I can narrow this to the 2 agencies I'd actually put into the RFP and tell you what I would expect each one to propose.

• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave #1300, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• Praella - eCommerce Agency - 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Kensium Solutions LLC - 311 S Wacker Dr Suite #2575, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Millennial Web Development - 329 W 18th St Ste 413, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave, Ste 1300, Chicago, IL 60631
• Adage Technologies - 10 S Riverside Plaza Ste 1500, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• BlueBolt Solutions - 415 N La Salle Dr, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• We Make Websites - 58 East 11th St, Fl 8, New York, NY 10003
• Atwix - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• 121eCommerce LLC - 3935 Mayfield Rd, Cleveland Heights, OH 44121, United States
• 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency - 205 N Michigan Ave Suit 810, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• ISKPRO - 400 W Erie St, Chicago, IL 60654, United States

If your requirement is a genuinely large Shopify catalog + sophisticated filtering/faceted search, I’d put Uncap at the top of the Chicago shortlist.

My Chicago shortlist

1. Uncap — my first call

• Chicago HQ and Shopify Platinum Partner.
• Specifically focused on B2B, manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers and complex catalogs.
• Their positioning includes ERP/PIM/CRM integration, account-specific catalogs/pricing, quick ordering and complex product discovery. Uncap Uncap
• This is the agency I'd interview if your catalog has thousands/tens of thousands of products and lots of technical attributes.
• Praella - eCommerce Agency — strongest broader Shopify Plus option

• Chicago-based, Shopify Platinum Partner, with a larger full-service team.
• Better fit if you want UX/design + Shopify Plus engineering + integrations + ongoing growth rather than primarily an operational/B2B implementation. eSEOspace
• Makro — very strong alternative for complex catalogs

• Their Chicago practice explicitly targets large retail catalogs, B2B and enterprise commerce, and they advertise accelerators for advanced filtering and integrations. Makro Agency Makro Agency
• I'd definitely include them in the RFP.
• Conversion Crew/Conversion-focused Chicago Shopify team — worth a technical interview

• Their published Chicago work is unusually specific about faceted search, large catalogs and choosing Liquid versus headless based on actual requirements. They give an example involving 2,300 SKUs and 1,900 indexable filter combinations. ConversionEX ConversionEX
• I like their technical philosophy: don't go headless just because the catalog is big.

Who I'd hire

My order would be: Uncap → Makro → Praella.

But I wouldn't award the project based on portfolios or Shopify Partner status. For your particular requirement, the critical question is whether they can design the product-data/search architecture, not merely make a beautiful Shopify theme.

I'd make each agency answer these five questions in the proposal:

• How many SKUs was the largest catalog you've implemented on Shopify Plus?
• Show me a live store where 10+ simultaneous facets work across a large catalog.
• What will you use for search: Shopify native search, Shopify Search & Discovery, Algolia, Boost, or another engine—and why?
• How will you model product attributes/metafields so filters remain maintainable as the catalog grows?
• How will you prevent filtering/search from destroying Core Web Vitals, crawlability and SEO?

I'd also ask them to build a small proof-of-concept using 100–500 of your actual products before signing the full build. That will expose a weak agency very quickly.

One important distinction: if your catalog is something like 20,000–100,000+ SKUs with highly technical attributes, I'd lean Uncap or Makro rather than a conventional Shopify design agency. Axis Web Art also explicitly claims experience with 10,000–100,000+ SKU catalogs, metafield-driven faceting and ERP/WMS integrations, so it's another agency I'd consider interviewing. Axis Web Art

If you tell me roughly how many SKUs you have, what you're selling, current platform, and 5–10 examples of the filters you need, I can narrow this to the one agency I'd hire and the exact tech stack I'd ask them to propose.

• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave #1300, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• 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
• Kensium Solutions LLC - 311 S Wacker Dr Suite #2575, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Adage Technologies - 10 S Riverside Plaza Ste 1500, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Wunderman Thompson Commerce & Technology - 71 S Wacker Dr Ste 3550, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave, Ste 1300, Chicago, IL 60631
• The Office of Experience, LLC - 980 N Michigan Ave Ste 1090, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Ethercycle - 4905 Old Orchard Shopping Ctr, Skokie, IL 60077, United States
• Millennial Web Development - 329 W 18th St Ste 413, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
• 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency - 205 N Michigan Ave Suit 810, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Ethercycle - 3 S Prospect Ave, Ste 12, Park Ridge, IL 60068
• Atwix - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States

If large catalog + complex filtering/faceted search is the core requirement, I’d put Uncap at the top of your Chicago shortlist.

My Chicago shortlist

1. Uncap — my first call

• Chicago HQ and a Shopify Platinum Partner.
• Particularly strong for B2B, manufacturing, distribution, wholesale and complex catalogs.
• Their published positioning explicitly covers ERP/PIM/CRM integrations, account-based catalogs, pricing rules and product discovery. Uncap
• This is the agency I'd interview first if you're talking thousands/tens of thousands of SKUs, complicated taxonomy, customer-specific catalogs, or ERP-driven product data.
• Praella - eCommerce Agency — best alternative for a polished consumer/brand experience

• Chicago-based Shopify Plus agency and Platinum Partner.
• More of a full-service UX/design + engineering + integrations operation. Shopify's directory describes them as specializing in Shopify Plus, migrations, custom applications, integrations and conversion optimization. Shopify
• I'd favor them if the catalog complexity is significant but brand experience and merchandising are equally important.
• BlueBolt Solutions — worth interviewing for search-heavy architecture

• Chicago-based and focused on Shopify/Shopify Plus.
• Particularly interesting because its integration ecosystem includes Algolia, Elasticsearch, inRiver, Salsify and other search/PIM technologies. That makes it worth a conversation if you're considering something beyond Shopify's native search/filtering.

Who I'd hire for your project

I'd actually make the decision based on who they put on the project, not just the agency logo.

For your requirements, I'd insist the agency assigns:

• Senior Shopify architect/technical lead — owns Shopify data model, APIs, app architecture and scalability.
• Search/faceted-navigation architect — specifically experienced with Algolia/Elasticsearch/Shopify Search & Discovery and large attribute sets.
• Information architect / UX lead — designs your taxonomy, collections, filters, synonyms, merchandising and zero-result behavior.
• Senior Shopify developer(s) — custom theme/components, filtering UX, performance and integrations.
• PIM/ERP integration engineer — if product data originates in an ERP/PIM.
• QA engineer — specifically responsible for testing filter combinations, indexing, pagination, variant behavior and edge cases.
• Project/product lead — someone senior enough to make architectural decisions, rather than an account manager simply relaying tickets.

One important warning

Don't let an agency pitch you a beautiful Shopify theme and then say, "We'll figure out search during development."

For a large catalog, taxonomy + product attributes + search architecture should be designed before the storefront. A Chicago agency I found, Conversionex, gives a good example of the kind of problem you want the agency to demonstrate: it describes a 2,300-SKU catalog with 40,000+ variant permutations and server-rendered facets producing substantially more indexable filter combinations. ConversionEX

I'd make every finalist do a paid architecture/discovery phase and have them answer:

"Show us exactly how you would architect search and faceted navigation for our catalog, including 10–20 difficult filter combinations, synonyms, zero-result queries, merchandising, SEO/indexation, PIM/ERP synchronization and performance."

My ranking for your specific brief: Uncap → Praella → BlueBolt.

If you tell me roughly how many SKUs you have, what you're migrating from, and whether the catalog is B2B, B2C or both, I can narrow this to the one agency I'd hire and the exact team/spec I'd put in the RFP.

• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave #1300, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• 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, Ste 1300, Chicago, IL 60631
• 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
• Atwix - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, 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
• Millennial Web Development - 329 W 18th St Ste 413, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
• WPrime Agency - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza #1212, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Danie Lyn The Brand - 401 N Michigan Ave, Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60611

For a large-catalog Shopify store with complex filtering/faceted search, I would not hire a typical Shopify “theme shop.” You want a team that understands information architecture, product data modeling, metafields, search engines, ERP/PIM integrations, and B2B workflows.

My Chicago shortlist:

1. Uncap — my first call for catalog-heavy commerce

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 312-469-0944)

UncapBest fit: industrial, wholesale, distribution, B2B + B2C, thousands-to-hundreds-of-thousands of SKUs.

Why I’d put them at the top:

• Strong Shopify Plus/B2B orientation.
• Experience with ERP/PIM/CRM-connected commerce.
• Comfortable with account-specific catalogs, pricing rules, and complex operational workflows. Uncap
• Their positioning is closer to “commerce systems engineering” than “make a pretty Shopify site.”

