N Brown modernises Simply Be’s account portal to enhance the customer experience

• Legacy tech hinders the user experience and prevents detailed customer journey insights

• A modern MyAccount portal built on AWS with a scalable microservices architecture reduces mainframe dependency

• Upgrading the platform improves the customer experience and enables deeper insights through improved data and metrics

N Brown is a top 10 UK clothing and footwear digital retailer, boasting a rich history spanning over 160 years. The company’s portfolio includes well-known brands such as JD Williams, Simply Be, and Jacamo, catering to customers of all shapes, sizes, and ages.

N Brown’s customer account portal, MyAccount, was long overdue an upgrade across all its brands. The experience of navigating from one part of the website to another was inconsistent, and the underlying technology stack was outdated.

‘We were getting customer feedback that the MyAccount journey was clunky, to say the least. Plus, we wanted to move away from the legacy tech stack as it made it difficult to track detailed user journey metrics. We turned to Zühlke, asking the team to take what we had in MyAccount, determine what was needed to migrate it successfully, and ensure feature parity while delivering a modern, visually polished experience’, says Chris Byron, Head of Engineering at N Brown.

Data quality emerged as a key challenge. Some datasets were inconsistent or incomplete, requiring close collaboration with N Brown’s architects to clean, structure, and standardise them — laying the groundwork for a smooth implementation.

Microservices architecture

We built our services directly on AWS as N Brown was in the process of migrating its systems to the platform. We followed a microservices approach, enabling independent development and deployment, which significantly improved agility and scalability. By ensuring key functionalities were no longer tied to the monolithic mainframe, N Brown gained flexibility in future migrations and feature expansions.

Frontend development

We collaborated closely with N Brown’s in-house design team to modernise the MyAccount frontend, creating a seamless, intuitive, and accessible user experience. We defined clear functional requirements, and refined designs based on continuous feedback. 

Using an iterative approach, we prioritised features such as contact details, marketing preferences, and orders, delivering functional improvements early and quickly.

One of the most complex areas was the orders section, which involved multiple systems and complex data dependencies, especially with split orders. Customers would place an order, but due to internal processes, the order might have been split into multiple shipments, causing confusion. To resolve this, we grouped split orders visually and included explanatory banners on the frontend, improving user clarity without altering backend logic. 

Accessibility was also a priority for N Brown. We ensured the new interface adhered to best practices, making it easier to use for all customers.

The microservices-based architecture enables rapid releases, making it easier for N Brown to iterate and introduce new features. With the foundational work completed and Simply Be’s customer account portal transformed, N Brown is well-positioned to modernise MyAccount across all its brands.