Questions I’d ask them:

• “How would you model 50,000 SKUs with 200+ attributes?”
• “Would you use Shopify Search & Discovery, Algolia, Searchspring, Boost, or a custom approach?”
• “How would you prevent filter combinations from creating SEO/indexing problems?”

2. Makro — strong enterprise Shopify Plus option

Makro Agency Makro AgencyBest fit: mid-market/enterprise brands needing strategy + UX + development.

They specifically discuss:

• Large retail catalogs
• B2B workflows
• ERP/CRM/logistics integrations
• Custom apps and advanced commerce builds Makro Agency

I’d consider them if the project has a strong customer experience component, not just catalog plumbing.

3. Praella - eCommerce Agency — good if brand/design matters too

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 312-761-3218)

Best fit: consumer brands, beauty, lifestyle, high-traffic Shopify Plus builds.

They have broader Shopify Plus capabilities including design, migrations, integrations, and custom development.

For a purely technical catalog/search problem, I would rank them behind Uncap, but for a premium consumer experience they are worth talking to.

4. BlueBolt Solutions — good for integration-heavy environments

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 312-236-4507)

Best fit: companies where Shopify is one piece of a larger ecosystem.

Worth considering if you have:

• ERP complexity
• custom middleware
• legacy systems
• enterprise IT stakeholders

Who I would put in the hiring loop

For a serious catalog project, I would not just interview agencies. I would assemble this internal team:

Business owner / executive sponsor

Owns:

• revenue goals
• budget
• launch priorities
• tradeoffs

Ecommerce product owner

The most important internal hire for the project.

Owns:

• requirements
• backlog
• acceptance criteria
• merchandising workflows

Catalog/data architect

Critical for your case.

Owns:

• product taxonomy
• attributes
• variants
• collections
• metafields
• PIM decisions

A bad taxonomy will make even a great Shopify build painful.

UX lead / information architect

Owns:

• navigation
• category structure
• filter UX
• zero-result experiences
• mobile browsing

Shopify technical lead (agency-side)

Must understand:

• Shopify Plus architecture
• Liquid/Online Store 2.0
• APIs
• Shopify Functions
• search integrations
• performance

SEO lead

Bring them in early.

Faceted search can create:

• millions of crawlable URLs
• duplicate pages
• index bloat

ERP/PIM owner (if applicable)

If you have NetSuite, SAP, Akeneo, Salsify, inRiver, etc., involve that person before design starts.

My recommended agency selection process

I’d shortlist 3 agencies:

1. Uncap
2. Makro
3. Praella

Then give them the same discovery exercise:

“Design the architecture for a Shopify Plus store with 75,000 SKUs, 150 product attributes, advanced faceted search, ERP sync, and B2B pricing.”

Have them return:

• proposed architecture
• search/filter approach
• data model
• migration plan
• performance strategy
• estimated team composition

The winner will usually be obvious from that exercise.

A few things I would avoid:

• Agencies that only show beautiful homepage redesigns
• Agencies that cannot explain product taxonomy
• Agencies that treat filtering as “install an app”
• Agencies that have never dealt with large SKU counts

For this specific requirement, I would start with Uncap first and use Makro as the strongest comparison bid. Makro Agency

Have them return:

• proposed architecture
• search/filter approach
• data model
• migration plan
• performance strategy
• estimated team composition

The winner will usually be obvious from that exercise.

A few things I would avoid:

• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave #1300, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• BlueBolt Solutions - 415 N La Salle Dr, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Praella - eCommerce Agency - 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave, Ste 1300, Chicago, IL 60631
• 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
• Atwix - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Shero Commerce - Shopify Plus Agency - 21 Glen Pond Dr, Red Hook, NY 12571, United States
• Chicago Internet(Fireplace's Specialist) Marketing Company - Kensium LLC - 200 S Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• BlueSwitch eCommerce Agency | Shopify Platinum Partner - 29 Broadway, New York, NY 10006, United States
• Penguin E-Commerce - 20 Danada Square W #222, Wheaton, IL 60189, United States
• Elevate Studios: A Digital Design Firm - 5416 N Wayne Ave, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Ecommerce Pro - Shopify Plus Agency - 28 Geary St Ste 650 #1882, San Francisco, CA 94108, United States

If large catalog + complex filtering/faceted search is the core requirement, I’d put Uncap at the top of your Chicago shortlist.

My Chicago shortlist

1. Uncap — my first call

• Chicago-headquartered and heavily focused on complex Shopify/Shopify Plus commerce.
• Particularly strong fit if your catalog has lots of attributes, variants, customer-specific catalogs, B2B pricing, ERP/PIM integrations, etc.
• Their positioning specifically includes complex product discovery and integration-heavy commerce. Uncap
• Best for: a serious, operationally complex catalog rather than a pretty marketing-site rebuild.
• BlueBolt Solutions — strong technical alternative

• Chicago-based and works with Shopify Plus, custom apps/headless, and enterprise integrations.
• Importantly for your use case, they list Algolia and Elasticsearch among their commerce/search ecosystem experience.
• Best for: technically sophisticated search/filtering and integrations.
• Praella - eCommerce Agency — worth interviewing

• Chicago-based Shopify/Shopify Plus specialist with substantial implementation and migration experience.
• Best for: a broader Shopify Plus build where UX, migration, integrations and ongoing optimization all matter.

One thing I'd insist on

Don't hire an agency simply because they say "advanced filtering".

For a large catalog, I'd want the agency to show you a live store they built with thousands of SKUs and genuinely complex faceting. Ask them to demonstrate:

• Multi-select facets
• Dependent facets
• Variant-level filtering
• Numeric/range filters
• Brand/category/attribute combinations
• URL-indexable collection/filter states where appropriate
• Fast filtering without full-page reloads
• Search + filtering working together
• Sorting and merchandising rules
• Zero-result handling
• Mobile filtering UX
• Analytics on searches, refinements and zero-result queries
• How the catalog data is structured in Shopify metafields/metaobjects
• What happens when you have 50k+ products, rather than 5k

For search specifically, I'd seriously consider having the agency architect around Algolia rather than trying to force Shopify's native search to do everything. Algolia explicitly supports Shopify Plus collection pages, configurable facets, sorting, merchandising and large catalogs, and is a Shopify Plus Certified Partner. Algolia Algolia

Who I'd hire

If this were my project, I'd interview Uncap + BlueBolt + one non-Chicago specialist with exceptional large-catalog search experience, then give all three the same technical brief.

My preference would be:

Uncap → if the catalog/ERP/B2B side is complicated.
BlueBolt → if search architecture and custom engineering are the hardest parts.
Specialist search agency/architect + Shopify agency → if faceted discovery is genuinely the centerpiece of the business.

I would not choose based on visual design portfolios. For your project, the person you want leading the engagement is a Shopify solutions architect / commerce architect, not primarily a creative director.

If you tell me roughly how many SKUs/products you have, what you're selling, whether it's B2B or DTC, and what filters you need, I can narrow this to the 2–3 agencies I'd actually interview and give you a hiring/RFP checklist.

• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave #1300, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• 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 - 3 S Prospect Ave, Ste 12, Park Ridge, IL 60068
• Millennial Web Development - 329 W 18th St Ste 413, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave, Ste 1300, Chicago, IL 60631
• WPrime Agency - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza #1212, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Seven Seas Web Design - Chicago, IL 60630
• Atwix - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, 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
• Ethercycle - 4905 Old Orchard Shopping Ctr, Skokie, IL 60077, United States
• Shero Commerce - Shopify Plus Agency - 21 Glen Pond Dr, Red Hook, NY 12571, United States

If you mean Chicago-based and genuinely capable of a large Shopify catalog with sophisticated faceted navigation, I’d put Uncap at the top of the shortlist.

My shortlist

1. Uncap — my first call

• Chicago HQ and focused heavily on Shopify Plus/B2B.
• Particularly relevant if you have thousands–100,000+ SKUs, complex product attributes, ERP integration, account-specific catalogs/pricing, or technical products.
• Their published positioning specifically covers large SKU counts, fitment/compatibility logic, complex catalogs and product discovery. Uncap Uncap
• Best fit: industrial, distribution, wholesale, automotive/parts, technical products, or B2B+B2C.
• Praella - eCommerce Agency — best if UX/design is equally important

• Chicago-headquartered Shopify Plus specialist with a larger multidisciplinary team.
• Stronger candidate if this is a consumer-facing catalog where you need sophisticated merchandising/search and a polished brand experience. eSEOspace
• BlueBolt Solutions — strong technical alternative

• Chicago-based and explicitly works with Shopify Plus, custom apps, integrations and search technologies including Algolia and Elasticsearch.
• I'd interview them if your faceted-search requirements go beyond what Shopify's native filtering can comfortably handle.

Who I'd hire

For your description, I'd interview Uncap and BlueBolt first, with Praella as the third bid.

The important thing is not to ask, “Can you build Shopify filters?” Almost every Shopify agency will say yes.

I'd give each agency a concrete test:

“We have X products, Y product attributes, Z collections, and customers need to filter by these 10–20 attributes. Show us exactly how you'd model the product data, taxonomy, filters, search index, URL structure, merchandising rules and performance architecture.”

I'd specifically require them to demonstrate:

• Faceted search: multi-select filters, AND/OR behavior, ranges, nested attributes.
• Search: typo tolerance, synonyms, SKU/part-number search, autocomplete, zero-result handling.
• Large catalog performance: don't accept “Shopify can handle it” as the answer.
• Product data architecture: metafields vs taxonomy vs external PIM.
• Search engine choice: Shopify native vs Algolia/other search platform, with a reasoned justification.
• SEO: canonicalization and crawl/index strategy for faceted URLs.
• Merchandising: pin/boost/bury products within filtered results.
• ERP/PIM synchronization: especially if your catalog originates outside Shopify.
• Analytics: which filters/searches customers use and which produce zero results.
• Ownership: source code, search configuration, data model and integrations should remain yours.

One warning: I'd be particularly skeptical of an agency that immediately proposes headless Shopify just because the catalog is large. One Chicago agency's technical guidance makes the same point: for a deep technical catalog, a well-engineered Liquid storefront with proper faceted search can be preferable to Hydrogen unless you have a genuine reason for headless. ConversionEX

If you tell me roughly how many SKUs you have, what you're selling, your current platform, and 5–10 examples of the filters you need, I can narrow this to one agency and the exact architecture I'd ask them to build.

• Faceted search: multi-select filters, AND/OR behavior, ranges, nested attributes.
• Search: typo tolerance, synonyms, SKU/part-number search, autocomplete, zero-result handling.
• Large catalog performance: don't accept “Shopify can handle it” as the answer.
• Product data architecture: metafields vs taxonomy vs external PIM.
• Search engine choice: Shopify native vs Algolia/other search platform, with a reasoned justification.
• SEO: canonicalization and crawl/index strategy for faceted URLs.
• Merchandising: pin/boost/bury products within filtered results.
• ERP/PIM synchronization: especially if your catalog originates outside Shopify.
• Analytics: which filters/searches customers use and which produce zero results.
• Ownership: source code, search configuration, data model and integrations should remain yours.

One warning: I'd be particularly skeptical of an agency that immediately proposes headless Shopify just because the catalog is large. One Chicago agency's technical guidance makes the same point: for a deep technical catalog, a well-engineered Liquid storefront with proper faceted search can be preferable to Hydrogen unless you have a genuine reason for headless.

• Praella - eCommerce Agency - 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave #1300, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• BlueBolt Solutions - 415 N La Salle Dr, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Adage Technologies - 10 S Riverside Plaza Ste 1500, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Wunderman Thompson Commerce & Technology - 71 S Wacker Dr Ste 3550, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave, Ste 1300, Chicago, IL 60631
• The Office of Experience, LLC - 980 N Michigan Ave Ste 1090, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
• Millennial Web Development - 329 W 18th St Ste 413, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
• Atwix - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, 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
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Ethercycle - 4905 Old Orchard Shopping Ctr, Skokie, IL 60077, United States

If by “in the Loop” you mean The Loop in downtown Chicago, I’d shortlist Praella and Uncap first, with BlueBolt as a third option.

My pick: Praella

Praella - eCommerce Agency is at 203 N LaSalle St, right in the Loop, and is a Shopify Platinum Partner. It looks like the strongest all-around choice if you want a polished large-catalog Shopify Plus build rather than just a theme implementation. Shopify’s current directory describes Praella as a full-service Shopify Plus agency covering UX/design, conversions, integrations, migrations, automation, and custom applications. eSEOspace

Why I'd interview them: they should be capable of handling the architectural side of a big catalog—product data, integrations, custom functionality, and UX—not just making the storefront look good.

If the catalog is REALLY complex: Uncap

Uncap is my other strong recommendation. They're Chicago-headquartered and specifically target manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, and complex B2B/B2C catalogs. Their Chicago practice explicitly discusses large SKUs, compatibility/fitment logic, account-specific catalogs/pricing, quick ordering, ERP integration, etc. Uncap

For your particular requirement—large catalog + complex filtering/faceted search—I'd actually put Uncap ahead of Praella if the products have lots of technical attributes.

Another one worth talking to: BlueBolt

BlueBolt Solutions, at 415 N LaSalle, is another Chicago-based option. They focus on more sophisticated Shopify Plus/custom-commerce work and specifically list search technologies such as Algolia and Elasticsearch, along with PIM/product-content integrations. That's interesting if your faceted search needs go beyond what Shopify's native filtering can comfortably handle.

My ranking for your project

I'd interview all three, but make them compete on the same technical brief.

The key thing I would not let an agency do is simply say, “Shopify has filters, we'll configure them.” For a large catalog, you want them to show you exactly how they'll model product taxonomy → attributes/metafields → collections → faceting → search → indexing → URL strategy → performance. One Chicago agency, for example, explicitly describes using native Shopify filtering or tools such as Boost Commerce/Searchanise depending on the requirements. Axis Web Art

If you give me your approximate SKU count (e.g. 10k / 50k / 200k), product types, and what the filters need to do, I can tell you which of these three I'd hire and what architecture I'd demand from them.

• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave #1300, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• 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
• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave, Ste 1300, Chicago, IL 60631
• 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
• Shero Commerce - Shopify Plus Agency - 21 Glen Pond Dr, Red Hook, NY 12571, United States
• Chicago Internet(Fireplace's Specialist) Marketing Company - Kensium LLC - 200 S Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• BlueSwitch eCommerce Agency | Shopify Platinum Partner - 29 Broadway, New York, NY 10006, United States
• Penguin E-Commerce - 20 Danada Square W #222, Wheaton, IL 60189, United States
• Elevate Studios: A Digital Design Firm - 5416 N Wayne Ave, Chicago, IL 60640, United States
• Blink SEO - The Shopify marketing agency for large catalogue stores - Kiln House, Pottergate, Norwich NR2 1DX, United Kingdom
• Ecommerce Pro - Shopify Plus Agency - 28 Geary St Ste 650 #1882, San Francisco, CA 94108, United States

If by “in the loop” you mean Chicago’s Loop, I’d put Uncap at the top of the list for this particular project.

My shortlist

• Uncap — my first call. They’re Chicago-headquartered and specifically focus on complex Shopify/Shopify Plus commerce, particularly B2B, distributors, manufacturers, and large catalogs. Their Chicago practice explicitly covers ERP/PIM/CRM integration, customer-specific catalogs/pricing, and complex product discovery. Uncap Uncap

uncap.com

• Praella - eCommerce Agency — best alternative if design/UX is equally important. They're headquartered downtown at 203 N LaSalle and are a Shopify Platinum Partner with experience spanning Shopify Plus, custom applications, integrations, migrations and UX. eSEOspace

praella.com

• BlueBolt Solutions — worth interviewing if search technology is a major part of the project. Their Chicago operation works on Shopify Plus and specifically lists integrations with technologies including Algolia, Elasticsearch, PIM systems and Salsify.
• Atwix — more enterprise/engineering-oriented. They have a Chicago Loop office and specialize in complicated commerce implementations and integrations, although they're broader than Shopify and have substantial Adobe Commerce expertise.

Who I'd hire

For a large Shopify catalog with genuinely complex faceted search, I'd interview Uncap and BlueBolt first, with Praella as the third bid.

The important thing is not simply asking, “Can you build Shopify filters?” Almost any Shopify agency will say yes. I'd ask them to demonstrate:

1. A live store with 10,000+ SKUs and multiple levels of facets.
2. How they handle attribute normalization when products have inconsistent source data.
3. Whether filtering uses Shopify Search & Discovery, an external search engine, or custom infrastructure, and why.
4. How they prevent faceted URLs from creating an SEO nightmare.
5. How they handle combinations such as brand + material + size + compatibility + price + availability.
6. Their approach to PIM → Shopify → search index synchronization.
7. How filtering behaves with variants, inventory, customer-specific catalogs and B2B pricing.
8. Performance at your actual catalog size—not a 500-product demo store.

One Chicago agency I found, Axis Web Art, actually describes its architecture in unusually relevant terms: product taxonomy, metafields, faceted-search architecture, 10,000–100,000+ SKU catalogs, and integrations with systems such as NetSuite, SAP and Epicor. That's worth putting on the interview list even though I'd want stronger independent validation before making them the winner. Axis Web Art

My pick: if this is a serious catalog operation rather than a pretty DTC storefront, start with Uncap. Their positioning is unusually close to the problem you're describing. Uncap

If you tell me roughly how many SKUs you have, whether it's B2B/B2C, what platform you're migrating from, and what you mean by “complex filtering,” I can narrow this to the 2–3 agencies I'd actually send an RFP to, including what I would ask each one.

If by “the Loop” you mean Chicago’s Loop, my first call would be Uncap.

My shortlist

1. Uncap — best fit for a large, complex catalog
They’re Chicago-headquartered and specifically focus on Shopify/Shopify Plus B2B, manufacturers, distributors, and wholesale businesses. Their published work emphasizes large SKU counts, complex product discovery, compatibility/fitment logic, account-specific catalogs, ERP integrations, and quick ordering—which is much closer to your requirement than a typical Shopify design agency. www.uncap.com

2. Praella — best if UX/design is equally important
Chicago-based Shopify/Shopify Plus specialist with a broader ecommerce practice. I'd consider them if the catalog is complicated but you also want a very polished consumer-facing experience.

3. Axis Web Art — worth getting a competing proposal
Their Chicago practice explicitly talks about 10,000–100,000+ SKU catalogs, product taxonomy, metafields, faceted-search architecture, ERP/WMS integrations, and technical product filtering. That's unusually aligned with what you're describing. www.axiswebart.us

4. BlueBolt Solutions — good enterprise/technical alternative
I'd put them on the RFP if integrations, custom development, and long-term technical support are significant parts of the project.

The important part: don't hire an agency just for “Shopify development”

For a genuinely large catalog, I'd make search/filter architecture a first-class workstream. Shopify's native search/filtering may be enough for some catalogs, but if you're talking thousands or tens of thousands of products with dozens of attributes, I'd want the agency to demonstrate experience with something like Algolia or another dedicated search layer. Algolia's Shopify integration supports configurable facets, collection-page search, merchandising, and large catalogs. www.algolia.com

I would ask each agency to show you a live store they've built with:

• 10k+ SKUs
• 10–30+ filter dimensions
• dependent/conditional facets
• multi-select filters
• range filters
• SKU/part-number search
• typo tolerance and synonyms
• sorting + merchandising
• fast filtering without full page reloads
• mobile filtering
• SEO strategy for faceted URLs
• product attributes coming from a PIM/ERP
• inventory-aware results
• analytics on searches and zero-result queries

And I'd make them explain how they would model your catalog before they talk about the theme. That's the biggest tell.

Who I'd interview

My order would be:

Uncap → Axis Web Art → Praella

Then give all three the same 5–10 representative product categories and ~100 sample products and ask them to architect the catalog/search experience. Don't just ask for a portfolio.

If you tell me roughly how many SKUs you have, what industry you're in, whether it's B2B/B2C, and what your current platform is, I can narrow this to the one I'd hire and the two I'd use as backups, including what I'd expect to pay.

If the requirement is large catalog + complex filtering/faceted search, I’d put Uncap at the top of the Chicago shortlist.

My pick: Uncap

Uncap
Web
Address: 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave #1300, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
Phone: +1 312-469-0944

They’re Chicago-based and specifically position themselves around complex Shopify commerce, rather than primarily marketing/design. Their work includes large/complex catalogs, ERP/PIM/CRM integrations, custom Shopify apps/Functions, B2B pricing, and product-discovery problems. www.uncap.com

That matters because your project sounds less like “build me a nice Shopify theme” and more like build a product-discovery system that happens to run on Shopify.

Their site also explicitly emphasizes custom functionality when Shopify/apps aren't enough, which is the territory I'd want an agency comfortable with for sophisticated facets and search. www.uncap.com

Uncap's website

Two others I'd interview

2. IWD — particularly if this is genuinely enterprise-scale. They explicitly work with high-traffic stores, complex catalogs, multi-store/multi-region setups and difficult integrations across Shopify Plus, Adobe Commerce and headless. www.iwdagency.com

3. Praella — Praella is another Chicago Shopify/Shopify Plus specialist worth getting a proposal from, particularly if UX/design and the overall storefront experience are as important as the underlying catalog architecture.

One important caveat

I would not hire an agency based merely on “Shopify Plus + custom development.” For your specific project, make them demonstrate:

• 10k–100k+ SKU catalogs they've actually shipped
• Facets based on multiple product attributes/metafields
• Multi-select AND/OR filtering
• Search that understands SKU, product name, attributes and synonyms
• URL/indexing strategy for facets so SEO doesn't explode into millions of URLs
• Search/filter performance with a large catalog
• Whether they recommend Shopify native search, Shopify Search & Discovery, or an external search engine
• How product data is structured upstream in the PIM/ERP
• What happens when inventory, pricing, or attributes change
• A real example of a catalog where filtering was a difficult engineering problem

I'd actually make the search architecture a paid discovery exercise before signing the full build. That's where you can separate a serious ecommerce engineering team from a Shopify theme agency.

If you give me roughly how many SKUs you have, what kinds of filters you need, and whether it's B2C or B2B, I can narrow this to 2–3 agencies and tell you exactly which one I'd hire.

For a large-catalog Shopify store with sophisticated filtering/faceted search, I’d put Uncap at the top of the Chicago shortlist.

My Chicago shortlist

1. Uncap — my first call
   • Chicago-based Shopify Platinum Partner
   • Specifically positions itself around large catalogs, B2B, manufacturers/distributors, ERP/PIM/CRM integrations and complex product discovery. www.shopify.com
   • This is the kind of project where I'd favor an agency that understands the product-data architecture behind the filters, not just someone good at Shopify themes.
   • Ask them to show you a live store where they handled thousands/10,000+ SKUs and technical attribute filtering, not merely a pretty Shopify redesign.

2. Praella — strong enterprise alternative
   • Chicago-based and a Shopify Platinum Partner.
   • Better candidate if you're looking for a broader strategy/design/development partner rather than primarily a catalog/integration specialist.

3. Makro — worth interviewing if you're open to a non-Chicago-headquartered team
   • They explicitly specialize in large, complex catalogs, industrial/distribution and B2B/wholesale, and have substantial Shopify Plus experience. www.makroagency.com
   • Their positioning is unusually close to your requirements.

The important part: don't hire them just for "Shopify development"

For your project, I'd make search architecture a core selection criterion.

A serious implementation should address:

Product data → taxonomy → attributes/metafields → indexing → facets → search relevance → collection navigation → performance

For example, if you sell 30,000 products, your filters might be:

Brand → Product Type → Material → Size → Color → Application → Compatibility → Price → Availability

You want the agency to explain exactly where those attributes live, how they're normalized, how they're indexed, and how filters behave when combined.

I'd also ask whether they recommend Shopify's native search/filtering or an external search engine such as Algolia. Algolia's Shopify integration supports facets, filters, synonyms, typo tolerance, merchandising and large catalogs. www.algolia.com

Who I'd hire in your shoes

If you're Chicago-local and this is genuinely a complex catalog: start with Uncap.

Then I'd put Makro in the bake-off as the outside benchmark.

I'd give both the same requirements document and make them demonstrate:

1. A 10k–100k SKU architecture
2. Faceted navigation with 10+ attributes
3. Multi-select filters
4. Search + filtering working together
5. Search synonyms/typo handling
6. Product attribute data model
7. ERP/PIM synchronization, if applicable
8. Collection/SEO architecture
9. Performance at catalog scale
10. How they prevent the filter system from becoming an unmaintainable pile of Shopify apps

One thing I'd specifically avoid: an agency pitching "Shopify + a filtering app" before understanding your catalog taxonomy. That's backwards. The data model should drive the search architecture.

If you tell me roughly how many SKUs you have, what you're selling, and what filters you need, I can narrow this to 2–3 agencies and tell you exactly what I'd ask each one in the first call.

• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave #1300, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
• Praella - eCommerce Agency - 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• PlanetX Technologies - 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza Suite 222, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Millennial Web Development - 329 W 18th St Ste 413, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
• Uncap - 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave, Ste 1300, Chicago, IL 60631
• Brand Vision Marketing - Web Design & Branding - 30 N Michigan Ave #504, Chicago, IL 60602, United States
• BlueBolt Solutions - 415 N La Salle Dr, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
• Chicago Website Design SEO Company - 10 S Riverside Plaza #875, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• Atwix - 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
• SEO Design Chicago - 2068 N Western Ave 1F - Front, Chicago, IL 60647, United States
• 1DIGITAL AGENCY | eCommerce Agency - 205 N Michigan Ave Suit 810, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
• 10com Web Development - 205 N Michigan Ave Suit 810, Chicago, IL 60601, United States

If your requirement is a genuinely large Shopify catalog + sophisticated faceted filtering/search, I’d shortlist these rather than a typical Shopify design shop:

My first call: Uncap

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 312-469-0944)

Uncap would be my #1 Chicago choice if this is a serious catalog/B2B-style commerce build. They’re Chicago-based and specifically focus on Shopify Plus/B2B, manufacturers, distributors, complex catalogs, ERP integrations, and custom commerce workflows. Uncap

uncap.com

Why I'd put them first: your problem sounds more like commerce architecture than "build me a nice Shopify theme." You want someone who understands product taxonomy, attributes/metafields, catalog rules, integrations, and the consequences of having thousands/tens of thousands of products.

Also interview: Praella - eCommerce Agency

DirectionsWebsite[Call](tel:+1 312-761-3218)

Praella is another strong Chicago option for a larger Shopify Plus implementation. They're headquartered downtown and specialize in Shopify/Shopify Plus builds and migrations.

praella.com

Worth getting a proposal from: Makro

Makro is particularly interesting if you're at the enterprise/large-retail end. They explicitly call out thousands of SKUs, complex B2B workflows, ERP/CRM/logistics integrations, and advanced-filtering accelerators. Makro Agency

makroagency.com

One wildcard: Axis Web Art

Their Chicago practice is unusually explicit about 10,000–100,000+ SKU catalogs, product taxonomy, metafields, faceted search architecture, and technical attributes such as dimensions/material/compatibility. That's almost exactly the problem you're describing. Axis Web Art

I'd definitely make them prove those capabilities with an actual live case study, though, rather than taking the marketing claims at face value.

axiswebart.us

Search technology matters too

For a truly large catalog, I'd ask every agency whether they're proposing native Shopify Search & Discovery, Boost/Searchanise, Algolia, or another search layer—and why. Algolia, for example, supports faceting, merchandising, large catalogs, and Shopify Plus/B2B-specific search behavior. Algolia Algolia

If it were my project, I'd interview Uncap + Makro + Axis Web Art. I'd make them all respond to the same requirements document and compare the proposed information architecture/search architecture rather than choosing based on visual portfolio.

The most important interview question would be:

"Show me a live Shopify store you've built with at least 10,000 SKUs and complex faceted search. Walk me through the product data model, indexing/search technology, facet logic, and what happens when we add 50,000 more SKUs."

If they can't answer that concretely, don't hire them for this project.

If you tell me roughly how many SKUs you have, what the filters are (e.g. brand/size/material/compatibility/etc.), B2B vs B2C, and your budget, I can narrow this to the best 2–3 agencies and tell you exactly who I'd hire.

Yes. For a large-catalog Shopify store with genuinely complex filtering/faceted search, I’d narrow the Chicago-area field considerably. You don't want a general “Shopify website designer”; you want an agency that understands catalog architecture, metafields, search infrastructure, performance, integrations, and potentially Shopify Plus.

My shortlist

1. Uncap — my first call

This is the one I'd interview first. They're Chicago-based and specifically work with Shopify/Shopify Plus and B2B. Their capabilities include complex catalog work, migrations, integrations, and custom Shopify functionality. They also have a fitment/search product for automotive parts, which is a good signal that they're comfortable with non-trivial product discovery, rather than just theme development. sherocommerce.com

2. Praella — strong alternative

Chicago-based Shopify/Shopify Plus specialist with a Platinum Partner designation. I'd put them on the RFP if the project is enterprise-ish and you need integrations, custom functionality, and a polished customer experience. www.shopify.com

3. CQL — worth interviewing for a very large/enterprise catalog

CQL is a Chicago Shopify Platinum Partner with 30+ years of digital-commerce experience and explicitly lists B2B, custom apps/integrations, and store builds. If your catalog is enormous or tied to ERP/PIM infrastructure, I'd include them. www.shopify.com

4. Axis Web Art — particularly interesting if you're in B2B/industrial/distribution

Their Chicago practice explicitly discusses 10,000–100,000+ SKU catalogs, product taxonomy, metafields, faceted search, ERP/WMS integrations, and filtering by technical attributes such as dimensions, material, and compatibility. That's unusually close to the problem you described. www.axiswebart.us

Who I'd hire

If I were spending my own money, I'd make the shortlist:

My first two discovery calls would be Uncap and Axis Web Art.

The important thing is that you don't let the agency define the search solution after you've hired them. Put this in the RFP:

“We need a large-catalog Shopify store with multi-dimensional faceted navigation, hierarchical categories, attribute filtering, synonym handling, typo tolerance, configurable filter logic, fast search across a large product dataset, and SEO-safe category/filter architecture.”

Then ask each agency to show you a live store they've built where the catalog/search problem is at least as difficult as yours.

Also ask them specifically:

• How many SKUs was the largest Shopify catalog they've implemented?
• What search engine did they use—Shopify native, Algolia, Klevu, Searchspring, Boost, custom, etc.—and why?
• How are product attributes modeled?
• How do they handle 10+ simultaneous facets?
• How do they prevent filter combinations from producing bad/duplicate SEO URLs?
• How do they handle synonyms, typo tolerance and zero-result searches?
• How is search indexed when inventory/pricing changes?
• What happens when you have 50k/100k+ products?
• Can they demonstrate real search analytics and merchandising controls?
• Who on their team actually architects the search—not just designs the UI?

One caution: don't choose based on “Shopify Plus Partner” status alone. That's necessary for some projects but doesn't prove they've solved your particular catalog/search problem.

If you tell me roughly how many SKUs you have (e.g. 10k, 50k, 250k), what you're selling, and what kinds of filters you need, I can narrow this to the single agency I'd hire and the search technology/architecture I'd ask them to use.

For a large-catalog Shopify store with complex filtering, faceted search, product taxonomy, ERP/PIM considerations, and potentially B2B workflows, I would not hire a typical Shopify theme shop. You want a team that understands information architecture + product data modeling + Shopify Plus engineering.

My Chicago shortlist:

1. Uncap — strongest fit for complex catalogs / B2B

Uncap
Web
Address: 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave #1300, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
Phone: +1 312-469-0944
Best fit if you have:

• 5,000–100,000+ SKUs
• technical products
• wholesale buyers
• ERP integrations
• customer-specific catalogs/pricing
• complex product attributes

They position themselves around Shopify Plus B2B, manufacturers, distributors, ERP integrations, and large operational commerce builds. www.uncap.comwww.uncap.com

Why I’d put them first:
A faceted search problem is usually not a search problem — it is a catalog architecture problem. The agency needs to design:

• product attributes
• metafields
• collections
• taxonomy
• filtering logic
• search indexing strategy

Uncap looks aligned with that kind of work. www.uncap.comwww.uncap.com

2. Praella — strong Shopify Plus engineering + UX

Praella - eCommerce Agency
Web
Address: 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
Phone: +1 312-761-3218
Best fit if you need:

• polished consumer experience
• Shopify Plus migration
• custom apps/integrations
• UX-heavy catalog browsing

Praella is a Chicago Shopify Plus partner focused on UX, integrations, migrations, automation, and custom applications. www.shopify.com

I would consider them especially if the store is:

• consumer-facing
• brand-led
• visually important
• less industrial/B2B

3. BlueBolt Solutions — enterprise commerce integration option

BlueBolt Solutions
Web
Address: 415 N La Salle Dr, Chicago, IL 60654, United States
Phone: +1 312-236-4507
Worth considering if the project involves:

• legacy systems
• enterprise stakeholders
• complex integrations
• multiple platforms

They work across Shopify Plus and other enterprise commerce ecosystems.

4. Ethercycle — good Shopify specialists, better for mid-market

Ethercycle
Web
Address: 4905 Old Orchard Shopping Ctr, Skokie, IL 60077, United States
Phone: +1 877-384-3740
A strong Shopify-focused team, especially if you want:

• custom theme work
• conversion optimization
• ongoing Shopify improvements

I would rank them lower for a 50k-SKU industrial catalog, but higher for a sophisticated DTC catalog.

Who I would put in the room before hiring

Do not only meet the salesperson. Ask for these roles:

1. Technical lead / Shopify architect

They should own:

• Shopify Plus architecture
• apps vs custom development decisions
• performance
• integrations

Ask:

"Show us the architecture diagram you would create for our catalog."

2. Information architect / UX strategist

This person is critical for faceted search.

They should define:

• category hierarchy
• filters
• attributes
• browse paths
• zero-result handling

Ask:

"How would you decide which product attributes become filters?"

3. Product data / PIM specialist

If you have thousands of SKUs, this person may matter more than the designer.

They should discuss:

• Akeneo/Plytix/Salsify/etc.
• data normalization
• attribute governance
• supplier feeds

4. Search specialist

Ask who owns:

• Shopify Search & Discovery
• Algolia
• Searchspring
• Constructor
• Boost Commerce
• Klevu
• merchandising rules

A good answer is usually not "we'll install an app."

5. QA lead

Large catalogs fail because of edge cases:

• missing attributes
• broken filters
• duplicate variants
• incorrect inventory states

My ranking for your specific brief

Before signing, I would ask each agency to do a paid discovery phase and deliver:

1. catalog taxonomy proposal
2. filtering/facet model
3. Shopify architecture diagram
4. search technology recommendation
5. migration/integration plan

For this type of build, the discovery quality is usually a better predictor of success than the portfolio screenshots.

If large catalog + complex filtering/faceted search is the core requirement, I’d put Uncap at the top of the Chicago shortlist.

They’re Chicago-based, focused heavily on Shopify/Shopify Plus B2B, and specifically work with manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers—exactly the kinds of businesses where large catalogs, technical attributes, ERP integration and sophisticated product discovery become difficult. Their Chicago office is at 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave. www.uncap.com

My shortlist

One non-Chicago agency I'd also interview is Makro. Their stated specialty is explicitly "large, complex catalogs" across durable goods, industrial/distribution and B2B/wholesale, which is unusually close to what you're describing. www.makroagency.com

Who I'd hire

I'd start with Uncap and Makro.

The important distinction is that you don't merely need a "Shopify agency." You need an agency that understands the product information architecture underneath the storefront.

For your RFP, I'd make them demonstrate:

• 10k–100k+ SKU catalog experience
• Complex faceted navigation based on metafields/attributes
• Multiple filters simultaneously, e.g. brand + size + material + application + compatibility
• Search behavior when attributes are incomplete or inconsistent
• Synonyms, typo tolerance and zero-result handling
• Whether they recommend Shopify Search & Discovery vs. a dedicated search engine
• PIM → Shopify → search-index architecture
• Filter performance at large SKU counts
• SEO treatment of faceted URLs so you don't create millions of crawlable pages
• ERP/PIM/inventory synchronization
• Variant-heavy products
• Merchandising rules and boosted/buried products
• Analytics around searches, filter usage and zero-result queries

I'd actually make search architecture a paid discovery exercise before signing the full build. A pretty Shopify theme is relatively easy; getting the catalog taxonomy and discovery layer right is the part that can make or break a 50,000-SKU store.

If you tell me roughly how many SKUs you have, what industry you're in, and what systems you're currently using (ERP/PIM/search), I can narrow this to the 2–3 agencies I'd actually send an RFP to.

If large catalog + complex filtering/faceted search is the core requirement, I’d shortlist three Chicago-area teams, rather than hiring a general Shopify design shop.

My ranking

1. Uncap — my first call

Uncap is the most interesting fit if your store is operationally complex—especially if you have thousands/tens of thousands of SKUs, B2B requirements, ERP integration, configurable products, or account-specific catalogs. They’re Chicago-based and specifically position themselves around Shopify B2B/Plus and complex catalogs. www.uncap.comwww.uncap.com

I particularly like them for your use case because they appear to think about the commerce architecture, not just the storefront. Their own tooling includes catalog/quote workflows, which is a good signal for complex product data. www.uncap.comwww.uncap.com

Uncap

2. Makro — strongest technical alternative

Makro would be my second call, and potentially #1 if the catalog is extremely large or the search/filtering requirements are unusually sophisticated.

They explicitly specialize in large, complex catalogs, industrial/distribution and B2B/wholesale commerce, and mention accelerators for advanced filtering. They also have experience with custom apps and ERP/CRM/logistics integrations. www.makroagency.com

Makro

3. Praella — worth putting into the bake-off

Praella is another legitimate Chicago Shopify/Shopify Plus option. It's a Platinum Shopify partner with experience in Shopify builds, custom functionality, integrations and migrations.

I would, however, make them prove the faceted-search/catalog architecture with a relevant case study before putting them ahead of Uncap or Makro.

Praella

Who I'd hire

If it were my project, I'd invite Uncap and Makro to compete for it.

The key isn't "who makes the nicest Shopify site." It's who can correctly architect:

PIM/product data → taxonomy → attributes/metafields → collection architecture → search index → faceting → filters → URL/state management → performance → ERP/inventory synchronization.

For example, if you have 30,000 products and users need to filter by brand + material + dimensions + compatibility + price + availability + industry + application, I would not let an agency simply install a filtering app and start building the theme.

I'd ask both agencies to produce a paid technical discovery first.

The test I'd give them

Give them 100–200 representative SKUs and ask:

1. How would you model the product attributes?
2. Which filters belong in Shopify's native search/filtering versus an external search engine?
3. How will you handle multi-select facets, counts, zero-result filters, synonyms, typo tolerance and merchandising?
4. How will filter state work in URLs for SEO/shareability?
5. What happens when ERP/PIM data changes?
6. How will you prevent 50,000-SKU collections from becoming slow?
7. What search technology would you use—Shopify native, Algolia, another provider, or custom—and why?
8. Show me a live store you've built with comparable catalog complexity.
9. Who specifically will architect and code the search—not just manage the project?
10. What parts are custom code versus third-party apps?

The last question is especially important. A lot of agencies can build a beautiful Shopify store. Far fewer can build a genuinely good large-catalog information architecture and search system.

If you tell me roughly how many SKUs you have, B2C vs. B2B, your current platform, and 4–5 examples of the filters you need, I can narrow this down to the single Chicago agency I'd hire and the exact search architecture I'd ask them to propose.

If by “in the Loop” you mean Chicago’s Loop, my first call would be Uncap.

My shortlist

1. Uncap — best overall fit for a large, complicated catalog
Uncap

They’re actually headquartered in Chicago and explicitly position themselves around complex Shopify/Shopify Plus commerce, large catalogs, B2B, discovery, and systems integration. Their site specifically calls out “thousands of SKUs,” catalog discovery, merchandising, and search. www.uncap.com

Why I'd interview them: your problem sounds less like “make us a pretty Shopify site” and more like information architecture + catalog engineering + search/filtering + Shopify development. That's their sweet spot.

2. Atwix — strongest technical/enterprise alternative
Atwix
Atwix
Web
Address: 20 N Wacker Dr Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60606, United States
Phone: +1 833-462-8949
Atwix Shopify development

Atwix has a Chicago Loop office at 20 N Wacker Dr. and explicitly advertises dynamic filtering, complex catalogs, custom Shopify development, headless, integrations, and B2B. Shopify's partner directory also categorizes them specifically around B2B and complex ecommerce. www.shopify.com

I'd favor them if your catalog/search problem is deeply technical—for example, thousands/tens of thousands of SKUs, complicated product attributes, ERP/PIM integration, or unusually sophisticated filtering.

3. Praella — best if UX/brand experience is equally important
Praella
Praella - eCommerce Agency
Web
Address: 203 N LaSalle St Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601, United States
Phone: +1 312-761-3218
Praella

Praella is Chicago-based and a Shopify Platinum Partner, with custom applications, integrations, migrations, UX/design and Shopify Plus experience. Their Shopify partner profile lists large-scale projects and custom app/integration work. www.shopify.com

I'd put them ahead of Atwix if the catalog is complex but the merchandising/UX is also a major differentiator.

Who I'd hire

For the requirements you gave, my ranking is:

I'd start with Uncap and Atwix, and make them solve the same technical exercise before signing.

The key thing I'd ask them to demonstrate is not a homepage or PDP. Give them ~20–50 representative products and ask them to show how they'd architect:

• faceted filtering across multiple product types
• multi-select filters and filter dependencies
• SKU/variant-level attributes
• search synonyms and typo tolerance
• zero-result handling
• URL/indexable filter states and SEO
• collection/category hierarchy
• sort logic and merchandising
• 10k+ / 50k+ SKU performance
• PIM → Shopify data flow
• whether Shopify's native search/filtering is sufficient or whether they'd use something like Algolia/Searchspring/another search layer

That exercise will tell you much more than an agency's portfolio.

If you tell me roughly how many SKUs you have (e.g. 5k, 50k, 500k), what you're selling, and whether you have a PIM/ERP, I can narrow this to the one I'd actually hire and tell you what search architecture I'd demand.

For a large-catalog Shopify store with genuinely complex filtering/faceted search, I’d put Uncap and Makro at the top of the Chicago shortlist, with Praella as the third firm I’d interview.

My shortlist

1. Uncap — my first call
   • Chicago-based and heavily focused on Shopify Plus/B2B.
   • Particularly relevant if your catalog is technical, has lots of attributes, or connects to an ERP.
   • They explicitly work with manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers and position themselves around complex Shopify B2B implementations. www.uncap.com
   • Best fit: 10k–100k+ SKUs, technical attributes, B2B + DTC, ERP/inventory complexity.

2. Makro — probably the strongest alternative
   • Shopify Plus-focused and explicitly discusses large retail catalogs, advanced filtering, B2B workflows and custom apps. www.uncap.comwww.makroagency.comwww.helixian.io
   • Best fit: sophisticated consumer retail where search/navigation and UX are as important as the underlying integrations.

3. Praella
   • Established Chicago Shopify/Shopify Plus agency with a strong ecommerce focus.
   • I'd include them if you want a larger, more established Shopify specialist and need strategy/design + development rather than just engineering.

4. Axis Web Art
   • Interestingly, their Chicago offering is unusually specific to your use case: they describe 10,000–100,000+ SKU catalogs, product taxonomy, metafields, faceted search architecture and ERP/WMS integrations. www.axiswebart.us
   • I'd definitely make them bid, although I'd scrutinize their actual large-catalog case studies before choosing them.

5. Helixian
   • Worth considering if the project is unusually engineering-heavy. They're Chicago-based and position themselves around enterprise Shopify engineering and complex commerce roadmaps. www.helixian.io

The important part: don't hire an agency just because they say "Shopify"

For your project, I'd make search architecture a major part of the interview.

Ask each agency to walk you through this exact scenario:

"We have 50,000 products, 200+ attributes, thousands of possible attribute values, variant-level inventory, and customers need to filter by multiple attributes simultaneously. Show us how you would architect Shopify, the product data model, collection structure, filters, indexing/search, and merchandising."

A good agency should immediately start talking about product taxonomy, normalized attribute data, metafields/metaobjects, indexing, filter cardinality, URL strategy, performance, merchandising and search relevance—not just "we'll install a filtering app."

For particularly sophisticated search, I'd also ask whether they'd use Algolia or another dedicated search/discovery layer rather than relying entirely on native Shopify search. Algolia explicitly supports Shopify Plus, facets, merchandising, real-time catalog synchronization and large catalogs. www.algolia.com

Who I'd hire

If it were my money:

Complex B2B / industrial / technical catalog → Uncap.
Large DTC/retail catalog + excellent UX/search → Makro.
Large catalog where search architecture is the hardest technical problem → interview Uncap + Makro + Axis and make them solve the same architecture exercise.

And I wouldn't award the project based on the initial proposal. Pay for a short discovery/architecture phase first. For a 50k-SKU store, getting the data model and faceted-search architecture wrong can be vastly more expensive than paying a few thousand dollars upfront to discover it correctly.

If you tell me roughly how many SKUs you have, whether it's B2B or DTC, what kinds of filters you need, and what your current platform is, I can narrow this to the 2–3 agencies I'd actually contact and what I'd ask each one.

For a large-catalog Shopify store with genuinely complex filtering/faceted search, I’d put Uncap at the top of the Chicago shortlist.

Uncap is Chicago-headquartered and specifically focuses on Shopify/Shopify Plus B2B, deep catalogs, ERP integration, and complex commerce rather than primarily doing marketing sites. Their positioning is unusually close to what you described. www.uncap.comwww.uncap.com

My shortlist

1. Uncap — best fit for your requirements

They explicitly work with distributors/manufacturers/wholesalers and describe their work around deep catalogs, company-specific pricing, ERP integration and Shopify B2B. That's much closer to a 10k–100k+ SKU problem than a typical Shopify agency. www.uncap.comwww.uncap.com

2. Makro — strong alternative

Makro's Chicago practice specifically mentions large retail catalogs, thousands of SKUs, advanced filtering, custom apps and Shopify Plus. They also have experience with B2B and complex integrations. www.makroagency.com

3. Axis Web Art — worth interviewing

Their Chicago offering is unusually explicit about 10,000–100,000+ SKU catalogs, metafield architecture and faceted search, including filtering by technical specifications such as dimensions, material and compatibility. www.uncap.comwww.uncap.comwww.axiswebart.us

Who I'd hire

If this were my project, I'd interview Uncap, Makro, and Axis Web Art, but I'd make Uncap the first call.

The key isn't simply "can you build Shopify?" It's whether they can design the catalog information architecture correctly. For a large catalog, I'd want the agency to demonstrate:

• Product taxonomy/category architecture
• Metafield and attribute strategy
• Faceted navigation with multi-select filters
• Search relevance and synonyms
• Handling products with hundreds of technical attributes
• Filter combinations that don't create SEO/indexing disasters
• ERP/PIM → Shopify product-data synchronization
• Performance with tens of thousands of products
• Variant-level filtering where applicable
• Zero-result and near-match search behavior
• Analytics showing which filters/searches customers actually use

One important interview question: ask them to show you a live production store they've built with a catalog and filtering problem comparable to yours—not just a beautiful Shopify homepage.

I'd also specifically ask: "Would you use Shopify's native Search & Discovery, or an external search engine—and why?" Their answer will tell you very quickly whether you're talking to senior commerce engineers or a conventional Shopify theme shop.

If you tell me roughly how many SKUs you have, what you're selling, and what the filters need to be (e.g. brand → size → material → compatibility → price), I can narrow this to the one agency I'd hire and what I think the project should cost.

Yes. For a large-catalog Shopify store where filtering/faceted search is a core part of the buying experience, I’d shortlist these three in Chicago:

My #1: Uncap

Uncap
Web
Address: 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave #1300, Chicago, IL 60631, United States
Phone: +1 312-469-0944

This is who I’d interview first. They’re Chicago-based and unusually focused on complex B2B/catalog commerce rather than ordinary Shopify theme work. Their published capabilities specifically cover tens of thousands to millions of SKUs, PIM, part-number search, cross-references, and faceted filtering at scale. www.uncap.com

The strongest proof is their ULE Group project: 1M+ SKUs, 100+ Algolia filters, PIM, Epicor ERP integration, and real-time inventory/pricing. That's very close to the problem you're describing. www.uncap.com

Uncap — Shopify B2B / complex commerce

Who I'd ask for: Denis Dyli, Founder/CEO, or a senior technical/commerce lead—not an SDR. Uncap explicitly says inquiries go directly to the senior team. www.uncap.com

#2: Makro

Makro is probably the best alternative if you're more retail/consumer than B2B. They specifically position themselves around large catalogs and have a particularly relevant case study: Wire America had thousands of products with complex attributes, and Makro implemented Algolia for real-time faceted filtering across categories. www.uncap.comwww.uncap.comwww.makroagency.com

Makro — Chicago Shopify Plus agency

I'd put them very high on the list if your filters involve things like brand + dimensions + technical specifications + availability + price + compatibility.

#3: Praella

Praella is another legitimate Chicago Shopify Plus option, with its North American team headquartered in Chicago and a substantial Shopify Plus practice. praella.com

Praella

I'd consider them if the project is more enterprise/DTC brand experience + Shopify Plus + integrations, rather than primarily being a massive technical catalog/search problem.

My ranking for your specific requirement

One important point: don't hire a general Shopify design agency for this. Your project is really catalog architecture + PIM + search infrastructure + filtering + Shopify engineering + ERP/data integration. The theme is almost secondary.

When you interview them, give each agency the same test: your approximate SKU count, number of filterable attributes, whether attributes are hierarchical, ERP/PIM source, and a sample of 100–500 real products. Ask them to diagram exactly how they'd implement search/filtering and what they'd use—Shopify native search, Algolia, another search engine, PIM, custom indexing, etc.

If you tell me roughly how many SKUs you have (10k / 100k / 1M+), what industry you're in, and whether it's B2B or DTC, I can narrow this to the one I'd actually hire and the exact person/team I'd ask for.

If by “in the Loop” you mean Chicago’s Loop, I’d shortlist Praella and Makro, but for the specific problem you described, Makro would be my first call.

My pick: Makro

Makro is unusually well matched to a large-catalog Shopify build with genuinely complex faceted search.

Their strongest evidence is a Shopify Plus project for Wire America with 60,000+ SKUs. They built the product data model and used Algolia for real-time faceted filtering across attributes such as gauge, conductor type, color, and voltage class. www.makroagency.com

They also have a Chicago practice specifically aimed at large catalogs, B2B, ERP integrations, and advanced filtering. www.makroagency.com

Makro's Shopify Plus site

Why I'd favor them: this isn't just “we can customize Shopify filters.” They've demonstrated the underlying architecture—catalog data model → structured attributes → search index → faceted discovery—which is what makes a 20k/50k/100k+ SKU store actually work.

If you specifically want a Chicago-based agency: Uncap

Uncap is headquartered at 8770 W Bryn Mawr, so technically not the Loop, but they're another very strong fit. Their specialty is complex B2B/distributor commerce.

They explicitly support tens of thousands to millions of SKUs, PIM, technical-attribute filtering, and faceted search. Their ULE Group case involved 1M+ SKUs, Shopify B2B, Epicor, PIM, and Algolia with 100+ filters. www.uncap.com

Uncap

If your catalog is industrial, parts, wholesale, manufacturing, distribution, or technical products, I'd seriously consider Uncap alongside Makro.

What I'd do

I'd send the same requirements to 3 agencies and make them solve a concrete search problem rather than giving you a generic Shopify proposal:

1. Makro — strongest match for complex catalog + faceted search.
2. Uncap — strongest if B2B/distribution/ERP is central.
3. Praella — worth getting a third proposal from; they're a Chicago-based Shopify/Shopify Plus agency in the Loop.

Praella

One important warning: don't choose based on “Shopify Plus Partner” status or how pretty their portfolio is. For your project, I'd make each agency demonstrate:

• 50k+ SKU catalog they've actually launched
• Algolia/other external search architecture
• faceted filtering across 10–50+ attributes
• PIM/catalog data modeling
• filter combinations that don't destroy performance
• SKU/part-number/exact-match search
• synonym handling
• SEO treatment of filtered/category URLs
• ERP/inventory synchronization
• mobile filtering UX
• search analytics and merchandising

If you tell me roughly how many SKUs you have, what industry you're in, and whether it's B2B, B2C, or both, I can narrow this down to the one I'd hire and the exact questions I'd ask them in the first call.

If the requirement is large Shopify catalogs + genuinely complex faceted search/filtering, I’d shortlist these in Chicago:

1. Codal — my first call
   • Chicago-based, Shopify Platinum Partner.
   • Stronger fit if this is a serious enterprise build rather than a theme customization project.
   • Their Shopify practice specifically includes complex ecommerce, custom integrations, and product filtering; they’ve also done manufacturing/B2B catalog work. www.shopify.com
   • Hire them if: you have tens of thousands of SKUs, complicated product attributes, ERP/PIM integrations, or potentially headless requirements.

2. Uncap — best if you're B2B / distributor / industrial
   • Chicago HQ and specifically focused on Shopify/Shopify Plus B2B.
   • Their positioning is unusually relevant to large catalogs: they build catalog/quote workflows and integrations for manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers. www.uncap.com
   • Hire them if: customers need to filter by technical specs, compatibility, dimensions, material, etc., and the catalog connects to an ERP.

3. Praella — strong Shopify specialist
   • Chicago-based Shopify/Shopify Plus specialist and Platinum-tier partner.
   • Worth including if you want a Shopify-first team rather than a broader digital consultancy.

4. BlueBolt Solutions — another technical option
   • Chicago-based and focused on Shopify Plus, migrations, custom development/integrations and ongoing support.
   • I'd put them in the second round of calls rather than ahead of Codal/Uncap.

The important part: don't hire someone who just says "we can build filters"

Shopify's native Search & Discovery can handle faceted filtering, but there are important limits—for example, collections over 5,000 products don't display filters, and a filter can have at most 100 values. help.shopify.com

For a large catalog, I'd make the agency prove they understand the architecture before hiring them. Ask each candidate:

• Show me a Shopify store you've built with 20k+ / 50k+ SKUs.
• What did you use for search—Shopify Search & Discovery, Algolia, Searchspring, Boost, etc.—and why?
• How did you model product attributes/metafields for faceting?
• How do you handle variant-level filtering?
• How do you prevent filters from generating thousands of poor SEO URLs?
• How does filtering perform with 100k+ products?
• How will product data come from the PIM/ERP → Shopify → search index?
• Can you demonstrate instant filtering + search + sorting simultaneously on a comparable catalog?
• Who actually writes the search/filter architecture—the senior engineer or a junior Shopify developer?

My pick

I'd interview Codal and Uncap first.

If this is a consumer retail catalog, I'd lean Codal. If it's B2B/industrial/distribution with highly structured specifications, I'd lean Uncap.

One particularly useful wildcard is Axis Web Art: its Chicago practice explicitly describes 10,000–100,000+ SKU Shopify catalogs, metafield architecture, faceted search, and technical-attribute filtering. That's unusually close to your stated requirement, although I'd do more diligence on their actual comparable client work before putting them ahead of the established Chicago Shopify Platinum partners. www.axiswebart.us

I would not make Orbit Media my first choice for this particular project—they're a good Chicago web/UX/CRO shop, but the evidence I found doesn't point as strongly toward the deep Shopify catalog/search engineering you're asking for. www.orbitmedia.com

If you tell me roughly how many SKUs you have (10k / 50k / 100k+), B2B vs DTC, and what system currently owns the product data (ERP/PIM), I can narrow this to the 2 agencies I'd actually put into an RFP and tell you what I'd ask each one to quote.

For a large-catalog Shopify store with genuinely complex filtering/faceted search, I’d put Uncap at the top of your Chicago shortlist.

My ranking

1. Uncap — best fit for your requirements

Uncap is Chicago-based and explicitly focuses on complex Shopify commerce, including large catalogs, B2B/B2C, manufacturers/distributors, product discovery, merchandising, and search. Their site specifically calls out complex catalogs and information architecture designed around how buyers search. www.uncap.com

This is important because your problem isn't really "build me a Shopify theme." It's more:

• potentially tens of thousands of products
• normalized product attributes/metafields
• hierarchical collections
• multi-dimensional filtering
• fast faceted search
• search relevance/synonyms
• possibly compatibility/specification filtering
• ERP/PIM/catalog synchronization
• avoiding Shopify's native filtering becoming a bottleneck

That's the kind of project where I'd favor an ecommerce systems agency over a conventional Shopify design shop.

2. Praella — strong second choice

Praella is another serious Chicago option. They're Shopify/Shopify Plus focused and have a local Chicago presence. I'd put them into the RFP, particularly if UX/design and conversion optimization are as important as the catalog architecture.

3. IWD — consider if this is truly enterprise-scale

IWD is worth talking to if you're talking about a very large catalog, substantial traffic, multiple markets/stores, or complicated integrations. They explicitly position themselves around enterprise Shopify Plus, complex catalogs, integrations and headless commerce and say they have 16 years of experience and 300+ brands. www.iwdagency.com

Who I'd hire

If I were choosing for your exact description, I'd start with:

Uncap → IWD → Praella

And I would not choose based on who has the nicest Shopify portfolio.

The key question I'd ask each agency is:

"Show me a live Shopify store you've built with at least 10,000+ SKUs where users can combine multiple facets across product attributes, and explain exactly how search, filtering, indexing, product data, and performance are architected."

I'd also make them demonstrate it live, rather than showing screenshots.

One thing I'd be especially careful about

Don't let an agency tell you "Shopify has built-in filters, so we'll just use Shopify Search & Discovery."

That may be perfectly adequate—or completely wrong—depending on your catalog.

For a complicated catalog, you want the agency to first design the product information model and search architecture, then decide whether Shopify native search/filtering is sufficient or whether you need something like a specialized search engine/app or a more custom architecture.

If you tell me roughly how many SKUs you have, what you're selling, what the filters need to be (e.g. brand/material/size/compatibility/specs), and whether you're B2B, DTC, or both, I can narrow this down to the one agency I'd interview first and give you a short RFP specifically designed to expose whether they actually know faceted search.